STEAM ENGINES AND WATERWHEELS

[Stanley]

Alan Andrews' drawing of the Trencherfield engine at Wigan.

[Stanley]

The Siberia engine from Harle Syke being erected in the Science Museum by Riley of Heywood in 1979.

[Stanley]

The Siberia engine at the Science Museum in 1982 when they asked me to go down and look at their cracked air pump and suggest a remedy. Have a trawl through me memoirs for what happened, it's a good story...

[Stanley]

The engine at the brickworks at Elland. We are used to seeing engines all bright and shining. This was without doubt the dirtiest and worst maintained engine I have aver seen. The floor was covered with a thick layer of clay and brick dust and steam leaked out of every possible joint. The miracle was that it still ran well!

[Stanley]

The Garfield engine at Newhey. Next door to Ellenroad and a similar size.

[Stanley]

The pilot lighting engine at Ellenroad in 1988. Browett and Lindley.

[Stanley]

Small donkey engine at Woodhouse Mill Todmorden. Refurbished by Rochdale Apprentice training school and installed in the new Co-op at Rochdale as a feature.

[Stanley]

This mirror on the engine house porch at Bancroft Shed in 1976 was to enable the firebeater to see smoke at the chimney head without leaving the firing floor.

[Stanley]

John Plummer, a good firebeater, about his business at Bancroft Shed in 1978. He's burning the fires off preparatory to banking up for the night. A good man and a friend, luckily I was able to let him know this before he died.

[Stanley]

John on top of his job. You can always tell a good man by the fact he has time to relax. He was firing hard when this pic was done.

[Stanley]

One thing that many forget is that the mill engineer was responsible for many things apart from the engine and boiler. Here is a pic from about 1910, Stanley Fisher on the shafting at Wellhouse Mill. He went to the new Moss Shed in 1913 and stayed there as engineer until retirement.

[Stanley]

A donkey engine made by Henry Brown and Sons in about 1920.

[Stanley]

Bancroft engine with dust sheets on during the summer holiday. It's amazing how much dust and grit a sparrow fluttering round in the roof space could generate!

[Stanley]

The engine house ceiling at Bancroft engine house. All those girders had a covering of grit and dust!

[Stanley]

[Stanley]

Newton Pickles stopping Bancroft engine on the last day the mill wove.

[Stanley]

A chaff cutting outfit on the road in Australia about 1910?

[Stanley]

Stanley with Annie at Harewood in 1993. Working hard driving the estate saw cutting wet larch, the sawyers said that Annie was the most powerful engine they'd ever had on the bench. Great fun but it didn't end well, shortly after this pic was taken the Lad became aware that he was losing water because a tube had blown. It was probably the hardest work Annie had done for many years and it found the weakness. After a bit of drama I made the engine safe and when we got back to the shop John started a series of heavy repairs that resulted in Annie having a new firebox and re-tube. She will be OK for many years into the future. All good experience! Mind you, while all was going well Annie was playing with the job, plenty in reserve and it was so nice to hear her barking properly under load.

[Stanley]

Two traction engines delivering a new beam to the new Cooks mine in Cornwall. Date unknown.

[Stanley]

Two pics of a half size replica atmospheric engine built by a group in NZ. Skid mounted so it can be transported to different venues. A nice job.

[Stanley]

My Carleton College students watching the replica Newcomen engine at the Black Country Museum running in 1991.

[Stanley]

Boilers at Queen Street, Harle Syke, in 1970.

[Bodger]

What precautions were taken at shut down in winter against freeze ups ?

[Stanley]

Shutting down what Bodge. Working mill or heritage running?
Two more pics from NZ of the replica atmospheric engine.

[Bodger]

Shutting down what Bodge.

Working, in modern situations electric trace heating, thermal controlled heating systems can be used to prevent freeze ups, but in the past ?