New beneath the Breakers tour

BobC

They are giving tours of the mechanical underpinnings of The breakers in Newport, RI every day for $20 a pop. I have no idea how good tis is but it might be worth a look if your in the area.

Bob

http://www.newportmansions.org/plan-a-visit/beneath-the-breakers-tour


New Breakers Tour Plumbs the Depths Below Famous Mansion
Visitors to the spectacular Gilded Age mansion The Breakers are now being allowed to explore its depths with a new tour that shows off the domestic technology that helped make the 70-room, building state-of-the art when it was completed in 1895.

Sept. 4, 2017, at 9:58 a.m.

New Breakers Tour Plumbs the Depths Below Famous Mansion

The Associated Press

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2014, file photo, visitors walk toward an entrance to The Breakers mansion in Newport, R.I. Visitors to the spectacular Gilded Age mansion are now being allowed to explore its depths with a new tour that shows off the domestic technology that helped make the 70-room, building state-of-the art when it was completed in 1895. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) The Associated Press

By MICHELLE R. SMITH, Associated Press

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Visitors to the spectacular Gilded Age mansion The Breakers in Rhode Island now have the chance to explore its depths with a new tour that shows off the domestic technology that helped make the 70-room building state-of-the art when it was completed in 1895.

The tour of the Newport mansion is a weekend handyman's dream.

It takes place almost entirely underground, and includes a visit to boiler room, a walk through a tunnel as wide as a carriage and time exploring the mansion's basement.

It's a completely different way to look at the house, which draws hundreds of thousands visitors annually.

The Preservation Society of Newport County, which owns The Breakers and several other mansions in Newport, developed the tour in part based on journals kept by a resident house engineer.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Erin Holohan Haskell

Thanks, Bob!

When @Dan Holohan was at the Breakers a few years back, he asked to see the mechanical room. They said no...but then they came around. Here's an article he wrote about how they heat The Breakers: https://heatinghelp.com/blog/heating-the-breakers-in-newport-rhode-island/

BillW

I took the "Infrastructure Tour" at George Vanderbilt's "Biltmore" in Ashville, North Carolina. The original boilers are still there, one in operation, and the others are preserved with their original coal stoking gear intact. The coal came in by wagon, and was dumped thru a chute in the utility courtyard into the bunkers in the boiler room. They burn gas now. Biltmore had its own electrical generation system, and the engine that powered it has been restored, It was a straight-run gasoline engine built by Winton, and they start it on occasion. The electric room is also preserved, and features those "Frankenstein" knife switches and ornate gauges and meters. The original lightning arrestor system has also been preserved. Finally, there is the shop where they make the copper panels they use to repair any damaged ones on the exterior. They use the same process as was used to restore the Statue of Liberty. Great trip, Christmas season is spectacular, rose garden and tulip beds are stunning in the spring & summer.

DanHolohan

Oh, it's worth it. One of the most interesting buildings I have ever explored.

MilanD

This is great! When my kids get a bit older - both of these will be awesome tours to go on together. Thanks @BobC and @BillW.