Keeping the old skills alive. Forging metal
Tucked away under the unimaginable weight of the steam engine gasping steam out of the exit pipes into the rainy skies over the red brick walls of the engine house, is a working representation of the 1910 workshop. Well worth a visit, here the volunteers show how the elemental forces of fire and water are used on a more intimate scale forging red hot metal by hand, reviving the old trades with mesmerising skill.
Starting the restored Eleanor Nightngale
The vacated boiler house is now a centre for visitors where they can sit and have a welcome cuppa and a piece of cake. It is also home to the completed Marsden project, the restored Eleanor Nightingale steam engine purring away in her bright blue livery like a small excitable cousin to the much more sober twins Victoria and Alexander. Knowing she was once just dislocated, rusted remains much like the oversized Meccano I saw outside waiting attention, its hard to imagine the endless hours of restoration work it took to make her as she is today and is a credit to the work of the volunteers. Encouraging her flywheel to start with a lever, considerable brute force, gentle persuasion and help form the audience, I hardly dared imagine how you encourage the 80 tons and 28 foot diameter version belonging to the sober cousin upstairs.