Water Spray Cart

Water Spray Cart

/ March 25, 2009 / Leave a comment / News

25th March 2009

Work has started on a street watering cart, a vehicle that has sat in store at Beamish for many years. I have long wanted to see one of these in action and we are now carrying out a rapid restoration of the cart in the hope that we can water the colliery yard and street this summer, areas very prone to becoming dusty – much to the discomfort of visitors and and also the detriment of the collections (the dust being excellent at finding its way into mechanical objects, buildings and onto wet paint).

First job is to record the cart, followed by shot blasting to remove the paintwork from an earlier restoration.

Above: The shot-blasting clearly reveled the original makers plate, previously obscured by peeling paint and rust.

Above: A selection of views showing the lid of the water tank, the rear brackets which hold the water trough which gives the spray of fine droplets of water and the lever that controls the plug valve. These items have been dispatched to David Young’s workshop for overhaul.

Above: Meanwhile, Davy Sheen has primed the whole cart. A survey revealed a number of thin areas in the tank, three of which had completely perforated. It is intended to line the tank with glass fibre, to ensure it is watertight but at the same time retain the original metal.

Above: Welding repairs to the broken casting upon which the lid and the plug valve mechanism are mounted. David Sheen carried out the welding while David Young has replaced the cross rods, refixed the crank and made a pattern for a new lid. This was all carried out within a week of commencing the project!
Once the glass fibre lining is in place, painting will continue. The livery will be the new standard Beamish livery for service vehicles – Oxford blue with red wheels and shaft. Some lettering will be carried – either N.E.O.M Roads Department of (favoured) Beamish R.D.C (Rural District Council). The street sweeper that the Friends are restoring will also bear this livery: