{"id":7555,"date":"2017-08-20T10:22:48","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T15:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=7555"},"modified":"2017-08-20T11:54:59","modified_gmt":"2017-08-20T16:54:59","slug":"steam-and-smoke-from-the-hands-of-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=7555","title":{"rendered":"Steam and smoke! From the hands of man."},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday I made yet another run to Mystic Seaport and this time it was for the 26th annual Antique Marine Engine show. \u00a0It’s on this weekend, every year, that enthusiasts from all over the US converge to show off their antique and model engines, many of which are steam powered.<\/p>\n

Normally I take photos of everything and leave it at that but there is nothing quite like all those well oiled parts spinning and pumping away that calls for videos too.<\/p>\n

There were hundreds, dare I say thousands (lest I sound like Trump and his perspective of the inauguration crowd) of engines on display, many spinning away happily for the eager crowds. \u00a0There were plenty to oogle at and I did with breathless anticipation of what was coming next. \u00a0I hope you will feel that way too as you scroll down the page.<\/p>\n

The seaport had set up an elaborate steam generating plant, \u00a06 or 8′ in diameter and housed in a large portable shed on wheels, and had put up hundreds of feet of black pipe and valves running to dozens of steam engines happily chuffing away.\u00a0\"\"The first engines that you come across are the big ones owned by the Seaport, only on display for this one weekend each year. \u00a0For the rest of the time they are tucked away in a warehouse. \u00a0 Some are quite large like this vertical steam engine manufactured in 1915. \u00a0It’s still working like a champ after all those years. \u00a0Want to know the HP of this one? \u00a0Sorry, even they don’t know. \u00a0\"\"There was plenty of spent steam swirling around in spite of temperatures in the mid 80s. \"\"While they say that a “picture is worth a thousand words”, when it comes to steam engines, a picture is nothing like a “moving picture”.