News / Foghorn wins award
THE RESTORED foghorn at the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse is to receive a national engineering award.
The Engineering Heritage Awards, managed by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, recognise the role mechanical engineering plays in both the past and present.
Previous recipients include the Falkirk Wheel, HMS Belfast and London’s Tower Bridge.
The Sumburgh horn was last sounded in 1987, with foghorns effectively becoming obsolete in the 1980s after being a vital part of maritime safety.
It was built in 1905 and is powered by compressed air driven by a diesel Kelvin engine.
The sound of the horn can be heard as far away as Fair Isle, which is 37 miles south of Sumburgh.
Bill Edgar, past president of the Institution Mechanical Engineers, will present a plaque to Shetland Amenity Trust’s John Mackenzie at Sumburgh Head on 30 September before the foghorn is sounded at midday.
Mackenzie oversaw the £5.4 million redevelopment of the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse site into a visitor centre, which also included the careful restoration of the foghorn.
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