IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Musgrave Road, BOLTON, BL1 4HN

Another part of the huge complex. Note the tall internal engine house windows. This is Atlas No. 2 Mill, built in 1868. Drive was by a beam engine.

This is a vertical cross-compound engine. It is a very rare design with long "parallel motion" rods to guide the piston and it is believed to be the only survivor of this type in the UK. The drive to the mill was taken via two large leather belts running on the rim of the large flywheel.is . It was rescued from Messrs Jonas Kenyon's Dearneside Mills in Denby Dale when the company closed down in 1977 but it lay rusting in outside storage for 30 years. Eventually, when it was finally threatened with imminent scrapping, NMES brought it to Bolton in 2008 where it was rebuilt. The original engine-maker is unknown, but it is known that it was rebuilt from earlier parts and installed at Dearneside Mills in about 1900 with the assistance of James Lumb & Sons of Elland, who were better known as makers of steam engine governors, recorders and other accessories.

A collection of steam engines being restored. This part of the large building is probably across the grid line from the larger part.

This is the unique vertical cross compound engine from Dearneside mills, Denby Dale. It had spent 30 years in a dismantled state and is now being lovingly re-erected by the small band of dedicated enthusiasts of the Northern Mill Engine Society. I will post a picture when it is finished. Here it is Image

Compare this with the photograph taken 5 months earlier - Image This rare vertical cross compound is substantially complete although there is still much detail work to complete. When finished, this museum will house one of the best collections of textile related steam engines anywhere.

A detail of the linkages on one of the engines, that enable it to turn the great flywheel while keeping the piston rod straight.

This is a view from the high pressure side of the platform at crankshaft level (being a member of the society since 1976 and asking nicely got me into this location). I remember this engine in situ at Denby Dale, West Yorkshire and played a small part in its removal. It is a vertical cross compound and a very rare beast indeed. The vintage of this engine is unknown but it was erected at least second hand at Dearneside Mills in about 1900 with the assistance of James Lumb of Elland, a company better known for governor work. The high pressure cylinder has an expansion slide valve with trip motion under governor control. The two eccentrics and their rods operate the high pressure slide valve. The governor is an unusual design with horizontal springs opposing the force generated by the two balls - it was more usual to use a centre weight or vertical spring for this function. The governor also had a compensating device resembling Higginson's regulator with two glass pots containing mercury and linked by a horizontal tube with an adjustable restriction. This view also shows the flywheel hub that is staked onto the shaft and secured with bolts and shrink rings. I do not know how much tension the rings are now generating. It is a typical excellent job of restoration from a rusty wreck.

Seen running at about normal working speed of 120 rpm. Built by Robey of Lincoln in 1935 as a teaching engine for the Manchester College of Technology. The engine was removed in 1947 and stored for 40 years for possible resale. One of the society's members bought it and loaned it in 1987.