The Planet Steam Engine.

This is a working replica of Robert Stevenson Planet Steam Engine It was an upgrade from the George Stevens Rocket,which incidentally ran over an MP. a Mr W Huskisson who died on its first journey to Liverpool. The first railway fatality ever. The Planet has been fired up with lots of other Steam and other early transport systems, by the M O S. (Manchester Museum of Science ) for the Week End.

The World's First Railway Station.

Liverpool Road Station was the Worlds First Inter City Railway Station. This is where the Rocket started as a Passenger Service from Manchester to Liverpool on 15/09/1830. The Route went over Chat Moss Swamp, a Major Headache. Stevenson managed to cure this with Wood and Heather sunk in to the Swamp. The Lines Still Rock when Modern Train use the same line.

The Planet Close Up

The Planets Boiler with its Wooden Cover looks Great.

All aboard?

The Friends of the MOS, take pride in helping the Museum to run the Engines just for Fun.

At the Controls.

On the Foot Plate with the Volunteer Driver.

The Points

We are taken on a 10 minute Journey pulled by the Steam Engine Planet and the Drivers Mate gets out to change the points to be diverted down a branch line.

The Rolls Bentley

This is a Wonderful Vintage Rolls Bentley was the Pride of Britain's Motor Manufactures. When it was made the price of the car was immaterial.

The Pink Cadillac

This Cadillac appears in a well known T V advert for Sheilas Wheels ( Car Insurance ) company where three young ladies in Pink Sequence Dresses Sing about Cars.

Left Hand Drive.

The back view of the Cadillac. You can just see the Card Board Cut Outs of the Girls on the back seat of the car which of course is left hand drive being American.

A Steam Roller.

Of course any Vintage Steam Transport Display would not be complete with out a Steam Roller.

A Steam Waggon .

The Steam Waggon with four road wheels and was used for towing heavy loads, or used in farm work for Driving Threshing Machines with its Belt Drive with the Steam Waggons Fly Wheel.

A Three Foot High Working Model.

This is a Superb Working Model of a Garratt Designed Steam Engine it must be worth a fortune. It has an Engine back and front and the Boiler in the Middle and it is Articulated.

The K 1.

This is front part of the K1 Engine Made by Beyer, & Co. Ltd in 1909. The Steam Engine is three parts, and is Articulated with Boiler in the Middle and 2 steam engines one at each end. H.W. Garret's Patent in 1907. The beauty of the design was it could travel on railway lines that had sharp bends in it. So they were popular in Australia and Africa. This one saw service in Tasmania.

The Other Side of the K1.

This is a almost a full view of the K1 engine it is fully steamed up to work but is mounted on a Low Loader to difficult to put on the track at the Museum.

The K1 Front Side.

The K1 again a Very Special Engine Mounted on the Low Loader (with Steam up ) so going no where. A hundred years old and still in good working order incidentally made in Manchester.

A Saddle Back Engine.

This is a Saddle Back Engine. The Water Tank is the Saddle which is full of water and is heated up by the heat from the boiler before it goes in to the boiler to make steam. Unfortunately it gave the Engine a High Centre of Gravity so ended up in shunting yards instead of main line work. It was built in 1879.

Horse Drawn Tram.

This is the L53 Horse Tram developed by John Eades. A very clever design. When it got to the terminus the body, is on a turntable, the horses just walked round turning the body round to the opposite end to go back the way they came. About 550 were made in 1877 onwards.

Stairs to the Open Top Deck.

At the Back of the Tram where the people got on, you could go up or down. The top deck is open to the elements. So if it was raining everybody crammed in the bottom deck to keep dry.

The Tram

A side view of the Tram showing it's route through South Manchester and the start of Advertising Slogans on Public Transport.

The Giant Mural

The Back Drop to the Steam Engine"Planet" is a Huge Painted Mural all about the Start of the Steam Age which changed the Face of Britain for Ever. The Industrial Revolution was here to Stay.

The Heavy Haulage Lorries.

I remember Steam Lorries going up and down in Trafford Park Industrial Estate. Steam Lorries took along time to become usable and needed constant coal and water to keep running. So heavy haulage diesel motors spelt the death knell of Steam Waggons. This is a Foden Motor powered unit.

The Tank.

This World War Two Tank is in the Exibitition. I suppose you can call it Vintage Transport?

A Great Mural.

The Planet Steam Engine and Foot Plate Volunteers take five besides the Giant Mural.

The Range Rover

This Older Range Rover was one of the First Rovers to win a Rally using Chip Fat for Fuel

A Diesel Engine

Built between 1961 and 1964 at a Cost of £81,000 Pounds at Beyer, Peacock. Did main line service with a maximum speed of 90 miles per hour. Withdrawn from Service 1973.

Lancashire and Yorkshire Engine

Built by Beyer Peacock in 1887. They were known as the "Iron Clads" after the Battle Ships that were being built at the time. This one retired in 1965 after working for the coal pits to Hull and Goole for the Steam Ships. They engine starred in the Film "The Railway Children"

The Pender

This Sectioned Engine was Made By Beyer Peacock and Used on the Isle of Man Railway and was with drawn from service in the 1950s

The Vulcan

This is the Vulcan Foundry Locomotive 4-4-0 wheel configuration, built in 1911.

Close Up of the Pender

This is Close Up showing the Complexities of the Construction of a Steam Engine. This one was a working Steam Engine from the Isle of Man it was able to pull 7 carriages with 400 people on board. It was with drawn in the 1950s.

Model Railways (Beyer-Garratt)

This superb Steam Engined Model Railway lay out is Based on Garratt type engines. The Ttarrag Shed Engines are 16mm Coal and Spirit fired run by enthusiasts since 2002. (Ttarrag- is Garratt backwards if you hadn't noticed)

A Great Display

The Details of this Model Railway layout is astonishing and a Credit to the Enthusiasts.

Morris Men?

Outside the Vintage Transport Exhibition these (Bill and Ben ) flower pot men caught my eye, or are they Morris Men? They could be Special Branch Police Men in disguise. Ha Ha. What do you think?

The Entrance to the Crematorium and Dunham Lawn Cemetery.

In our Local Paper I spotted an Invitation to look round our Nearest Crematorium. So being Nosey I went. I thought you all may be Interested?

Front View of Complex.

This is the Front of the Crematorium with the Chimney at the back. Behind the Glass Windows the area is full of flowers and door that leads to the Chapel of Rest.

The Chimney.

A view of the Big Chimney. I used to think that bodies were burnt at night, but not so. They are burnt with in five minutes of going through the curtains. With no smoke what so ever.

The Flowers for the Dead.

The Flowers that Come with the Coffin are placed here on the Name Cards of the Deceased so that the Mourners can read the Messages that are on the Flowers. Unfortunately the Local Squirrel's also like the Flowers to Eat.

Calm and Tranquility.

This Gold Fish Pond and the Fountain is Designed to give the Grieving Relatives a Sort of Peace about the Deceased Person.

The Entrance to the Crem.

This is where the Funeral Cortege comes in off the Road. The Building is the Office.

The Music Room

This is the Music Room, a small room that the operator helps to control what is happening in the Chapel of Rest. CDs which there are plenty plays music or will play the families preferred music in to the Chapel of Rest. The Slit in the wall is a window in to the Chapel so he can see whats going on. The chapel holds about 60 Mourners.

The Altar

In the Chapel of Rest the visiting clergyman takes the service and talks about the departed persons life that he has gleaned from the family. The Undertaker asks the family who they want to conduct the service or they can suggest some one. On the rostrum there is button to press which closes the curtains around the coffin when the service has finished.

The Coffin Stand

At the moment the Curtains are Open and you see the Coffin Stand (no coffin their) of course when the curtains close that's the end of the service. The coffin and the body will never be seen again. The only person who can stop a Cremation is The Chief of Police if he suspects a crime.

The Oven Stand with Rollers .

The Stainless Steel Stand that swivels to meet the Coffin Stand where the Coffin is pushed on rollers to the Oven Stand which is aligned with the ovens. The time taken is less than five minutes.

The Stand that Goes into the Oven

The oven stand has an Arm that can be extended in to the very hot oven to put the new coffin in to the centre of the oven. It's then withdrawn leaving the Coffin ready to be Cremated, when the doors are shut. (Doors at either end of the oven)

A Plan of the Ovens

The Plan of the Three ovens and who makes them with a Plan of the Fume Cleansing System. The Photo on the right shows the back of the ovens.

The Computer Records Control Room.

In the Computer Room all the Records are kept. The names and the dates are printed out on the labels for the Ash Canisters. The ovens have their own controls for the Burners.

The Other Side of the Oven.

This is the Back Side of one of the ovens. (Three Doors ) The Top Door is for viewing to see if the coffin and body has gone. As the body disintegrates it drops through large holes in the floor of the oven in to the Ash Pit Below. Any ash left in the oven is raked in to the Ash Pit till clean ready for the next coffin to be cremated. The middle door is to the Ash Pit which is then raked out clean in to a square bucket placed in the bottom door. So there is no contamination of Ash what so ever.

The Control Panel.

Each of the Three Ovens have their own Control Box which Controls the Gas and Air mixture to adjust the Temperature in side the Ovens. Eight Hundred Centigrade is the Temp required. A Coffin and Body takes about 80 to 90 Minutes to turn to Ash. The maximum number of Cremations in a 9 am to 5 pm day is 13. No coffins are stored on the premises over night. Heart Pace Makers have to be removed before the Body comes to the Crematorium as they are Radio Active and would pollute the atmosphere.

The Search for Metal.

The Ashes are put through a Magnetic Sieve which knocks out things like Hip Joints, Bone Pins and Undertakers Clips which are used to make the Deceased Clothes fit properly.

The Grinding Machine.

This is the Grinding Machine with the Green Canister underneath. The remains are ground to a semi-fine powder in too the Canister. The Label with the Christian and Surname of the person is all ready installed on the Canister. There can be no mistakes.

The Ash Canisters or Urns.

In the Grinding Room the Shelves on the Wall have the Green Urns all named and will be given to the Grieving Relatives when the Stone Plaque has been Carved and Gilded with the Name, which can take several weeks. The family are given a Curb Stone Place where the Plaque will be installed. A fee for Ten Years has to be Paid. When Curb Stone is installed with the Plaque the Family are asked to attend and small hole is dug behind the curb stone and some of the ashes are put in and the turf put back on top.