Liverpool Hydraulic Power Company

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Coordinates: 53°25′27″N 2°59′24″W / 53.4243°N 2.9899°W / 53.4243; -2.9899
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Liverpool Hydraulic Power Co
Liverpool Hydraulic Power Company is located in Merseyside
Liverpool Hydraulic Power Company
Athol Street pumping station in Liverpool
TypeHydraulic power network
LocationLiverpool, England
Coordinates53°25′27″N 2°59′24″W / 53.4243°N 2.9899°W / 53.4243; -2.9899
Opened1888 (1888)
Closed1971

Liverpool's Hydraulic Power Company were the operators of a public

Liverpool Museum
.

History

The Liverpool Hydraulic Power Company obtained

Hull in 1877, and the second in London in 1883.[2] At its inception, it supplied pressurised water at 700 pounds per square inch (48 bar) to its customers through around 18 miles (29 km) of 6-inch (15 cm) mains. The pumping station drew its water supply from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and was pumped into the system by steam engines with a total output of 800 horsepower (600 kW).[1]

Demand for power grew, and by 1890 there were two power stations, one on Athol Street to the north, and the other on Grafton Street in the south of the city. Nine

triple-expansion pumps could supply 432,000 imperial gallons (1.96 Ml) of water per day to the system, which now had 30 miles (48 km) of pipes, and by 1895 there were 453 hydraulic machines connected to the network. In addition to lifts, cranes and packing machines, the water also supplied hydrants and sprinklers which were used in case of fire.[3]

The Institute of Mechanical Engineers made a visit to Liverpool in June 1891, to inspect various works, and details of the hydraulic power system were published in The Practical Engineer later that year. The pressure mains were made of

Lancashire boilers, which were fitted with mechanical stokers, operated by hydraulic power. Pressure in the system was maintained by two hydraulic accumulators, each having an 18-inch (46 cm) diameter piston with a stroke of 20 feet (6.1 m). The report wrongly quoted the operating pressure as 75 pounds per square inch (5.2 bar).[4]

Under the terms of their acts of Parliament, the company had rights to lay mains beneath the streets in some parts of Liverpool, but in others they needed the consent of

Liverpool Corporation. This consent was not always forthcoming, and there complaints in 1889 that the corporation were obstructing the expansion of the system to allow it to supply buildings owned by the Exchange Company, the Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company, the British and Foreign Marine Insurance Company, and the Prudential Assurance Company. All of them had water-powered lifts, which were fed from the corporation's own low-pressure mains. There were eight lifts in total, and over the course of a year, they used 24 million imperial gallons (110 Ml), for which they paid the Corporation £700. If they had been connected to the high-pressure system, the volume of water used would only have been 1.6 million imperial gallons (7.3 Ml), which would have cost £340. The high-pressure lifts were also significantly faster. A lift in African Chambers on Old Hall Street, when carrying three people, took 38 seconds to rise 56 feet (17 m), but when converted to work from the high-pressure main, only took 15 seconds for the same journey. The volume of water used dropped by 94.3 per cent on the new system.[5]

Decline

Around 1960, the steam engines at Athol Street pumping station were replaced by electric pumps. There were three manufactured by Ward Lennox, which were capable of delivering 100 imperial gallons (0.45 m3) per minute, and three made by the

Liverpool Museum.[6] The records of the company are held in the reserve store of the museum.[7]

Points of interest

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See also

Bibliography

  • Graces Guide (1891). "The Practical Engineer, Volume V". Technical Publishing Company.
  • McNeil, Ian (1972). Hydraulic Power. Longman Group.
    ISBN 978-0-582-12797-5
    .
  • Pugh, B (1980). The Hydraulic Age: Public Power Supplies before Electricity. Mechanical Engineering Publications.
    ISBN 978-0-85298-447-5
    .

References

  1. ^ a b Pugh 1980, p. 112.
  2. ^ McNeil 1972, pp. 98–99.
  3. ^ Pugh 1980, pp. 112–113.
  4. ^ Graces Guide 1891.
  5. ^ Pugh 1980, pp. 113–114.
  6. ^ Pugh 1980, p. 114.
  7. ^ "Records of the Liverpool Hydraulic Power Company". The National Archives. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
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