SEAMS Coach Trip to Brooklands Museum

Our Spring coach trip was to the Brooklands Museum in Surrey.

Travelling on the National ‘Drive it Day’ weekend, it was appropriate  we  had a 1963 Harrington bodied Leyland Leopard coach for the trip.  Starting problems meant that it arrived about 1 hour late at the pickup points, but all credit to Peter our regular driver, who did not give up on it. The coach was immaculate inside and out and very comfortable for a coach of this age, a great credit to the owners who started the restoration  in 2008.

Arriving at Brooklands we were parked up with the visiting classic cars, only a short walk from the main clubhouse buildings so most headed straight for the tea rooms, it being quite a cold day. Those who know Brooklands  know the attractions are many and varied, but new this year was the machinery behind the giant altitude and climatic test chamber built in the 1940’s to test everything from aircraft to Antartic clothing.

Testing of trawlers in this chamber proved a build up of ice on the superstructure was causing them to capsize with resulting loss of life. Vacuum was provided by a liquid ring vacuum pump made by Hick Hargreaves, a Bolton  company associated with Fred Dibnah, which built  some of the earliest steam engines in the world. They were bought by Edwards Vacuum, the company I worked at for most of my working life.

Changes are afoot to re-instate the finishing straight of the track so something new for the next visit.

Thanks to John and Heather Moss for organising this trip. We covered our costs and everyone had a good day out.

Richard