HI everyone:


thanks for all the input and pics, you never know what might come out of a subject but this has really been a good run, and I am sure educational for everyone stopping in.

One thing that I have always been pondering over the years was how the builders from old hoisted up into place the 45 foot stack on the steam engine at UCV, now we used a crane when we restored it in '84

There was a good 1870 photograph of the stack lying on an incline with its top resting on the roof of the steam engine house when it was being installed at that time it was from this photograph that we were able to reconstruct the stack faithfully to its original design

This stack was quite heavy I would say probably about 2000 lbs
It had to be lifted up in a vertical position, above the roof of the steam engine house and gently lowered down onto the top of the boiler,that was already installed and waiting for the stack to be positioned.

In my mind this is the proceedure that I believe they used:

-utilizing a 40 foot gin pole, and grasped the stack slightly above the centre line. The lift began with ropes and cables attached

The stack was hoisted to the approximate height of 35 feet from the ground level. At this time the stack was gently stood upright the bottom approx 15 feet from the ground using mooring ropes attached to the bottom.

The gin and the vertical stack was then slowly positined over the opening in the roof and lowered carefully down into its final resting position on top of the boiler.

Final tethering of the stack then took place to complete the installation

I invite comments on this proceedure as it is only my idea just how this might have been done at that time we had no information about the installation just the photograph of the new stack ready for installation.

As I said I have pondered many times how this was done I am now inviting comments from you guys and maybe a few engineers out there who might be looking in.

Thanks again for stopping by

NH