Leavitt-Riedler Pumping Engine - Boston, MA - Engineering Landmarks on Waymarking.com

In Boston, in an area known as Chestnut Hill and next to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, is a newly opened museum that contains the Leavitt-Reidler Pump, a former high capacity pump for the reservoir.

The Waterworks Museum was opened on March 27, 2011, after years of effort by several people to secure the location as a museum about the Metropolitan Waterworks. A large crowd gathered to view inside the building, which includes a large open space with several pumps installed including the landmark pumps. See the museum's web site for details on when the facilities are open.

The ASME web site has the following about the pumps:

"This machine is an unusual triple-expansion, three-crank rocker engine, which in its day was a high-capacity unit providing outstanding performance for the Boston Water Works Corporation. Designed by Erasmus Darwin Leavitt, Jr. (1836-1916), Engine No. 3 was installed in 1894 to a high-service pumping facility on the south side of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir in Brighton.

"This steam engine made use of Leavitt's vertical and inverted cylinders with four gridiron valves each activated by its own cam. Steam jackets were applied to the heads and barrels of each cylinder with tubular reheaters in between. Steam at boiler pressure was supplied to all jackets and to the tubular reheaters, enabling expanded steam to pass through the high-pressure then low-pressure cylinders. High velocity was achieved through the pump valve mechanism, introduced by Leavitt a year earlier, based on the design from Austrian Professor Riedler from Berlin. "

The building that houses the museum is an impressive sight on its own. It is a stone building in the Richardsonian-Italian Romanesque architecture. Parking spots are reserved for the museum; however, be sure that you are in one as other parking spots are for residents in the condominiums around the building.

The pump was designated as ASME's 2nd landmark in 1973. The plaque is located at the base of the pump that is located near the entrance to the room from the main entrance to the building.

Location: Metropolitan Waterworks Museum (Formerly the Chestnut Hill Pumping Station) 2436 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02167 Type of structure/site: Pump Date of Construction: 1/1/1894 Engineer/Architect/Builder etc.: Erasmus Darwin Leavitt, Jr., Designer, based on concepts by Prof. Riedler of Austria Engineering Organization Listing: American Society of Mechanical Engineers Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Web Site: [Web Link]

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