Leeds Hackspace

On Sunday we had a trip to The Middleton Railway. We were fortunate to have glorious sunny weather. Unfortunately due to damage caused to the track by people attempting to steal it the usual sunday steam service wasn’t running, but they were making good use of the available track running a small diesel engine, so everyone got a trip in the cab.

After a good wander around the engine house we were lucky enough to get a tour of the workshop too. The noise of running water was slightly concerning but that was due to a restored engine being filled (it takes rather a lot of water) for a leak check before it’s steamed up for the first time.

We left the workshop feeling rather envious, we’d love to be able to build things on that scale (we had an interesting discussion on the feasibility of a steel extruding reprap-a-like but came to the conclusion that something which cast metal billets and fed them to a cnc machine was probably a better solution to that puzzle).

We finished the day off with a drink and dinner in The Engine.

There’s the distinct possibility that Middleton Railway have acquired themselves one or two extra volunteers, and we’ve all got the perfect excuse to go for another trip once the line is repaired – what better transport for a picnic in the park!

Sunday saw a handful of hackspacers take a trip to Thwaite Mills, a local watermill which was in use grinding stone to make putty right up until 1976. The power of the water can really be felt, as the building shakes gently as the water wheels turn the gears and line shafts to power the machinery. Also on site is the family home of the Horn family, the drying shed where the ground stone slurry was dried to powder, the engineers workshop, complete with a forge, and assorted water driven tools (including the largest lathe I’ve ever seen), and on the banks of the canal a steam driven crane which was used for unloading barges of rock and flint.

The mill alone is definitely worth the trip, but on Sunday there was a WWII event on – “Operation Continuance”, so the place was full of people in period costume, both civillian and military, there were vehicles on display, and demonstrations throughout the day, though it has to be said that the Home Guard definitely stole the show, they did warn everyone that things might get a bit loud, but I’m not sure anyone was prepared for the last explosion!

Our transport for the day was “Lazy Jane”, a 40ft narrowboat owned by James who very kindly offered his services as taxidriver (on condition we acted as crew for the locks!). Despite an initial dreary start to the day when we left the dock the weather seemed to improve continuously throughout the day, and it was glorious sunshine from lunchtime onwards, resulting in a very pleasant trip back to leeds, spotting assorted wildlife.

Our next trip is to Middleton Railway on Sunday 26th June.

On Sunday 19th June Thwaite Mills is hosting “WWII Operation Continuance” – A celebration of the continuation of the people of Leeds to the war effort and how the people’s spirit could not be broken. An ideal opportunity to learn about some local history, see some historic vehicles, as well as being able to tour the water mill. With so much happening you’ve got no excuse for not being there!

Update! There’s the possibility of transport to Thwaite Mills by narrowboat – places are limited and subject to confirmation that there’s somewhere to moor the boat. If you’re interested then please let us know (by email, twitter, irc, or a comment below).

On Sunday 26th June we’re planning a trip to Middleton Railway it’s practically on our doorstep, one of our members is even a volunteer there, and yet we’ve still not been! If it’s a nice day then a picnic in Middleton Park is a definite possibility.

Since the lovely people at Nottingham Hackspace were having an open day on the 29th of May we decided that we should go invade, so 5 representatives made the trip down to Nottingham to see just how impressive their new space is. It turned out to be a day filled with bicycle madness, nerf guns, and mild electric shocks, so just what you’d expect from a well stocked hackspace. Thanks guys, we had a great day out, and we’re still suffering from workshop envy.