Gas Works

[David Young]

Hi everybody

The thing I remember most about gas mantles was the noise they made when one broke while in use and the light went white.
My memories of those times living in Union Street was looking out of the back door window straight on to the big gasometer at the end of the garden by the railway station.
Also in the house at night everything took on a brownish tint. I don't remember much colour in those day, the 1940's and 50's.

There was also an awful smell at the weekends from the Gasworks.
David Young.

[sheenaj]

Okay I am going to have another go at this and try and post it.
I think I was too young to remeber much about the gas works,if I recall they were at the corner of Union Street and 'the Brae'? I remeber the awful smell! I think that they have a car park there now and a small lane to the Railway Station!

[Hughie]

As a wee boy around 1950 I remember a car running into a gas lamp that stood at the top of McDowall Avenue, Ardrossan - on the corner of the Gas Works lane. Funny thing was we found globules of mercury on the ground there. I've always wondered if there was mercury used in those lamps or did it come from the car?
Hughie

[Catherine Belle]

Hope I'm posting this to the correct forum
Just thought you might be interested to know that the inventor of Gas Lighting was not only Scottish, but also the son of an AYRSHIRE man. As reported here:
william murdoch
1754-1839
William Murdoch, the son of an Ayrshire mill designer, was born in 1754. Murdoch had an excellent grasp of mechanics and, in 1777, he walked 300 miles to Birmingham to meet James Watt, in the hope of persuading Watt to employ him at his factory. Watt's business partner, engineer Matthew Boulton, took him on. Boulton later described him as the finest engine erector he had ever seen.

Despite attempts to entice him to employment elsewhere, the loyal Murdoch remained works manager with Watt and Boulton's company - even after they persuaded him against patenting his own steam engine research into high pressure engines, which Watt and Boulton did not wish to involve themselves with.

Murdoch's best known contribution, then, was to gas lighting. In Redruth in Cornwall, while managing a pumping engine installation, Murdoch made an important discovery. He was relaxing by the fire one evening, when he placed some coal dust in the bowl of his pipe, and placed this in the fire. As coal gas was formed and came out of the mouthpiece, Murdoch saw it shine brightly. He had discovered the properties of gas as an illuminant.

From this quiet beginning stemmed Glasgow's first attempts at street and building illumination, and in 1817 the Glasgow's Gas Light Company was formed.


gb

[Catherine Belle]

Hi Hughie
The mercury you saw probably came from the street light. The following might be of interest:


General Electric Urban and Highway Luminaires

GE Form 109

This is probably the most popular mercury model in the late 1940's to mid 1950's. It accommodates up to 400 watt mercury lamps or 600 watt incandescent lamps
The mercury arc shaping coil can be seen mounted diametrically crosswise in the head at the lower right of the view. The other item in the head is the terminal strip, which is recessed more than it appears to be. At first, the less expensive mercury lamps had to be mounted vertically, otherwise the mercury arc had a tendency to bow upwards and melt the glass bulb. The shaping coil forced the arc back into a straight across path. Later as "burn in any position" mercury lamps became more readily available and came down in price, the shaping coil was no longer needed and was disconnected but left in place.


I didn't bother posting the accompanying picture of the lamp head..just wanted to give you the info about mercury in lamps.

Catherine

[wellparkno9]

Does anybody remember old Porry,he was a street sweeper with the burough,but at night he used to light the street lamps.He was a nice old man ,he would give all the children a sweetie,mint imperials .I think that
his surname was Gibb.we had a lamp across the road from our close.Did
not have electric light till 1958.When I heard the kids at school talk about the One Oclock Gang I wanted to join it.I did not realise it was a TV Prog
.all the best S.Taylor.

[jane]

I can remember seeing the gas works when I walked past the Eglinton over the railway bridge to go to the Academy. I also remember briquettes being delivered by horse and cart around the houses in the fifties. I can remember seeing a gas mantle in the waiting room at South Beach Station, also when we went on a caravan holiday, they had to be lit and one was broken. Also had to wait for the steam train to go under the bridge otherwise there was a load of smoke.