Traction Engine Pulling a 7 Feet Diameter Section of Sewerage Outfall Pipe
AssociatedAssociated with
George Philip
AssociatedAssociated with
Girdleness Outfall Scheme
(Aberdeen, Scotland, founded 1899)
AttributedAttributed to
George Washington Wilson and Company
(Aberdeen, Scotland, 1852 - 1908)
Date1902-1906
Object NameNegative
MediumGlass
ClassificationsScience And Technology
Dimensions16.4 x 21.4cm
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS065348
About MeA seven feet diameter section cast iron pipe for the Girdleness sewerage outfall being pulled by a steam traction engine along Greyhope Road, circa 1902. This major piece of civil engineering, which required boring through hard granitic rock and under the River Dee, was designed to cope with increasing volume of domestic and commercial sewage coming from the city. Tunnelling went on 24 hours per day. This pipe section was for the seaward end of the scheme, just below the lighthouse, and was capable of discharging daily 81 million gallons of waste directly into the sea. The final cost of the scheme was £200,000. Today's regulations would not allow such untreated waste to be dumped directly into the sea, nonetheless, this was one of the great civil engineering projects of Victorian-Edwardian Aberdeen. It made the city a cleaner, safer and more sanitary place. Improved sanitation probably did more for the health of Aberdonians than did medical services.
Sir Robert Williams
1929
Sir Robert Williams
1929
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Sir Robert Williams
1929
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