After we went to Repton we continued on to Burton on Trent – I think it is fair to say that Repton and Burton are miles apart! Leaving the town the I spotted a sign telling us that Claymills Victorian Pumping Station would be in steam the following Sunday (26 February). Here is their website. It is on the north side of the town at SK 263258, so just a short run down the A38 from home, then left over the railway, and easy parking. It is a Victorian sewerage pumping station – Julie was so excited. There was a lot of Burton sewerage to pump, including a lot of brewery waste. Some of the buildings date back to 1885.
There are four large beam engines (1885 by Gimson of Leicester), and three of them were in steam (one of them for the first time for many years). They were last all in use in 1969, just before the station was closed down, then they were all left to deteriorate – the archive photos show that the whole thing was in an awful state.
The boilers are quite amazing too – I bet the team keeping them fired lost a few lbs today (and more in the summer).
There were also other engines and models in steam, some old vehicles, a forge and wood turners, and a second hand book shed. Julie managed with all the site, though the disabled loo was not very accessible. They were very welcoming, and there was a good age range of people – lots of youngsters having a great time. Where better to spend a Sunday afternoon?
