Bronze Age Gold from Wales

Steam engine from Barry Refuse Destructor Yard.
Horizontal single cylinder steam engine of 254mm bore by 508mm stroke, made for 100 lb pressure and 110 rpm by Tangyes of Birmingham. Used at the Barry Destructor Yard to generate electricity from circa 1900. It has a trunk type of crosshead guide, a marine style big end bearing, an 'outboard' main bearing, a disc crank, a flywheel of 1830mm dia., a Pickering style governor which is driven by a flat belt, steel cylinder cladding. It has a mechanical lubricator by J&W Kirkham Ltd., Lark Street Works, Bolton - this looks to be a later addition.
Paintwork is not original. Colour - Green, Black, Red.

Towards the end of the 19th century it became apparent that the practice of leaving domestic refuse and rubbish to decay naturally in large piles of the outskirts of towns, created major health hazards.

By the turn of the century about sixty towns had established refuse destructor plants where the refuse was taken and burnt in large boilers. Some of the steam from the boiler drove and engine and, as in the case of the Barry plant, it provided electricity to light both the plant and an adjacent school. The remaining steam drove a mortar mill. The ash from the burnt refuse was ground up with lime and water to form mortar used to lay paving and kerbstones along the streets of Barry.

This engine drives a dynamo which, in turn, produces electricity for lighting purposes. Arc lamps were the earliest form of lighting but, when the dynamo rotated too slowly the arc would flicker sharply. Belts and pulleys were then used to rotate the dynamo much faster than the engine, thereby avoiding any flickering effect.

Source: Welsh Industrial & Maritime Museum Guidebook, 1984