Details

Attendance Limited to Paid Event or Trial Members. Write Rich at [email protected] for details on joining.

Craig has arranged for a private tour of the 1906 Cincinnati Waterworks Old Pumping Station. Our tour will be led by Historian Leland Hite and retired Station Manager Larry Moster.

Very Important – Photo ID Required – This is a secure facility. The OVCC will provide a list of attendees to the Cincinnati Waterworks three days before the event. A photo ID will be required and will be checked against the attendee list at the front entrance security gate. Send me your name exactly as it appears on your photo ID so that I can create a list to provide to Cincinnati Waterworks Security. MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS: [email protected]

The Old Pump Station houses the four tallest steam triple expansion engines ever built. The steam engines operated from 1906 to 1963 pumping 30 million gallons of water per day for the Cincinnati area. These colossal engines stand over 5 stories tall extending from 6 feet below the level of the Ohio River. Today, they are a museum exhibit and a testament to the engineering marvel designed and built in the early 1900s.

The pumping station is still operational today. The massive steam engines and the coal-fired boilers were replaced in 1963 by four 1000 HP electric pumps. The pumps will be turned off for our tour.
Our tour will take you from near the top of the facility down to the pump pit floor. You will stand among the four engines as they rest on a 20-foot-thick wood caisson located 25 feet under the Ohio River.

Photo Policy – Photos may only be used for personal, non-commercial use. Photos may only be taken of the historical steam engines. Photos of the modern electric pumps and the power distribution panel are not permitted. Tripods and monopods are permitted.

Attendance – Please sign up at your earliest convenience. If we don’t have at least 10 attendees, they will open the tour to the public. The deadline for sign up is September 21st. Plan to arrive by 9:10 am Saturday morning for the security check, event check-in and signing release forms. The tour will begin at 9:30 am.

Walking & Stairs – This is a walking tour with one optional flight of stairs. There is an elevator to the base of the structure. If you have fear of heights or claustrophobia let the tour guide know in advance.

Clothing – Rubber sole shoes only, no leather soles for safety. Closed toe and closed heel required. No sandals, flip-flops, crocs, etc. Long pants recommended but shorts OK if it is warm. No hard hats or safety glasses required.

Cost – The tour is free, but they accept and depend on donations. Lee and Larry are volunteers, and 100% of donations are dedicated to improving the tour and its displays.

Before the tour – The tour guides recommend that you view a video about the engineering required to build the station. You can view it here: https://youtu.be/SChL5vMfmP0. I watched it before I took the tour, and it gave me a better understanding of the amazing feats of engineering from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.