Until recently the only ram I’d seen working was in a National Trust property, although I’d heard a few still going inside locked huts at other locations.
Then over the course of a couple of trips in the summer I came across about a dozen, first two in Staffs, then a whole clutch in Lancs.
These are not derelict or abandoned, they’re people’s working pumps so no explicit locations are given - I doubt anyone else will want to look at them anyway.
Some are old pumps marked on maps, one is an old one which seemed to have been moved, and others are not on maps presumably because they’re more recent.
All pictures are phone.
Starting with a couple in a steep wooded valley in Staffs.
These are in two huts ranged up a path, each containing a ram and a reservoir/filtration tank further uphill.
Both huts were locked but one had a hole in the roof large enough to slide a phone and torch through.
Reservoir, hut and inside.
You can often hear working rams long before you see them, and these were particularly noisy ones with shock waves thwacking up and down the exposed drive pipes.
Another one in Staffs, one of a pair on a private estate (the other one wasn’t working) - reservoir and ram.
Now for several fairly close together in Lancs - the reservoir for this one was uphill to the right.
Another further up the same valley.
The first of three in a nearby valley with a random truck on the way in since people seem to like this sort of thing.
e3v
And a pair nearby.
f3v
Finally, one near Burnley - I wasn’t expecting there to be much left since it’s next to the sort of steep stream which normally erodes away ram huts leaving just a few bricks.
But it was still there, clogged up with ochre with a faint thumping audible from outside.
I had to let it breath for a minute after opening the lid due to a build up hydrogen sulphide, which is slowly rotting away the metal.
Reservoir…
…hut and ram.
g5v
These things make interesting noises so I airdropped some phone clips over to junior with a few choice phrases and asked him to make a ‘song’.
The result, the product of an half hour or so with Garage Band, is mostly constructed from pump noises with the beginning sounding a bit like Art Of Noise or Depeche Mode for those ancient enough to have heard of them.
Pump Noise Edit
Then over the course of a couple of trips in the summer I came across about a dozen, first two in Staffs, then a whole clutch in Lancs.
These are not derelict or abandoned, they’re people’s working pumps so no explicit locations are given - I doubt anyone else will want to look at them anyway.
Some are old pumps marked on maps, one is an old one which seemed to have been moved, and others are not on maps presumably because they’re more recent.
All pictures are phone.
Starting with a couple in a steep wooded valley in Staffs.
These are in two huts ranged up a path, each containing a ram and a reservoir/filtration tank further uphill.
Both huts were locked but one had a hole in the roof large enough to slide a phone and torch through.
Reservoir, hut and inside.
You can often hear working rams long before you see them, and these were particularly noisy ones with shock waves thwacking up and down the exposed drive pipes.
Another one in Staffs, one of a pair on a private estate (the other one wasn’t working) - reservoir and ram.
Now for several fairly close together in Lancs - the reservoir for this one was uphill to the right.
Another further up the same valley.
The first of three in a nearby valley with a random truck on the way in since people seem to like this sort of thing.
e3v
And a pair nearby.
f3v
Finally, one near Burnley - I wasn’t expecting there to be much left since it’s next to the sort of steep stream which normally erodes away ram huts leaving just a few bricks.
But it was still there, clogged up with ochre with a faint thumping audible from outside.
I had to let it breath for a minute after opening the lid due to a build up hydrogen sulphide, which is slowly rotting away the metal.
Reservoir…
…hut and ram.
g5v
These things make interesting noises so I airdropped some phone clips over to junior with a few choice phrases and asked him to make a ‘song’.
The result, the product of an half hour or so with Garage Band, is mostly constructed from pump noises with the beginning sounding a bit like Art Of Noise or Depeche Mode for those ancient enough to have heard of them.
Pump Noise Edit
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