No doubt many will have heard of Internal Fire Museum, be that because of their appearances on TV shows such as Salvage Hunters or their display stand which can be seen at several shows throughout the summer, including Tractor Fest at Newby Hall, Welland & Breamore House.
The chances are though, that unless you have visited the museum, you will not realise just how big it is and how much of our industrial heritage they have on display. As the name suggests the main theme is Internal Combustion engines, and they have hundreds of engines on display, ranging in size from fractional horse power, model engineer built kits, through to some of real giants such as the Allan 3S47 which stands approx 13 feet tall, with the flywheel alone weighing 9 tonnes. The overall weight of the engine is in the region of 28 tonnes. Another giant sits opposite the Allen 3S47 in display Hall 1. This is a Ruston & Hornsby 6VE which weighs over 30tonnes and was originally installed at the Moorside Edge transmitting station near Sheffield. Seeing these two giants as you first enter the museum really sets the scene for what awaits elsewhere.
The Allen 3S47
The Ruston & Hornsby 6VE
Opened in 2003, the museum was the brain child of its curator Paul Evans. Paul along with long suffering wife Hazel moved from the Isle of Man to Tan-Y-Groes near Cardigan in West Wales and quickly began setting up an engine museum. With them from the Isle of Man, they brought several large engines, including a Petter Atomic TX, Ruston 9H and a National Gas Engine Co “P type”.
When the museum first opened, there were two display halls housing engines, with several running each day that the museum was open. The star of the show back then was the 162hp Tangye MLD7. This twin cylinder open crank diesel is still a regular runner and always draws a crowd. As well as the engines, there was also a small shop & cafe, serving tea, coffee and other refreshments.
The Tangye MLD7
Ruston & Hornsby 9H
Fast forward to the present day and several new buildings have been erected to house the ever-growing collection, whilst some of the existing farm buildings have been converted to engine display sheds, a much larger cafe and another into an archive room (More on that later). The museum now has a huge collection of our industrial heritage on display, with an extensive variety of old petrol, diesel & gas engines, as well as a fully working radio room & telephone exchange. Another addition has been an ever increasing collection of working steam engines, including the only known Petter (Yeovil) steam engine known to survive. The steam display has taken a lot of work to complete, but it now houses many running engines, including what is believed to be the only known running Willans central valve engine.
The Petter steam engine
A triple expansion steam engine
Away from the steam hall and back with the internal combustion engine, there are several other historically significant engines on display. One such example is a 1912 Sulzer air blast injection diesel engine. The basic design is the same as Dr Diesel’s first engine and it is thought to be the oldest working diesel engine in the UK & one of the oldest in the world.
The Sulzer is thought to be the oldest working diesel engine in the UK
The museum puts an emphasis on displaying engines in their working environment, and to this effect they have recreated the look of several period engine rooms in the individual engine bays. One example of this sees a 1920 Tangye AA dual ignition (hot bulb & high tension magneto) oil engine, driving a Tangye triple ram, high pressure water pump. As would have been the case in many old engine rooms, the bay is lined out with tiles to give the period look.
The 1920 Tangye AA oil engine and Tangye water pump
At present there are well over 300 tonnes of installed engines which are run regularly! It’s not just engines though. As well as the earlier mentioned telephone exchange & radio room, the museum also now has a display of vintage motorbikes and is partnered with the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust. The motorbike display is a throwback to curator Paul’s younger days when he used to race bikes, including around the famous Manx TT circuit.
The museum gained full accreditation with the Arts Council in 2010. Over the years it has won a number of awards and also made several television appearances. Accredited status shows that the museum works to an internationally agreed set of standards.
Away from the physical exhibits, the museum also houses an extensive archive, which features original documents, sales records, drawings and much more. These documents space numerous manufacturers. The biggest and most well-known example is the Petter archive, which consists of over 500,000 images, which have been scanned from microfilms. Other manufacturers include John Fowler & Co, Wolseley, Brush & Paxman to name but a few. It is a real credit to the museum that not only have they saved these documents, they are also available to view online, by registering at www.internalfire.com
The museum is open to the public on various days between Easter & October. For opening dates and times, please visit the museums website.
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