Outstanding Pics and reports, thanks
Ahead of BPS opening to the public this Friday, I thought I'd dig back through the archive and pop up a few photos that I'd previously not shared.
Starting with Control Room A
View attachment 519691
So true. When turning those controls and flicking the switches, one felt and often heard what was happening inside the cabinet. A bit like turning the knobs on an old Baby Belling. There was a direct connection between one's fingers and the result. Perhaps the first time I enjoyed that was when 'driving' the Atco 18 inch wide cylinder mower to cut the large lawns at my parents' guest house. I'd have been 12 or 13. Push over the clutch handle, open the throttle and it would come to life under my control. Using one's hands and legs when riding a horse is another example of that continuum of thought, action and result. Driving a steam locomotive is another example of engineering where everything is there to be seen; regulator, brake levers, injector valves, etc - all manually operated. As with fly-by-wire aircraft, and modern cars where there is no mechanical connection from the accelerator pedal, it is a 'push button' world. The power may be there, but the sensation has gone.Those shots at the start of the thread are stunning. Shows just how fantasic old engineering could look!
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