19 May
2014
19 May
'14
2:22 p.m.
I still remember my school trip to the London Science
Museum, in the early
70's. I loved all those models. I have not been since, have those models all
gone? That really would be a disappointment.
Firstly, let me say tha I do not beleive that the models have been
destroyed or sold. I would hope they're in store somewhere. But they are
no longer on public display at South Kensington.
And OK, 'all' is an exageration. 'Most' would be more accurate...
There are still a few steam angine models just inside the entrance, but
nothing like the collection there used to be. Other things to no longer
be on display are the railway locomotices (there used to be a GWR Castle
(I think) alongside a Deltic [1], the electical stuff on the groudn
fololor (like the mercury arc rectifiers, I remember those), the
'measurment' gallery (which used to show old standard of wight, volume,
etc, quite why that was removed from a _science_ museum is beyond me),
the lighting gallery (lovely arc lamps, a cooper-hewitt mercury lamp,
etc), the lovely machine shop models on the 1st floor, the chemisrty
sutff, the p[rinting presses, the aeroplanes nad aero engines, etc, etc.
All gone :-( The children's gallery in the basement is much recduced,
replaced by 'the secret life of the home' -- domestic applianced, etc.
Not well descrivbed, and quite hwat a set of vibrating rods with rubber
hot watter botlles o t hem fixed ot the ceiling is supposed to show is
beyond me. It's hard to see what has remained.
Well, there is still teh computing gallery, a few more things have been
added, but nothing oepraitonal. Last time I visitied the timekeeping
galelry has not been touched (but I am told it will be soon). There is a
_tony_ communicatons gallery, not a patch o nthe old 'Gallery 66' [2] --
this must be the only science meusuem communciations gallery which
doesn't mention modulation or demopdulation (or anythign equivalent to
them).
[1] The Deltic had a rather odd diesel engine with 3 crankshafts at the
corners of ana equilateral triange, cylinders, each containing 2 opposing
pistons along the sides.
[2] The old comms gallery had some lovely stuff. The yeven had a
demonstation amateur ratio station with the callsign G2SM (IIRC), which
was operated most days.
Also gone are the lectures AFIAK. About 4 years ago there were free
lectures with damonstations on most saturday afternoons. Not any more....
-tony