New volunteering project offers chance to restore the UK’s oldest steam powered ship

Students and staff opportunity to work on British cargo ship SS Robin - News

Thursday 11 January 2007
By Naomi Weston

A new volunteering initiative to restore the oldest steam powered British cargo ship is starting at Imperial College London. Staff and students interested in engineering will have the opportunity to help restore the engine and other machinery of SS Robin, and prepare her for operation again.

The Volunteer Centre, part of the Outreach Unit, will be offering a range of projects restoring the ship which was originally built in London in 1890. It is currently moored in East London and belongs to the SS Robin Trust, an arts education charity.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to help design and build a power operated mechanism needed to turn the main engine at a slow speed. It is a fragile process as after 30 years of inactivity the pistons, cylinders and valves are at risk of seizing up. A manual system which takes 20 minutes of hard work to operate is currently in place.

Another project includes producing a schematic drawing of the engine and boiler room showing its pipes and valves, illustrating how they work, based on archived drawings. This will lead to a greater understanding of how each pipe and valve functions to prepare her for a relaunch. In addition, volunteers will be repainting parts of the ship to improve its appearance and re-mark its name.

Minna Ruohonen, Community Relations Manager at the Volunteer Centre explains: "This project is especially useful for students and staff members who have an interest in engineering related tasks. The Volunteer Centre aims to set up links with different departments so that this type of specific project can be established. I think this is a great opportunity to enhance engineering skills, whilst helping a community group."

Anthony Owler, SS Robin project coordinator, says: "Our experience of working with Imperial volunteers has been a great pleasure and I believe of significant value to them too. We look forward to working on these exciting tasks over the next few months."

If you are interesting in any of these projects you will need to register with the Imperial Volunteer Centre at www.imperial.ac.uk/volunteering  . There will be an information session being held on 23 January 2007 between 5-6pm in SALC1, Level 5, Sherfield Building. To attend please email m.ruohonen@imperial.ac.uk.

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