I paid a visit yesterday to the Boston Waterworks Museum, the main pumping station for the Metro Boston water system from the 1890s to the 1970s. It’s a fascinating and impressive collection of massive machines and plumbing. There are three pumps, each about three stories high. The largest of them extends two stories below ground as well. The pumps were all steam powered, the steam produced in coal fired boilers. This picture shows some of the steam pipes for the oldest of the pumps.