Bridge crane, health and safety control, electrical board panels, coating... : review of ongoing wor

Our scientific director Guido Vanderhulst reports about the progress of the restoration work over the last week:

"We've received the anti-rust coating approved by the heritage authorities. We applied two layers of the product on both Ingersoll Rand compressors, respecting 24 hours of drying time between the applications.

We will start applying the same product on the bridge crane on Monday, February 1st.

We have also found a chain that had disappeared from the bridge. The chain was used to move one of the carriages. We are still looking for two lifting hooks for the crane. Initial queries tell us they might be found in Antwerp and Mons.

We have removed the dials of the electrical panel to start its restoration. Now we are searching for a company that can remake the thirty missing dials with a metal stamping press. Afterwards, we will replace the missing glass together with a new background paper similar to the one that is still in place. The controllers of the table were dismounted and will be brushed before being mounted again with new cap nuts, probably in brass.

This Monday, we 've tested the cleaning process of the electrical board panels with a special and environment-friendly product. A safety inspector went at the time of testing to assess the safety of this product for our team.

As this trial has proved successful, the heritage authorities have been informed and we'll proceed with the cleaning of all marble panels. Taking into account that these panels have at least 20 years of graffiti, it is very likely that some traces will remain visible.

We will check one more time the cleaning and the rust removal of the De La Vergne compressor before the final coating. Its old layers of paint will remain perfectly visible though, marking the passing of time and reminding us of the period when the machine was abandoned.

In addition, lecturers from the Haute École Provinciale de Hainaut—Condorcet came to the machines room to study the feasibility of an electric motor to drive the flywheel of the De La Vergne compressor. The goal is to make the wheel turn together with its crankshaft and connecting rods at the speed of one revolution per minute. This would allow us to combine didactics and safety. After their first observations, the opinion of the teachers is positive. They will study the case with engineering students. Their findings will be presented to the responsible heritage authorities, in order to get the green light for executing the project”.

In the next post we will bring you more details about the restoration of the two Ingersoll Rand compressors. Stay tuned!