Rick, I found this article that you might very well be interested in because of the Tod engine connection.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LSJIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4oAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1296%2C575520 (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LSJIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4oAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1296%2C575520)
Thanks for that. But it does raise even more questions. I was aware of a vertical triple expansion pumping engine being installed at West Avenue, not a pair of horizontal cross compound pumping engines. These must have been in an earlier building than the pump house that now fronts West Avenue.
Could the great 1913 flood hold the key.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5GdKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jYYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3538%2C2412 (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5GdKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jYYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3538%2C2412)
I think that the old 1905 waterworks, with only 10 million gallon per day capacity quickly became too small as the needs of the city increased. I think the Tod triple expansion water pump was good for 20 MGPD which would have doubled their capacity.
If you want to see what a Tod triple expansion engine looked like here is one that was in Kent. I filmed it before it was scrapped. http://youtu.be/pcMwSJQAm0k?t=15m20s
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qyhKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xoUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1536%2C6959718 (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qyhKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xoUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1536%2C6959718)
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rChKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xoUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=923%2C7025458 (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rChKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xoUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=923%2C7025458)
Thanks for sharing the video. That machinery was really huge.
Yes it was. But that was a small pump. In Buffalo, NY at the Col. Ward Pumping Station there are five of these engines in one building, and all are about twice the size of the Kent pump. A group does tours of that station once a year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmR6s2bKNNE