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3D Satellite, 1,117 photos)
Matt Pyle
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==Turbine Topics==
This installment of Turbine Topics will be a bit more uplifting as we explore a facility that is still standing. Today we explore the waterworks of Richmond, Va. As one of the great cities of both the past and present Richmond was a city of rapid growth in the 1800’s. With that came a steadily increasing need for water for the residents of Richmond. Often, we think of hydro power as a force to generate electricity, but in this instance, it was utilized to pump water. The Richmond water works was comprised of both an upper and lower-level pumping stations. Though an impressive system in aggregate, with a total of 9 turbines between the two buildings (upper & lower),we will focus on the functionally and architecturally impressive and historically referenced “New” pumping station.
The new pumping station is a very visually and functionally diverse structure currently located in Byrd Park. This facility serves as the city’s waterworks from 1883 until about 1924. The pump station building was built and designed as both a public works and a recreational facility complete with a dance hall. This initially added to the facilities’ overall cost, which was met with a notable amount of local grumbling. The dance hall became a popular place and held many social gatherings until its eventual closure. The mighty structure built of granite with gothic revival flair is still sound standing and welcoming guests and is caringly maintained by local volunteers. The grounds are located in Byrd Park which contains many enjoyable trails and the exterior of the building is open to the public.
From a mechanical perspective the new station was comprised of 4 side-shot/jonval turbines. Side-shot turbines are a bit of a rarity outside of milling from my experience, but turbines of this variety are similar to the Turgo wheels that some may be familiar with. The water turbines each powered a set of triple cylinder water pumps with a capacity of moving 12 million gallons of water in a 24-hour period in total. Each plunger cylinder measured 14’’ in diameter and were 72’’ long configured in banks of three. The water entered the facility from a canal system that contained water from the James River under 20’ of head and was directed through iron pipes 5’ in diameter to the turbines. According to the publication “The American Engineer -1864” the side shot turbines with 21’ in ID and 28’ OD creating a great volume of surface area. In its current state the pumphouse has mostly been cleared of the original equipment but equipment foundations and wall penetrations remain to give clues about how things were originally laid out.
For those in the area or passing through Richmond has a lot of water powered industry and is a great place to visit. If you are looking to learn more about the conservation of this amazing structure, please visit the Friends of Pump house at the site below.
https://www.friendsofpumphouse.org/history.html
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