Home > LEO Computers > Lyons Electronic Office (LEO) Archive > CMLEO/PB - Peter Bird Collection > CMLEO/PB/PH Photographs > Photographs of LEO I > 60493 LEO I Mercury D ... lay Line, in 'coffin'
 

60493 LEO I Mercury Delay Line, in 'coffin'


Description of Photograph

Photograph of one of the five batteries of 16 delay lines as used on LEO I, in situ in its 'coffin'. 
Published in Bird, Peter  LEO - The First Business Computer  (Wokingham: Hasler, 1994), plate 19.

 

Research comments: This photograph shows one of the five batteries of 16 delay lines in its 'coffin' - a thermally lagged enclosure. A box containing the electrical matching sections is also shown.

The 'vault' or 'coffin' is about 6ft (1.8m) wide by 9ft (2.75m) long and 1.5ft (0.45m) deep under a false floor. Each tube is about 5ft 3inches long and made of ordinary steel with a bore of 1 inch and is filled with mercury weighing half a ton.

On March 22nd 1950 the first battery of long delay tubes was received from Coventry Gauge and Tool Company, according to the LEO Chronicle. (CM/LM)

Provenance
Collected by Peter Bird as part of his research for his book LEO - The First Business Computer (1994).


Date: c1952

Physical Description: 1 photographic print; black and white

Archives Hub References: CMLEO/PB/PH/1/60493
PJB/3/2/34A

Other References: DCMLEO20190510024
                  
                  
                  
                  
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Comment on This Photograph

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH60493. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.

Photograph of 60493 LEO I Mercury Delay Line, in 'coffin'

Copyright
Lyons copyright

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