Carrickfergus With Mom

We are divided in our house about our favorite castle, but number one and two for everyone are the same two castles, Dunluce and Carrickfergus.  So it was with great excitement we took my mom to see Carrickfergus Castle.  We took the train from downtown and rode it to Carrickfergus.

Carrickfergus train station

The kids and I enjoyed our second time through the castle as much the second time as we did the first time.  It is in great shape with almost all the walls still being intact.  It was occupied until after the second world war that helped with the up keep.

The kids and I dressed for the cooler weather.

Outer walls

Keep

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View from the castle walls.  Not what you would expect, using a tractor to put the boat in the water.

Old Carrickfergus city wall.

Gas Works

We took a tour of the gas works.  It was a great tour.  Gas was made by heating coal and collecting the gas into pipes that supplied first city streets then houses with light.  The process is amazing.

First heat the coal with coke (already burned coal).  Collect the gas created into overhead pipes.

oval shaped doors are where the coal was heated to collect the gas.  Round door near the bottom is where the coke was shoveled after the gas was burned off to heat the coal and keep the cycle going.

pipes leading to collection area

Next send the gas through the condenser to clean it up, remove tar and other impurities

condensers

Then on to the washer and scrubber to remove more tar and the ammonia from the gas.

brushes from in the scrubber

scrubber

Now the tar can be collected and sold to roofers and road makers.

tar collection barrel

Gas is stored in a huge tower.

Gas tower

gas works

old gas lights

our guide enjoying the benefits of gas, a fire starter

old gas stoves