BOILER ROOM BLUEPRINTS

The Boiler Room area is one of the first places that CRCMH explorers tend to flock to - perhaps because of its proximity to the old entrance - and the fact that its tall chimneys can be seen from miles away, towering above the woods (try standing on Widbrook Common in Maidenhead and gaze eastwards - they're quite imposing at dawn). They're also menacing at on a misty moonlit night, casting tall shadows around the yard. They were also once home to one of the strangest pieces of memorabilia that we ever found - an original set of blueprints.

These are in the form of one huge single sheet - 80cm by 1 metre in size - drawn up in 1972 for the purpose of converting the boilers to an oil firing system. They provide a good plan of the whole Boiler Room building and yard alongside more detailed views of the boilers. Dare I say, obviously, the sheet is too large to scan in its entirety, so here you will discover a series of elements from it. These are - understandably after 30 years - a bit crumpled, but the intentions of the document can still be determined. The image below attempts to demonstrate roughly where each component is found on the original sheet. Choose a number and click on a zone for an enlargement.

69kb - The sheet label - what, who & when and a good place to begin. This looks kind of funky for some unknown reason.

89kb - "Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital North Boilerhouse Showing Existing Chain Grate Stokers + Proposed Oil Storage" - is the actual title of this part. An overhead plan of the rooms and yard.

14kb - "Elevation - Proposed Fuel Oil Storage" - Yes, it's a tank.

49kb - "Scrap Section Showing Method Of Fitting Controls To Boiler Shell Using Welded Pads" - Quite literally "riveting" stuff.

0kb - There is no five - it was bulldozed to make way for a yuppie housing estate. No, actually it's because my brain wasn't working properly when I produced the above graphic and I can't be bothered changing it.

65kb - "Schematic Arrangement Fuel + Boiler Feed Lines" - This is another overhead view - and you'll notice numbers 1 - 21 listed in circles around it. These apply to the notes on the final two images.

83kb - Notes for image 6 - Numbers 1 - 10.

79kb - Notes for image 6 - Numbers 11 - 21.

 

This project appears to have been commissioned by the Windsor Group Hospital Management Committee - contact us if you're aware that it was ever actually carried out. The plans clearly show new tanks outside the Boiler Room. Unless they are underground (a very likely possibility), they are not visible on the site today. The internal boilers are however still in place.