Internal Fire Museum of Power facts for kids
View into Hall 1
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| Location | Tan-y-groes, Ceredigion, Wales |
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| Type | Technology museum |
The Internal Fire Museum of Power is a cool place in West Wales where you can see lots of amazing engines. These engines are mostly big ones that use "internal combustion." This means they make power by burning fuel inside them.
The museum has many large engines. They were once used to make electricity or pump water. You can find this museum in Tan-y-groes, Ceredigion, which is close to Cardigan. It's a great spot to learn how these powerful machines work!
What You Can See
Many of the engines at the museum have been fixed up. They are now in working order. This means you can often see and hear them running when you visit! It's exciting to see history come to life.
Diesel Engines
The museum is home to a very special engine. It is the oldest working diesel engine in the United Kingdom. This engine was built in 1912 by a company called Sulzer. It has one cylinder and uses a method called "air-blast injection." This was part of the original design by Rudolf Diesel himself.
Steam Engines
Imagine a museum with over 200 tons of working engines! The Internal Fire Museum has exactly that. These engines are spread across nine different halls. In 2020, the museum was busy setting up a new hall just for steam engines.
This new hall now holds a huge 1903 J & E Wood engine. It is a 500 horsepower "tandem compound" engine. There is also an 1879 John Penn engine. This one is a "twin cylinder oscillating paddle steamer" that came from a ship called the Empress. You can also see smaller steam engines, including the only Petter steam engine still in existence.
In 2017, the museum received another special award-winning exhibit. This was a 1901 Willans engine. It had three cylinders and made 140 horsepower. This engine was used until 1957 at the Maples furniture shop in London. After it stopped working there, it was put on display at the original Willans factory.
Gas Turbine Engines
One of the most interesting things at the museum is a "Pocket Power Station." This unique machine gets its power from a Bristol Proteus gas turbine engine. These types of power stations were used by electricity companies. They could make 2.7 megawatts of power. They were also controlled from far away.
These power stations were designed to run for about ten years. But many of them were still working forty years later! In 2010, this amazing engine received an Engineering Heritage Award. It shows how well these powerful machines were built.
Other Cool Museums
- Anson Engine Museum
- Prickwillow Museum
- Museum of Power, in the former Southend Waterworks, Essex
