johnsmachines

Well, I am off to Blighty tomorrow, to check out the originals of some of the models which I have made in recent years, and to pay homage to Richard Trevithick.

First stop London.  And the first stop in London is the Science Museum, where I will head straight for the Trevithick Dredger Engine.  This particular engine was made in 1806, but was designed by Trevithick several years earlier.  It was used to power a dredger on the River Thames.  Later the design was used to make steam engines to power the mills and factories of industrial England.  About 600 were made altogether, but this is the only surviving intact example, having been found in ~1878, and restored, albeit with some non authentic features.

I am due to arrive at Heathrow at 6am, and I cannot book into my accomodation until 2pm, so I will front up at the museum and put my case into storage while I spend some happy hours with the Trevithick, and browsing some of the rest of the museum.  I believe that the museum also houses a model of the road steam vehicle, which was built by a clockmaker for Trevithick as a proof of concept model.

So my next post here will hopefully include some photos of the above.    It is planned that this will all follow a 22 hour flight from Oz, via Singapore.  Not sure what shape I will be in, but hopefully I will have something to show you.

The next few days in London are planned to include The London Water and Steam Museum at Kewbridge, the pumping station at Kempton, The Crossness Engine at Abbey Wood, HMS Belfast, and maybe a return visit to pay my respects to the Harrison Clocks at Greenwich.  Busy busy!

Then a 4+ hour drive to York.  If I leave early enough I should reach York with enough time to visit the viking museum, and maybe even fit in a visit to the glorious minster.

The next day is scheduled for the National Railway Museum, which I have never seen before, and has been recommended by many bloggers.  And I will be meeting a reader of this blog, who will be showing me around the rail museum, and other interesting sites around York.

And so on.

I hope to be able to post some photos as I progress, but that will depend on Internet connections at my booked accomodations.  All Air BNB.

Later stops will include Manchester, Coventry, Leicester, Swansea, Merthyr Tydfil, Camborne, Dartmouth, Portsmouth.  Each place has been chosen so I can see outstanding museums, engines, mines, historic ships and places significant for Richard Trevithick.

The final stop at Portsmouth was mainly to visit the Fort Nelson Museum so I can see the Dardanelles Cannon close up.  But I will not miss the opportunity to see the Henry 8’s Mary Rose, HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, the submarine museum  etc etc.    Ben L, I will be in Portsmouth Tues 28 May pm until Fri 31 am if you are able to meet, perhaps one evening?

If you are getting the impression that I am very excited about this trip, you are absolutely correct!     John.