The Internal Fire Museum of Power is a museum of

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal c ...

s in

West Wales West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheub ...

. The museum's collection is mostly of larger stationary

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s, as used for generating sets and pumping stations. The museum is located at Tan-y-groes,

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...

, near Cardigan.

Exhibits

Most of the engines have been restored to working order. Several engines are in operation when the museum is open.

Diesel

The museum has the oldest working diesel engine in the UK, a 1912 Sulzer single cylinder air-blast injection Diesel, an example of the original

Rudolf Diesel Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel (, ; 18 March 1858 – 29 September 1913) was a German inventor and mechanical engineer who is famous for having invented the diesel engine, which burns diesel fuel; both are named after him. Early life and educat ...

design.

Steam

The museum houses over 200 tons of working engines in nine halls and in 2020 was in the process of creating a new steam hall to house a 1903, J & E Wood, 500 hp tandem compound along with an 1879, John Penn, twin cylinder oscillating paddle steamer (ex Empress) as well as a number of smaller engines including the only surviving Petter steam engine. In 2017, the museum's second Engineering Heritage Award exhibit arrived. A 1901, 140 bhp three cylinder Willans engine generating set had been used until 1957 at the Maples furniture shop in London. On retirement this had been placed on display at the original Willans factory in Rugby

Gas turbine

One of the museum's most unusual exhibits was a 'Pocket Power Station', powered by a Bristol Proteus gas turbine engine. The regional electricity board installed several 2.7MW, remote-operated, generation sets for peak load powered by the Proteus. Designed to run for ten years many were still in use forty years later. In 2010 this was recognised with an Engineering Heritage Award.

References

External links