OneGuyFromBarlick

Not a water wheel or a steam engine, but the Dakeyne disc engine that was water powered driving a flax mill in Derbyshire
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... mation.gif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakeyne_hy ... isc_engine

It reminds me of the fiddly little vane drive air motors that powered the torque arms we used for expanding tubes in boilers. I used to have to repair them and they were a bugger! Big problem was erosion of the seal, I suspect these would have the same problem.



Woodhouse Mitchell 350hp tandem at Butts Mill, Mirfield.

Indicating a steam engine in 1977. Stanley at Bancroft Shed in Barlick. A lost art....

Fitting the parallel linkage on the Bancroft engine. This scaled down the motion of the crosshead and enabled you to drive the drum on an indicator.

The engine at Cudworth's, Baitings Mill, Norden during demolition of the mill in 2000. It was dismantled and I think exported.

The Baitings mill engine stood waiting for something to happen in 1991.

The boiler at Baitings Mill in February 2000.

The nameplate on the Baitings Mill engine.

The Baitings engine being dismantled for export.

Disused engines at Crowle Brickworks in 1988.

Crowle brickworks again.

If asked, that would be a perfect example of a "thingamyjig" in my book

It's a confusing picture Ian. The problem is that the two completely separate elements look as though they are connected. You can see the steam main entering the large Pickering governor on it's way into the steam chest of the single cylinder engine. The other pipe with the valve on the end and the branch is the exhaust, you can tell because its coming out of the slide valve closer to the cylinder. It looks to me as though if the valve was open the exhaust goes to either atmosphere or a condenser. The small pipe branching off is a bleed for some purpose and the more you crack the valve down, the more of the exhaust goes into the bleed pipe. Of course I could be completely wrong!



There was also this Browett and Lindley compound engine.

Well I'm glad we have blokes like you who know what they are. That's a whatchamacallit in my book and yes I know I'm a Philistine!

The more esoteric the field, the easier it is to become an 'expert'. Trouble is we're dying out!



Another Browett and Lindley engine. This is the pilot engine at Ellenroad as I found it in 1985. It is direct coupled to a 110v DC dynamo and provided electricity for pilot lights in the mill when the main engine was stopped. {No mains at that time}

Browett and Lindley made some big engines. This is 1000hp and was used to provide power for Salford Tramways.

The other prominent maker of high speed enclosed vertical steam engines was Belliss and Morcom. When the market for steam collapsed they moved to making compressors and are still in business at Redditch. Now owned by an American company.

George Watkins pic of the Burnley Ironworks verical at Stott and Smith, Congleton. The note says 'the only BIW vertical engine left, they only made two or three'
1952 M/c Exchange directory gives Stott and Smith as 750 looms, Empire Mill, Congleton.

Ebor engineering at Littleborough. Diagonal engine.

Wellhouse engine 'Window Side'. This was the first side of the engine to be installed and was later the first to be refurbished, after this it was called the 'New Side'. This is confusing as the right hand engine was called the new side originally as it was the last side to be installed. Pic taken 1965.

Stanley. I don't know if you have posted this engine before but it is well worth looking at.
Its the Burnley Elm St: engine in the Manchester Steam museum.
http://www.mosi.org.uk/media/33871769/e ... engine.pdf

Entry for Elm Street in Arthur Roberts' Black Book;

ELM STREET MILL. BURNLEY
1000hp cross compound Uniflow engine by Galloway, Manchester, 1926. 20”HP, 36”LP X 3ft stroke. 150psi, 115rpm. 13ft flywheel, 16 ropes. Trunk guides. Enclosed engine. Drop valves. Massively built engine, beautifully finished. Both cylinders have tail rod supports. Air pump driven from LP tail rod.

The link you gave is a bit confusing because the engine in that picture is a Galloway tandem, gear drive. The pic you posted is the right one. Uniflows were the last throw of the steam engine designers and whilst more efficient on some duties had many problems. Not least was the fact that they had very high compression and ran very lumpy particularly while starting and stopping. This was very bad for the gearing in the mill and many firms had trouble with them. See Newton Pickles in LTP for his evidence on them. One major problem arose if the bore was worn and needed re-boring because they weren't a true cylinder. The exhaust was through ports in the centre of the cylinder and this meant that they were cooler in the middle than at the ends and so were bored barrel shape so that they became a true cylinder when up to temperature (many ran on superheat steam for greater efficiency) This also meant that they couldn't be loaded like a normal cylinder because any admission beyond 33% meant wasted steam via the exhaust. A normal engine could be run at up to 80% admission.

Wasn't sure if this should be here or on the Jacks. link regarding rope and its use
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4bta5Iy6E8

Interesting film Bodge and of course totally accurate. Rope is still one of the most useful inventions man ever made. I remember when Peter Tatham did the head on Ellenroad stack he ordered a 500ft coil of rope for the hoist through the middle of the 210ft stack but they came in even bigger coils than that.



These coils of cotton driving rope are for export and I think it's at Kenyon's at Dukinfield.

Interesting film Bodge and of course totally accurate. Rope is still one of the most useful inventions man ever made. I remember when Peter Tatham did the head on Ellenroad stack he ordered a 500ft coil of rope for the hoist through the middle of the 210ft stack but they came in even bigger coils than that.



These coils of cotton driving rope are for export and I think it's at Kenyon's at Dukinfield.



The rope drive at Bancroft Shed in 1977.