Hydraulic network
Encyclopedia
A hydraulic power network is a system of interconnected pipes
carrying pressurized liquid used to transmit mechanical power
from a power source, like a pump
, to hydraulic equipment like lifts or motors. The system is analogous to an electrical grid transmitting power from a generating station to end-users. Only a few hydraulic power transmission networks are still in use; modern hydraulic equipment has a pump built into the machine. In the late 19th century, a hydraulic network might have been used in a factory, with a central steam engine
or water turbine
driving a pump and a system of high-pressure pipes transmitting power to various machines.
The idea of a public hydraulic power network was suggested by Joseph Bramah
in a patent obtained in 1812. William Armstrong began installing systems in England from the 1840s, using low-pressure water, but a breakthrough occurred in 1850 with the introduction of the hydraulic accumulator
, which allowed much higher pressures to be used. The first public network, supplying many companies, was constructed in Kingston upon Hull
, England. The Hull Hydraulic Power Company began operation in 1877, with Edward B. Ellington as its engineer. Ellington was involved in most of the British networks, and some further afield. Public networks were constructed in Britain at London
, Liverpool
, Birmingham
, Manchester
and Glasgow
. There were similar networks in Antwerp, Melbourne
, Sydney
, Buenos Aires
and Geneva
. All of the public networks had ceased to operate by the mid-1970s, but Bristol Harbour
still has an operational system, with an accumulator situated outside the main pumphouse, enabling its operation to be easily visualised.
, an inventor and locksmith living in London, registered a patent at the London Patent Office
on 29 April 1812, which was principally about a provision of a public water supply network, but included a secondary concept for the provision of a high-pressure water main, which would enable workshops to operate machinery. The high-pressure water would be applied "to a variety of other useful purposes, to which the same has never before been so applied." Major components of the system were a ring main, into which a number of pumping stations would pump the water, with pressure being regulated by several air vessels or loaded pistons. Pressure relief valves would protect the system, which he believed could deliver water at a pressure of "a great plurality of atmospheres", and in concept, this was how later hydraulic power systems worked.
In Newcastle upon Tyne
, a solicitor called William Armstrong, who had been experimenting with water-powered machines, was working for a firm of solicitors who were appointed to act on behalf of the Whittle Dene
Water Company. The water company had been set up to supply Newcastle with drinking water, and Armstong was appointed secretary at the first meeting of shareholders. Soon afterwards, he wrote to Newcastle Town Council, suggesting that the cranes on the quay should be converted to hydraulic power. He was required to carry out the work at his own expense, but would be rewarded if the conversion was a success. It was, and he set up the Newcastle Cranage Company, which received an order for the conversion of the other four cranes. Further work followed, with the engineer from Liverpool Docks
visiting Newcastle and being impressed by a demonstration of the crane's versatility, given by the crane driver John Thorburn, known locally as "Hydraulic Jack".
While the Newcastle system ran on water from the public water supply, the crane installed by Armstong at Burntisland
was not located where such an option was possible, and so he built a 180 feet (54.9 m) tower, with a water tank at the top, which was filled by a 6 hp steam engine. At Elswick in Glasgow
, charges by the Corporation Water Department for the water used persuaded the owners that the use of a steam-powered crane would be cheaper. Bramah's concept of "loaded pistons" was introduced in 1850, when the first hydraulic accumulator
was installed as part of a scheme for cranes for the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
. A scheme for cranes at Paddington the following year specified an accumulator with a 10 inch piston and a stroke of 15 feet (4.6 m), which enabled pressures of 600 pound per square inches (41.4 bar) to be achieved. Compared to the 80 psi (5.5 bar) of the Newcastle scheme, this increased pressure significantly reduced the volumes of water used. Cranes were not the only application, and hydraulic operation of the dock gates at Swansea
reduced the operating time from 15 to two minutes, and the number of men required to operate them from twelve to four. Each of these schemes was for a single customer, and the application of hydraulic power more generally required a new model.
, in England. The Hull Hydraulic Power Company began operation in 1876. They had 2.5 miles (4 km) of pipes, which were up to 6 inch in diameter, and ran along the west bank of the River Hull
from Sculcoates bridge to its junction with the Humber
. The pumping station was near the north end of the pipeline, on Machell Street, near the disused Scott Street bascule bridge, which was powered hydraulically. There was an accumulator at Machell Street, and another one much nearer the Humber, on the corner of Grimsby Lane. Special provision was made where the pressure main passed under the entrance to Queens Dock. By 1895, pumps rated at 250 hp pumped some 500000 gallons (2,273 m³) of water into the system each week, and 58 machines were connected to it. The working pressure was 700 psi (48.3 bar), and the water was used to operate cranes, dock gates, and a variety of other machinery connected with ships and shipbuilding. The Hull system lasted until the 1940s, when the systematic bombing of the city during the Second World War led to the destruction of much of the infrastructure, and the company was wound up in 1947, when Mr F J Haswell, who had been the manager and engineer since 1904, retired.
The man responsible for the Hull system was Edward B. Ellington, who had risen to become the managing director of the Hydraulic Engineering Company, based in Chester, since first joining it in 1869. At the time of its installation, such a scheme seemed like "a leap in the dark", according to R. H. Tweddell writing in 1895, but despite a lack of enthusiasm for the scheme, Ellington pushed ahead and used it as a test bed for both the mechanical and the commercial aspects of the idea. He was eventually involved on some level in most of the hydraulic power networks of Britain. The success of such systems led to them being installed in places as far away as Antwerp in Belgium, Melbourne
and Sydney
in Australia, and Buenos Aires
in Argentina.
The best-known public hydraulic network was the city-wide network of the London Hydraulic Power Company
. This was formed in 1882, as the General Hydraulic Power Company, with Ellington as the consulting engineer. By 1883, another enterprise, the Wharves and Warehouses Steam Power and Hydraulic Pressure Company, had begun to operate, with 7 miles (11.3 km) of pressure mains on both sides of the River Thames
. These supplied cranes, dock gates, and other heavy machinery. Under the terms of an Act of Parliament
obtained in 1884, the two companies amalgamated, and became the London Hydraulic Power Company. Initially supplying 17.75 million gallons (80.7 Megalitres) of high-pressure water each day, this had risen to 1,650 million gallons (7,500 Megalitres) by 1927, when the company was powering around 8,000 machines from the supply. They maintained 184 miles (296.1 km) of mains at 700 psi (48.3 bar), which covered an area reaching Pentonville in the north, Limehouse in the east, Nine Elms and Bermondsey in the south and Earls Court and Notting Hill in the west.
Five pumping stations kept the mains pressurised, assisted by accumulators. The original station was at Falcon Wharf, Bankside, but this was replaced by four stations at Wapping, Rotherhithe, Grosvenor Road in Pimlico and City Road in Clerkenwell. A fifth station at East India Docks was originally operated by the Port of London Authority
, but was taken over and connected to the system. The stations used steam engines until 1953, when Grosvenor Road station was converted to use electric motors, and following the success of this project, the other four were also converted. The electric motors allowed much smaller accumulators to be used, since they were then only controlling the pressure and flow, rather than storing power. While the network supplied lifts, cranes and dockgates, it also powered the cabaret platform at the Savoy Hotel, and from 1937, the 720-tonne three-section central floor at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre
, which could be raised or lowered relative to the main floor. The London system contracted during the Second World War, due to the destruction of customer's machinery and premises. Following the hostilities, large areas of London were reconstructed, and the re-routing of pressure mains was much more difficult than the provision of an electric supply, so that by 1954 the number of machines had fallen to 4286. The company was wound up in 1977.
A system began operating in Liverpool
on 1885. It was an offshoot of the London-based General Hydraulic Power Company, and was authorised by acts of Parliament obtained in 1884 and 1887. By 1890, some 16 miles (25.7 km) of mains had been installed, supplied by a pumping station at Athol Street, on the bank of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
. Although water was originally taken from the canal, cleaner water supplied by Liverpool Corporation was in use by 1890, removing the need for a filtration plant. At this time two pumpsets were in use, and a third was being installed. Pressure was maintained by two accumulators, each with an 18 inches (457.2 mm) diameter piston with a stroke of 20 feet (6.1 m). The Practical Engineer quoted the pressure as 75 pound per square inches (5.2 bar), but this is unlikely to be correct by comparison with other systems. A second pumping station at Grafton Street was operational by 1909. The system appears to have ceased operation in 1970.
Birmingham
obtained its system in 1891, when the Dalton Street hydraulic station opened. In an unusual move, J. W. Gray, the Water Department engineer for the city, had been laying pressure mains beneath the streets for some years, anticipating the need for such a system. The hydraulic station used Otto 'Silent' type gas engines, and had two accumulators, with an 18 inches (457.2 mm) diameter piston, a stroke of 20 feet (6.1 m) and each loaded with a 93-tonne weight. The gas engines were started by a small hydraulic engine, which used the hydraulic energy stored in the accumulators, and all equipment was supplied by Ellington's company. Very few documents describing the details of the system are known to exist.
The final two public systems in Britain were in Manchester
, commissioned in 1894, and Glasgow
, commissioned the following year. Both were equipped by Ellington's company, and used the higher pressure of 1120 psi (77.2 bar). This was maintained by six sets of triple-expansion steam engines, rated at 200 hp each. Two accumulators with pistons of 18 inches (457.2 mm) diameter, a stroke of 23 feet (7 m), and loaded with 127 tonnes were installed. In Manchester, the hydraulic station was built on the east side of Gloucester Street, by Oxford Road railway station. It was later supplemented by stations at Water Street and Pott Street, the latter now under the car parks of the Central Retail Park. At its peak in the 1930s, the system consisted on 35 miles (56.3 km) of pipes, which were connected to 2,400 machines, most of which were used for baling cotton. The system was shut down in 1972. In Glasgow, the pumping station was at the junction of High Street and Rottenrow. By 1899, it was supplying power to 348 machines, and another 39 were in the process of being completed. The pipes were 7 inches (177.8 mm) in diameter, and there were around 30 miles (48.3 km) of them by 1909, when 202141 gallons (919 m³) of high pressure water were supplied to customers. The system was shut down in 1964.
directly coupled to a dynamo.
Two major systems were built in Australia. The first was in Melbourne
, where the Melbourne Hydraulic Power Company began operating in July 1889. The company was authorised by an Act of the Victorian Parliament passed in December 1887, and construction of the system began, with Coates & Co. acting as consulting engineers, and George Swinburne
working as engineering manager. The steam pumping plant was supplied by Abbot & Co. from England. Expansion was rapid, with around 70 machines, mainly hydraulic lifts, connected to the system by the end of 1889, and a third steam engine had to be installed in mid-1890, which more than doubled the capacity of the system. A fourth pumping engine was added in 1891, by which time there were 100 customers connected to the mains. The mains were a mixture of 4 inches (101.6 mm) and 6 inches (152.4 mm) pipes. The water was extracted from the Yarra River
until 1893, after which it was drawn from the Public Works Department's supply. There were some 16 miles (25.7 km) of mains by 1897. A second pumping station was added in 1901, and in 1902, 102 million gallons (454 Megalitres) of pressurised water were used by customers.
The system was operated as a commercial enterprise until 1925, after which the business and its assets reverted to the City of Melbourne, as specified by the original act. One of the early improvements made by the City Council was to consolidate the system. The steam pumps were replaced by new electric pumps, located in the Spencer Street power station, which thus supplied both electric power and hydraulic power to the city. The hydraulic system continued to operate under municipal ownership until December 1967.
In January 1891, a system in Sydney
came on-line, having been authorised by act of Parliament in 1888. George Swinburne was again the engineer, and the system was supplying power to around 200 machines by 1894, which included 149 lifts and 20 dock cranes. The operating company was the Sydney and Suburbs Hydraulic Power Company, later shortened to the Sydney Hydraulic Power Company. Pressure mains were either of 4 inches (101.6 mm) or 6 inches (152.4 mm) diameter, and at its peak, there were around 50 miles (80.5 km) of mains, covering an area between Pyrmont
, Woolloomooloo
and Broadway
. In 1919, most of the 2369 lifts in the metropolitan area were hydraulically operated. The pumping station, together with two accumulators, was situated in the Darling Harbour
district, and the original steam engines were replaced by three electric motors driving centrifugal pump
s in 1952. The scheme remained in private ownership until its demise in 1975, and the pumping station has since been re-used as a tavern.
Ellington's system in Buenos Aires was designed to operate a sewage pumping scheme in the city.
Geneva
had a hydraulic network with a total installed power of 6000 hp. The system gave birth to the Jet d'Eau
, a huge fountain which was originally only a pressure relief valve
for the network when the consumers had been switched off.
Bristol Harbour
still has a working system, the pumping machinery of which was supplied by Fullerton, Hodgart and Barclay of Paisley
, Scotland in 1907. The engine house
is a grade II* listed building, constructed in 1888, with a tower at one end to house the hydraulic accumulator. A second accumulator was fitted outside the building in the 1920s, which enables the operation of the system to be more easily visualised.
A number of artifacts, including the buildings used as pumping stations, have survived the demise of public hydraulic power networks. In Hull, the Machell Street pumping station has been reused as a workshop. The building still supports the sectional cast-iron roof tank used to allow the silt-laden water of the River Hull to settle, and is marked by a Blue plaque
, to commemorate its importance. In London, Bermondsey pumping station, built in 1902, is in use as an engineering works, but retains its chimney and accumulator tower, while the station at Wapping
is virtually complete, retaining all of its equipment, which is still in working order. The building is grade II* listed because of its completeness.
In Manchester, the Water Street pumping station, built in Baroque
style between 1907 and 1909, was used as workshops for the City College, but has formed part of the People's History Museum
since 1994. One of the pumping sets has been moved to the Museum of Science and Industry
, where it has been restored to working order and forms part of a larger display about hydraulic power. The pumps were made by the Manchester firm of Galloways.
Piping
Within industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid....
carrying pressurized liquid used to transmit mechanical power
Power (physics)
In physics, power is the rate at which energy is transferred, used, or transformed. For example, the rate at which a light bulb transforms electrical energy into heat and light is measured in watts—the more wattage, the more power, or equivalently the more electrical energy is used per unit...
from a power source, like a pump
Pump
A pump is a device used to move fluids, such as liquids, gases or slurries.A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. Pumps fall into three major groups: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps...
, to hydraulic equipment like lifts or motors. The system is analogous to an electrical grid transmitting power from a generating station to end-users. Only a few hydraulic power transmission networks are still in use; modern hydraulic equipment has a pump built into the machine. In the late 19th century, a hydraulic network might have been used in a factory, with a central steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
or water turbine
Water turbine
A water turbine is a rotary engine that takes energy from moving water.Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now they are mostly used for electric power generation. They harness a clean and renewable energy...
driving a pump and a system of high-pressure pipes transmitting power to various machines.
The idea of a public hydraulic power network was suggested by Joseph Bramah
Joseph Bramah
Joseph Bramah , born Stainborough Lane Farm, Wentworth, Yorkshire, England, was an inventor and locksmith. He is best known for having invented the hydraulic press...
in a patent obtained in 1812. William Armstrong began installing systems in England from the 1840s, using low-pressure water, but a breakthrough occurred in 1850 with the introduction of the hydraulic accumulator
Hydraulic accumulator
A 'hydraulic accumulator' is an energy storage device. It is a pressure storage reservoir in which a non-compressible hydraulic fluid is held under pressure by an external source. That external source can be a spring, a raised weight, or a compressed gas...
, which allowed much higher pressures to be used. The first public network, supplying many companies, was constructed in Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, England. The Hull Hydraulic Power Company began operation in 1877, with Edward B. Ellington as its engineer. Ellington was involved in most of the British networks, and some further afield. Public networks were constructed in Britain at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. There were similar networks in Antwerp, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. All of the public networks had ceased to operate by the mid-1970s, but Bristol Harbour
Bristol Harbour
Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It has existed since the 13th century but was developed into its current form in the early 19th century by installing lock gates on a tidal stretch of the River Avon in the centre of the city and...
still has an operational system, with an accumulator situated outside the main pumphouse, enabling its operation to be easily visualised.
History
Joseph BramahJoseph Bramah
Joseph Bramah , born Stainborough Lane Farm, Wentworth, Yorkshire, England, was an inventor and locksmith. He is best known for having invented the hydraulic press...
, an inventor and locksmith living in London, registered a patent at the London Patent Office
Patent office
A patent office is a governmental or intergovernmental organization which controls the issue of patents. In other words, "patent offices are government bodies that may grant a patent or reject the patent application based on whether or not the application fulfils the requirements for...
on 29 April 1812, which was principally about a provision of a public water supply network, but included a secondary concept for the provision of a high-pressure water main, which would enable workshops to operate machinery. The high-pressure water would be applied "to a variety of other useful purposes, to which the same has never before been so applied." Major components of the system were a ring main, into which a number of pumping stations would pump the water, with pressure being regulated by several air vessels or loaded pistons. Pressure relief valves would protect the system, which he believed could deliver water at a pressure of "a great plurality of atmospheres", and in concept, this was how later hydraulic power systems worked.
In Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, a solicitor called William Armstrong, who had been experimenting with water-powered machines, was working for a firm of solicitors who were appointed to act on behalf of the Whittle Dene
Whittle Dene
Whittle Dene is located to the west of Newcastle upon Tyne, England straddling the B6318 Military Road, and is a complex of reservoirs and treatment works forming the last stage in the supply of drinking water to Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead....
Water Company. The water company had been set up to supply Newcastle with drinking water, and Armstong was appointed secretary at the first meeting of shareholders. Soon afterwards, he wrote to Newcastle Town Council, suggesting that the cranes on the quay should be converted to hydraulic power. He was required to carry out the work at his own expense, but would be rewarded if the conversion was a success. It was, and he set up the Newcastle Cranage Company, which received an order for the conversion of the other four cranes. Further work followed, with the engineer from Liverpool Docks
Port of Liverpool
The Port of Liverpool is the name for the enclosed 7.5 mile dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of the river...
visiting Newcastle and being impressed by a demonstration of the crane's versatility, given by the crane driver John Thorburn, known locally as "Hydraulic Jack".
While the Newcastle system ran on water from the public water supply, the crane installed by Armstong at Burntisland
Burntisland
Burntisland is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland on the Firth of Forth. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 5,940....
was not located where such an option was possible, and so he built a 180 feet (54.9 m) tower, with a water tank at the top, which was filled by a 6 hp steam engine. At Elswick in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, charges by the Corporation Water Department for the water used persuaded the owners that the use of a steam-powered crane would be cheaper. Bramah's concept of "loaded pistons" was introduced in 1850, when the first hydraulic accumulator
Hydraulic accumulator
A 'hydraulic accumulator' is an energy storage device. It is a pressure storage reservoir in which a non-compressible hydraulic fluid is held under pressure by an external source. That external source can be a spring, a raised weight, or a compressed gas...
was installed as part of a scheme for cranes for the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...
. A scheme for cranes at Paddington the following year specified an accumulator with a 10 inch piston and a stroke of 15 feet (4.6 m), which enabled pressures of 600 pound per square inches (41.4 bar) to be achieved. Compared to the 80 psi (5.5 bar) of the Newcastle scheme, this increased pressure significantly reduced the volumes of water used. Cranes were not the only application, and hydraulic operation of the dock gates at Swansea
Swansea docks
Swansea Docks is the collective name for several docks in Swansea, Wales. The Swansea docks are located immediately south east of Swansea city centre. In the mid-19th century the port was exporting 60% of the world's copper from factories situated in the Tawe valley...
reduced the operating time from 15 to two minutes, and the number of men required to operate them from twelve to four. Each of these schemes was for a single customer, and the application of hydraulic power more generally required a new model.
Public power
The first practical installation which supplied hydraulic power to the public was in Kingston upon HullKingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, in England. The Hull Hydraulic Power Company began operation in 1876. They had 2.5 miles (4 km) of pipes, which were up to 6 inch in diameter, and ran along the west bank of the River Hull
River Hull
The River Hull is a navigable river in the East Riding of Yorkshire in the north of England. It rises from a series of springs to the west of Driffield, and enters the Humber estuary at Kingston upon Hull. Following a period when the Archbishops of York charged tolls for its use, it became a free...
from Sculcoates bridge to its junction with the Humber
Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...
. The pumping station was near the north end of the pipeline, on Machell Street, near the disused Scott Street bascule bridge, which was powered hydraulically. There was an accumulator at Machell Street, and another one much nearer the Humber, on the corner of Grimsby Lane. Special provision was made where the pressure main passed under the entrance to Queens Dock. By 1895, pumps rated at 250 hp pumped some 500000 gallons (2,273 m³) of water into the system each week, and 58 machines were connected to it. The working pressure was 700 psi (48.3 bar), and the water was used to operate cranes, dock gates, and a variety of other machinery connected with ships and shipbuilding. The Hull system lasted until the 1940s, when the systematic bombing of the city during the Second World War led to the destruction of much of the infrastructure, and the company was wound up in 1947, when Mr F J Haswell, who had been the manager and engineer since 1904, retired.
The man responsible for the Hull system was Edward B. Ellington, who had risen to become the managing director of the Hydraulic Engineering Company, based in Chester, since first joining it in 1869. At the time of its installation, such a scheme seemed like "a leap in the dark", according to R. H. Tweddell writing in 1895, but despite a lack of enthusiasm for the scheme, Ellington pushed ahead and used it as a test bed for both the mechanical and the commercial aspects of the idea. He was eventually involved on some level in most of the hydraulic power networks of Britain. The success of such systems led to them being installed in places as far away as Antwerp in Belgium, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in Australia, and Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
in Argentina.
The best-known public hydraulic network was the city-wide network of the London Hydraulic Power Company
London Hydraulic Power Company
The London Hydraulic Power Company was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1883 to install a hydraulic power network of high-pressure cast iron water mains under London. It was the successor to the Steam Wharf and Warehouse Company, founded in 1871 by Edward B Ellington...
. This was formed in 1882, as the General Hydraulic Power Company, with Ellington as the consulting engineer. By 1883, another enterprise, the Wharves and Warehouses Steam Power and Hydraulic Pressure Company, had begun to operate, with 7 miles (11.3 km) of pressure mains on both sides of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. These supplied cranes, dock gates, and other heavy machinery. Under the terms of an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
obtained in 1884, the two companies amalgamated, and became the London Hydraulic Power Company. Initially supplying 17.75 million gallons (80.7 Megalitres) of high-pressure water each day, this had risen to 1,650 million gallons (7,500 Megalitres) by 1927, when the company was powering around 8,000 machines from the supply. They maintained 184 miles (296.1 km) of mains at 700 psi (48.3 bar), which covered an area reaching Pentonville in the north, Limehouse in the east, Nine Elms and Bermondsey in the south and Earls Court and Notting Hill in the west.
Five pumping stations kept the mains pressurised, assisted by accumulators. The original station was at Falcon Wharf, Bankside, but this was replaced by four stations at Wapping, Rotherhithe, Grosvenor Road in Pimlico and City Road in Clerkenwell. A fifth station at East India Docks was originally operated by the Port of London Authority
Port of London Authority
The Port of London Authority is a self-funding public trust established in 1908 by the Port of London Act to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and the authority is responsible for the public right of navigation and for conservancy of the...
, but was taken over and connected to the system. The stations used steam engines until 1953, when Grosvenor Road station was converted to use electric motors, and following the success of this project, the other four were also converted. The electric motors allowed much smaller accumulators to be used, since they were then only controlling the pressure and flow, rather than storing power. While the network supplied lifts, cranes and dockgates, it also powered the cabaret platform at the Savoy Hotel, and from 1937, the 720-tonne three-section central floor at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Earls Court Exhibition Centre
The Earls Court Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre, conference and event venue located in west London, United Kingdom in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . It is the largest exhibition venue in central London. It is served by two underground stations, Earl's Court and West...
, which could be raised or lowered relative to the main floor. The London system contracted during the Second World War, due to the destruction of customer's machinery and premises. Following the hostilities, large areas of London were reconstructed, and the re-routing of pressure mains was much more difficult than the provision of an electric supply, so that by 1954 the number of machines had fallen to 4286. The company was wound up in 1977.
A system began operating in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
on 1885. It was an offshoot of the London-based General Hydraulic Power Company, and was authorised by acts of Parliament obtained in 1884 and 1887. By 1890, some 16 miles (25.7 km) of mains had been installed, supplied by a pumping station at Athol Street, on the bank of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
. Although water was originally taken from the canal, cleaner water supplied by Liverpool Corporation was in use by 1890, removing the need for a filtration plant. At this time two pumpsets were in use, and a third was being installed. Pressure was maintained by two accumulators, each with an 18 inches (457.2 mm) diameter piston with a stroke of 20 feet (6.1 m). The Practical Engineer quoted the pressure as 75 pound per square inches (5.2 bar), but this is unlikely to be correct by comparison with other systems. A second pumping station at Grafton Street was operational by 1909. The system appears to have ceased operation in 1970.
Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
obtained its system in 1891, when the Dalton Street hydraulic station opened. In an unusual move, J. W. Gray, the Water Department engineer for the city, had been laying pressure mains beneath the streets for some years, anticipating the need for such a system. The hydraulic station used Otto 'Silent' type gas engines, and had two accumulators, with an 18 inches (457.2 mm) diameter piston, a stroke of 20 feet (6.1 m) and each loaded with a 93-tonne weight. The gas engines were started by a small hydraulic engine, which used the hydraulic energy stored in the accumulators, and all equipment was supplied by Ellington's company. Very few documents describing the details of the system are known to exist.
The final two public systems in Britain were in Manchester
Manchester Hydraulic Power
Manchester's Hydraulic Power system was a public hydraulic power network supplying energy across the city of Manchester via a system of high-pressure water pipes from three pumping stations from 1894 until 1972...
, commissioned in 1894, and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, commissioned the following year. Both were equipped by Ellington's company, and used the higher pressure of 1120 psi (77.2 bar). This was maintained by six sets of triple-expansion steam engines, rated at 200 hp each. Two accumulators with pistons of 18 inches (457.2 mm) diameter, a stroke of 23 feet (7 m), and loaded with 127 tonnes were installed. In Manchester, the hydraulic station was built on the east side of Gloucester Street, by Oxford Road railway station. It was later supplemented by stations at Water Street and Pott Street, the latter now under the car parks of the Central Retail Park. At its peak in the 1930s, the system consisted on 35 miles (56.3 km) of pipes, which were connected to 2,400 machines, most of which were used for baling cotton. The system was shut down in 1972. In Glasgow, the pumping station was at the junction of High Street and Rottenrow. By 1899, it was supplying power to 348 machines, and another 39 were in the process of being completed. The pipes were 7 inches (177.8 mm) in diameter, and there were around 30 miles (48.3 km) of them by 1909, when 202141 gallons (919 m³) of high pressure water were supplied to customers. The system was shut down in 1964.
Other systems
All of the British systems were designed to provide power for intermittent processes, such as the operation of dock gates or cranes. The system installed at Antwerp was somewhat different, in that its primary purpose was the production of electricity for lighting. It was commissioned in 1894, and used pumping engines producing a total of 1000 hp to supply water at 750 psi (51.7 bar). Ellington, writing in 1895, stated that he found it difficult to see that this was an economical use of hydraulic power, although tests conducted at his works at Chester in October 1894 showed that efficiencies of 59 per cent could be achieved using a Pelton wheelPelton wheel
The Pelton wheel is an impulse turbine which is among the most efficient types of water turbines. It was invented by Lester Allan Pelton in the 1870s. The Pelton wheel extracts energy from the impulse of moving water, as opposed to its weight like traditional overshot water wheel...
directly coupled to a dynamo.
Two major systems were built in Australia. The first was in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, where the Melbourne Hydraulic Power Company began operating in July 1889. The company was authorised by an Act of the Victorian Parliament passed in December 1887, and construction of the system began, with Coates & Co. acting as consulting engineers, and George Swinburne
George Swinburne
George Swinburne was an Australian engineer, politician and philanthropist. He founded the institution which later became Swinburne University of Technology.-Early life:...
working as engineering manager. The steam pumping plant was supplied by Abbot & Co. from England. Expansion was rapid, with around 70 machines, mainly hydraulic lifts, connected to the system by the end of 1889, and a third steam engine had to be installed in mid-1890, which more than doubled the capacity of the system. A fourth pumping engine was added in 1891, by which time there were 100 customers connected to the mains. The mains were a mixture of 4 inches (101.6 mm) and 6 inches (152.4 mm) pipes. The water was extracted from the Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
until 1893, after which it was drawn from the Public Works Department's supply. There were some 16 miles (25.7 km) of mains by 1897. A second pumping station was added in 1901, and in 1902, 102 million gallons (454 Megalitres) of pressurised water were used by customers.
The system was operated as a commercial enterprise until 1925, after which the business and its assets reverted to the City of Melbourne, as specified by the original act. One of the early improvements made by the City Council was to consolidate the system. The steam pumps were replaced by new electric pumps, located in the Spencer Street power station, which thus supplied both electric power and hydraulic power to the city. The hydraulic system continued to operate under municipal ownership until December 1967.
In January 1891, a system in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
came on-line, having been authorised by act of Parliament in 1888. George Swinburne was again the engineer, and the system was supplying power to around 200 machines by 1894, which included 149 lifts and 20 dock cranes. The operating company was the Sydney and Suburbs Hydraulic Power Company, later shortened to the Sydney Hydraulic Power Company. Pressure mains were either of 4 inches (101.6 mm) or 6 inches (152.4 mm) diameter, and at its peak, there were around 50 miles (80.5 km) of mains, covering an area between Pyrmont
Pyrmont, New South Wales
Pyrmont is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Pyrmont is located 2 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
, Woolloomooloo
Woolloomooloo, New South Wales
Woolloomooloo is a harbourside, inner-city eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woolloomooloo is located 1.5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney. The suburb is located in a low-lying, former...
and Broadway
Broadway, New South Wales
Broadway is a road in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The road constitutes the border between the suburbs of Ultimo and Chippendale . Broadway is also an urban locality....
. In 1919, most of the 2369 lifts in the metropolitan area were hydraulically operated. The pumping station, together with two accumulators, was situated in the Darling Harbour
Darling Harbour, New South Wales
Darling Harbour is a locality of the city centre of Sydney, Australia. It is a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district. The locality extends northwards from Chinatown, along both sides of Cockle Bay to King Street...
district, and the original steam engines were replaced by three electric motors driving centrifugal pump
Centrifugal pump
A centrifugal pump is a rotodynamic pump that uses a rotating impeller to create flow by the addition of energy to a fluid. Centrifugal pumps are commonly used to move liquids through piping...
s in 1952. The scheme remained in private ownership until its demise in 1975, and the pumping station has since been re-used as a tavern.
Ellington's system in Buenos Aires was designed to operate a sewage pumping scheme in the city.
Summary
| System | Operational | Closed | Pumping stations | Mains (miles) | Mains (km) | Pressure (psi) | Pressure (bar) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 1876 | 1947 | 1 | 2.5 | 4 | 700 | 48 |
| London | 1883 | 1977 | 5 | 184 | 296 | 750 | 52 |
| Liverpool | 1885 | 1970 | 2 | 30 | 48 | 800 | 55 |
| Melbourne | 1889 | 1967 | 2 | 16 | 26 | 750 | 52 |
| Birmingham | 1891 | 1 | 700 | 48 | |||
| Sydney | 1891 | 1975 | 1 | 50 | 80 | 750 | 52 |
| Manchester | 1894 | 1972 | 3 | 35 | 56 | 1,120 | 77 |
| Antwerp | 1894 | 1 | 4.5 | 7.2 | 750 | 52 | |
| Glasgow | 1895 | 1964 | 1 | 30 | 48 | 1,120 | 77 |
Legacy
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
had a hydraulic network with a total installed power of 6000 hp. The system gave birth to the Jet d'Eau
Jet d'Eau
The Jet d'Eau is a large fountain in Geneva, Switzerland, and is one of the city's most famous landmarks, being featured on the city's official tourism web site and on the official logo for Geneva's hosting of the 2008 UEFA Championships. It is also one of the largest fountains in the world...
, a huge fountain which was originally only a pressure relief valve
Relief valve
The relief valve is a type of valve used to control or limit the pressure in a system or vessel which can build up by a process upset, instrument or equipment failure, or fire....
for the network when the consumers had been switched off.
Bristol Harbour
Bristol Harbour
Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It has existed since the 13th century but was developed into its current form in the early 19th century by installing lock gates on a tidal stretch of the River Avon in the centre of the city and...
still has a working system, the pumping machinery of which was supplied by Fullerton, Hodgart and Barclay of Paisley
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
, Scotland in 1907. The engine house
Hydraulic engine house, Bristol Harbour
The Hydraulic engine house is part of the "Underfall Yard" in Bristol Harbour in Bristol, England.The octagonal brick and terracotta chimney of the engine house dates from 1888, and is grade II* listed, as is the hydraulic engine house itself. It replaced the original pumping house which is now...
is a grade II* listed building, constructed in 1888, with a tower at one end to house the hydraulic accumulator. A second accumulator was fitted outside the building in the 1920s, which enables the operation of the system to be more easily visualised.
A number of artifacts, including the buildings used as pumping stations, have survived the demise of public hydraulic power networks. In Hull, the Machell Street pumping station has been reused as a workshop. The building still supports the sectional cast-iron roof tank used to allow the silt-laden water of the River Hull to settle, and is marked by a Blue plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
, to commemorate its importance. In London, Bermondsey pumping station, built in 1902, is in use as an engineering works, but retains its chimney and accumulator tower, while the station at Wapping
Wapping Hydraulic Power Station
The Wapping Hydraulic Power Station was originally run by the London Hydraulic Power Company in Wapping, London, England. Originally it operated using steam and later it was converted to use electricity. It was used to power machinery, including lifts , across London...
is virtually complete, retaining all of its equipment, which is still in working order. The building is grade II* listed because of its completeness.
In Manchester, the Water Street pumping station, built in Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style between 1907 and 1909, was used as workshops for the City College, but has formed part of the People's History Museum
People's History Museum
The People's History Museum in Manchester, England is the United Kingdom's national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of working people in the UK...
since 1994. One of the pumping sets has been moved to the Museum of Science and Industry
Museum of Science and Industry
MOSI may refer to:* MoSi — molybdenum silicide, an important material in the semiconductor industry* MOSI - Master Out Slave In, a signal on the Serial Peripheral Interface Bus* MOSI protocol, an extension of the basic MSI cache coherency protocol...
, where it has been restored to working order and forms part of a larger display about hydraulic power. The pumps were made by the Manchester firm of Galloways.