Sherwood Colliery - steam winding engine

Image: © Chris Allen Taken: 25 Mar 1981

Sherwood had a pair of Fraser & Chalmers winding engines. This is the large 1903 built cross compound with cylinders 32" & 53" bores x 66" stroke and rated at 2800 horsepower. It was stopped and scrapped in 1982. This shows the driving position alongside the high-pressure cylinder. The driver is in his seat and if not driving when I took this would have been shortly thereafter. The engine was winding coal (at a higher speed than men) and was in operation 24 hours per day. Many of the National Coal Board unit mechanical engineers were willing to allow small groups of enthusiasts into their working engine houses to see the last days of these amazing machines. We were always very careful not to get in the way or interfere with the safe running on the mines, although we did set up our tripods in some surprising places (I once set up on top of the cylinder of a large running engine).

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