12 Technical, scientific and industrial heritage

12

Technical, scientific and industrial heritage

Material/Technique

Metal elements, concrete, wood, stone, fabric, pipes....

Date/Period

1925

Dimensions

Undetermined

Coordination Pep Paret

Restoration

Àgora. Restauració d’Obres d’Art i Conjunts Artístics, SL

Year of restoration

2012

L'Alfolí or Casa de la Sal is a three-storey building, the result of an extension made during the 18th century, due to the need to increase the capacity of the building at a time when the saline activity of Gerri de la Sal was increasing. Around 1925, a mill was bought to meet the demands of customers, who wanted fine salt, given that the village mill is not enough.

State of conservation

The most important pathology of the pieces to be treated was derived from the action of salt on the different materials. In the case of wooden objects, the salt had dried them out and they showed obvious signs of biotic activity. As for the metallic elements, the salts had caused exfoliation and overall weakening. Fabrics were weakened, with holes and stains. The stones had added mortars that partially covered the stone support and the joints were disintegrated. Finally, the concrete had cracks and fissures with loss of material. In general, the whole ensemble accumulated plenty of surface dirt.

Intervention

Wood: surface cleaning with soft brushes, by spraying a low-pressure dry aggregate and with an anti-xylophagous treatment. The final presentation was achieved through the application of an oil-based protector, with nutritious and regenerative components. Iron: gentle mechanical cleaning combined with chemical cleaning to remove dust residue. Application of an inhibitor. Consolidation of exfoliated areas and volumetric reintegration into cracks and fissures as a preventive measure to prevent the accumulation of dirt inside. The elements that had lost part of the metal core have been reinforced to improve their stability. Finally, a layer of metal protector has been applied to them, based on acrylic resins with antioxidant additives.

Fabric: cleaning the inner fabric of the lifting chain, dry or wet, depending on whether or not it was in contact with the metal. Consolidation of the weakened areas, by placing patches made with non-woven fabrics or with the material reintegration of the losses with patches with characteristics similar to those of the original fabric.

Stone and concrete: combination of manual surface cleaning with the projection of a low pressure dry aggregate. Mechanical cleaning of the unadhered and powdery bonding mortars was also carried out, and the mortars covering the original stone support were removed. For the new grout, traditional lime and sand mortar has been used. Occasionally, consolidations have been carried out with epoxy resins.

— CRBMC

Metal elements of the salt mill before and after the intervention

Wooden elements of the salt mill after the intervention

Metal elements of the salt mill after the intervention

Object

Set of 30 nautical objects (10 binnacles, 1 horn, 1 air compressor, 6 lanterns, 4 propellers, 1 periscope, 4 gyro repeaters, 2 command telegraphs and 1 helm)

Material/Technique

Bronze, copper, cast iron, wood, brass, lead solder, methacrylate and glass

Origin

Germany, Spain and Great Britain

Location

Different exhibition or storage spaces owned by the Barcelona Port Authority (APB)

CRBMC Register NO

13086.1 and 13086.2

This is a set of nautical objects that were part of ship navigation devices during the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, which are representative of the history and identity of the Port of Barcelona (APB), as well as its activity over the last two centuries.

As is characteristic of this type of industrial heritage objects, we must keep in mind that they were functional objects, that is, they had a use and thus additional wear. This set of pieces combines a wide range of materials and manufacturing techniques, which gives them a very heterogeneous character. Precisely, this material wealth can sometimes lead to more complex interventions and treatments.

State of conservation

The main problems presented by this set of objects were: metal corrosion and oxidation of protective layers; cracks and fissures; deteriorated wood varnishes and breaks; a large amount of dust and dirt, and a variety of built-up stains of various origins, all the result of inadequate storage in adverse weather conditions and in a saline environment, based on the wear of the objects themselves while they were in use and the long period of time they have remained unused.

Intervention

As for the intervention process, many of the objects were dismantled in order to reach all the corners properly and achieve more in-depth results, as is the case of the binnacles, lanterns and gyro repeaters, which required meticulous disassembly to better access their interior and properly vacuum and clean the most inaccessible corners.

The metal cleaning process, in some cases, consisted of cleaning mechanically dry, by combining abrasive systems of different hardness, to remove the most adhered corrosion in the form of deposits; other cases required the oxidised varnishes that coated the metals to be removed with high polarity solvents. Very significant results were obtained using both treatments.

The wooden supports of some binnacles, the air compressor, horn and periscope required a consolidation treatment, given that cracks, breaks and holes caused by biological damage (xylophagous insects) had led to material loss and weakening, which affected their supporting function. Adhesives based on polyvinyl acetate were used in the breaks and weakened sections, with the help of clamps, and the material losses were reinstated with two-component epoxy resin or with stained wood grafts, depending on each case.

The glass and methacrylate from the visors of some of the objects were cleaned on the inside at the time of disassembly. Some screws that had a lot of corrosion, had broken or lost

  Binnacle (NIAPB 226) before and after the intervention

 Binnacle (NIAPB 347) after the intervention

 Telegraph (NIAPB 230) after the intervention

their function were replaced, and those that were missing were added, in order to restore stability to all parts of the set. Occasionally, some broken welds also had to be reinforced, with new cold welding.

As a final metal protector, in some cases, Paraloid® B-44 acrylic resin was used on acetone and aromatic hydrocarbons and, on others, Owatrol oil®, depending on the need, location and conditions of exposure of each material. In the case of wood, it was protected with colorless and satiny lasure* from Xylazel Sol®, as the uncontrolled environmental conditions of the exhibition or storage spaces so required.

*A lasure is an impregnating action surface coating that leaves an open pore finish and does not create any layer, so it allows the wood to breathe, regulate humidity and enables moisture to escape.

— Pau Claramonte

Year of restoration

2016

 Lantern (NIAPB 355) after the intervention

 Air compressor (NIAPB 350) after the intervention

Material/Technique

Steel, wood and canvas tarp

Title/Topic

Car from freight train

Author

Construcciones Auxiliares de Ferrocarriles (CAF)

Date/Period

1958

Location

Railway Museum in Móra la Nova. MNACTEC territorial system (Ribera d’Ebre county)

CRBMC Register NO

14025

Restoration

Associació per a la Preservació del Patrimoni Ferroviari Industrial (Association for the Preservation

This railway car was one of the more than 400 standardised, closed freight cars from the 1940s, to which a furnace and water tank were added, along with coal or fuel to steamheat the train when the steam engines of passenger trains were removed in the early 1980s to be replaced with electric heating.

Once its service life was over, it was stored in Vilanova i la Geltrú, where it stayed almost 40 years until the Associació per a la Preservació del Patrimoni Ferroviari Industrial (Association for the Preservation of the Industrial Railway Heritage, APPFI) chose it to functionally restore it.

State of conservation

The vehicle was heavily deteriorated. It had rust, it was missing material on the lower parts of the body, the wood was heavily weather damaged and it was missing elements due to theft.

Intervention

To restore it, all the wood had to be removed and totally replaced with new wood to achieve an outstanding finish. The metal structure of the body also had to be refurbished, and new material was added to the most damaged areas.

Once the structure was restored, it was given an overall cleaning by sandblasting, an initial primer was applied and it was painted with its original colours: the frame black and the body grey, with signs in white.

The roof, which was virtually missing when it arrived, was also built of wood and covered with a waterproof tarp to prevent water from reaching it, and the smokestacks of the furnace, which had vanished, were rebuilt.

It was impossible to restore the furnace to operation because it was in such poor condition due to the passage of time and the lack of maintenance during the last years it was in operation. However, it was given an interior aesthetic recovery and the missing parts were re-installed, such as a coal bin and fire tools, in order to be able to teach about its former purpose.

All the rolling, shock and traction elements have been tested according to the current railway safety regulations so that the car can once again circulate along the main railway network with the tourist train “lo Caspolino”.

With this action, an important element in the modernisation of railways from the 1960s was recovered, which will also circulate once again as it originally did.

— Carlos Alpuente

Restored and rehabilitated interior

Car after the treatment

State of the railway car during disassembly