Full steam ahead hopes for listed pumping station
BBCA team of volunteers is looking for for help to keep preserving and improving their Grade II listed heritage site.
From 1901, the Coleham Pumping Station has dominated part of Shrewsbury's skyline in Shropshire, with its 25m-high (82ft) chimney and historical buildings.
When its chimney was found to be leaning, the site, which had been operating as a museum, was forced to shut in 2022.
Since then, the volunteers of The Shrewsbury Steam Trust have been working tirelessly to preserve the vintage engines on the site with hopes they can once again welcome members of the public.
"It's such a wonderful building, people just need to see this, it is part of Shrewsbury's heritage and we've had a worrying time, wondering what's going to happen," said Karen Davies, the only woman in the group of volunteers.
For 70 years, the pumping station was in operation, using two steam engines to pump sewage away from homes as part of the town's new system.
Electric pumps do the job now, but every Tuesday, the trust members get together to keep the old engines in working condition.
But they admit they need others to join their small team.
"It would be lovely to see the engines going again, they've been sitting for so long and we've been trying to look after them but they're happiest when they're in steam," John Seales, a committee member, admitted.
"It's nice to see everything in steam, the boilers going, the heat coming off the boilers and being in that engine room and just looking at those engines turning over, magnificent beasts they are."
Shropshire Council, which owns the buildings, confirmed that the chimney had now been deemed safe,
The trust might be able to host an open day later this year once the pipes have been installed, the necessary tests carried out and all the appropriate certificates obtained.
While hope lies on the horizon for the group of enthusiasts, some challenges still push their public deadline further from their grasp.
"When we were shut down, all our income streams died and we've been living off our savings for a rainy day and now a rainy day has come," Noel Foley, the group's treasurer, explained.
The team had to pay about £12,000 for the pipework to the boilers to be replaced and will also have to fork out another £1,000 for insurance.
"We're quite short of funds at the moment, having spent a lot of money on replacing this pipework," Seales said.
"There's a lack of volunteers. We need to regenerate the volunteers so that we can keep going in the future.
"Keeping the enthusiasm of the volunteers going has been difficult at times."
Despite the setbacks, the group say they are looking forward to once again being able to invite the public in, to see a slice of Shrewsbury's history.
"It's been a long worrying haul," chief engineer John Maclean said.
"There are many people who have put in so much work over the last 20 years and to see all that going again would be lovely."
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