No.113 Light relief? - Fettling Bachmann’s Waterless Gas Holder.
It is 1987 and I have been given six months holiday on full pay in the West Midlands. As part of my education I had a trip up the Waterless Gas Holder at Swan Village Sandwell. 1987 View from the waterless gas holder Swan Village Sandwell – scan of a copy of a copy The view was amazing. I was even allowed a peek inside. The more common column or spirally guided holders rise or fall to accommodate changes in the volume of gas stored. Volume change in a waterless gas holder is achieved using an internal piston designed much like an umbrella. Gas is introduced or withdrawn using a ‘blower’. There is a circular reservoir of tar or bitumen around the circumference of the ‘umbrella’ to provide the necessary gas tight seal. Tell tale black streaks of tar running down the outside of such a holder highlighted leaky joints or corrosion of the outer skin. Bachmann low relief model of a Waterless gas Holder 44-211 Bachmann introduced their low relief model of a waterl...