Bradford Industrial Museums Fire Pump

Just wanted to share this post of another one of the engines we run at Bradford Industrial Museum & thought it might be of interest so I’ve gathered a bit of history. Unfortunately, it runs on an electric motor now and originally steam but at least it still going.

So this steam pump or donkey engine which was used until 1930 to pump water to rising mains for the purpose of fighting fires in Victoria Mill, (H. Masons Ltd) Shipley in Bradford. The fire circuit was made up of 16 men, who were also part-time mill workers. The pump has 2 cylinders, 14 inches in diameter with a stroke of 18 inches and the water rams being 9 inches in diameter. The large vessel over the pump many people ask me contains a quantity of air to cushion the intermittent pressure of the pumps to ease the water pressure on the cast iron mains. In 1971 the pump house was demolished during building works and the pump was moved here at Bradford Industrial Museum