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Let off steam at Eastney this weekend

A world famous inventor is visiting Eastney Beam Engine House this weekend to showcase his steam bicycle and other steam-powered creations.

Eastney Beam Engine in Henderson Road, Eastney is open from 1pm to 5pm on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 June and admission is free. Installed in 1887, the Victorian beam engine used steam power to pump sewage off Portsea Island.

Dorset inventor Geoff Hudspith uses his home as a workshop to create a series of amazing steam-powered inventions. Known around the world for his steam bicycle, which he designed and built himself in 1994 to his own design, Geoff will also be demonstrating the world's first steam powered gramaphone.

The bicycle carries a miniature steam engine, which can drive it along at a speed of 8mph. Geoff built the gramaphone from old parts and then created a small steam engine to power it.

Andrew Whitmarsh from the city council's museums service said: "Geoff Hudspith has created some amazing steam-powered machines, in the great tradition of British inventors. Come to Eastney Beam Engine House this week and see him demonstrate them."

An impressive Victorian building in Henderson Road, the Beam Engine House contains a pair of classic Boulton Watt beam engines and pumps restored to their original 1887 condition. Because the city is a low-lying island with poor natural drainage, sewage and waste often polluted the water supply in the early nineteenth century, resulting in many deaths from diseases such as cholera. A new drainage system was introduced in 1868 using gravity to move sewage across Portsea Island to Eastney, from where it was pumped out to sea.

However as the city's population increased, more pumping power was needed and the beam engines that can still be seen today were installed in 1887 to pump sewage off Portsea Island. The engines played an important part in improving the health and living standards of everyone in Portsmouth. When they were retired from normal use, the beam engines were still kept in operating condition as a backup until 1954.

Run by Portsmouth Museums & Records Service, the Beam Engine House is open for the last complete weekend for ten months of the year from 1pm-5pm. Admission is free - the last admission is 30 minutes before closing. Access for disabled visitors is limited, so please phone for details.

For more information about Geoff's bike see the link below:

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pattle/nacc/arc0373.htm

Contact: (023) 9282 7261 for more information.

Date : 24 June 2008