Dai-the-Rat's comment : The description of the hydraulic system at Penarth Dock, as well as other installations, misses the important fact that the hydraulically operated dock equipment including cranes, swing bridge, lock gates and the numerous coal tips required instantaneous power for a short period of time which the hydraulic approach could provide. There was no other economic or practical solution available until, as the author quite rightly states, until the electrification of plant and equipment which did not become a feasible option until the turn of the century onwards. See: Hydraulic Accumulators for more info.
|
