IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Blyton Avenue, SUNDERLAND, SR2 0JT

Coal mining was undertaken at Ryhope, south of Sunderland, from 1859 until the colliery closed in 1966. The site of the miners' union office is now a memorial garden. Mining could be a dangerous occupation, 119 miners were killed in accidents at Ryhope Colliery.

Two Woolf compound rotative pumping engines. Relatively plain but large and stately. Preserved since the late 1960s and regularly demonstrated in steam.

This show some of the underfloor details of one of the two Woolf compound beam pumping engines. Left top is the big end bearing on the crank with the crankshaft in the top centre. The gearing and shaft are the drives to the governor and valve gear. Bottom left is the top of the well that is boarded over with the pump rod passing through. On the right is the cold water tank (now empty) with the jet condenser at the top and the air pump at the bottom. I hope that is clear and means something to somebody. Like many things, it is easy when you know.

This shows the two Woolf compound beam engines built in 1868 by R & W Hawthorn and in use until 1967. The cylinders are 27.5" x 5'4" and 45" x 8'. The beams are 33' between end centres and weigh 22 tons. The flywheels are 24' diameter and weigh 18 tons. The engines used steam at 35 psi, ran at 10 rpm and delivered 40,000 gallons per hour against a 243' head.

This shows one of the two Woolf compound beam engines built in 1868 by R & W Hawthorn and in use until 1967. The cylinders are 27.5" x 5'4" and 45" x 8'. The beams are 33' between end centres and weigh 22 tons. The flywheels are 24' diameter and weigh 18 tons. The engines used steam at 35 psi, ran at 10 rpm and delivered 40,000 gallons per hour against a 243' head.

This shows part of one of the two Woolf compound beam engines built in 1868 by R & W Hawthorn and in use until 1967. The cylinders are 27.5" x 5'4" and 45" x 8'. The beams are 33' between end centres and weigh 22 tons. The flywheels are 24' diameter and weigh 18 tons. The engines used steam at 35 psi, ran at 10 rpm and delivered 40,000 gallons per hour against a 243' head. This is a view down the main well with the 4' throw crank in the foreground. Beyond is the drive to the main well pump with its 10' 8" stroke. This pump lifted the water from about 250' below the engine house floor to 130' below the floor from where it flowed to the staple well at the opposite end of the engine. A pump at the other end of the engine then lifted it to the reservoir at ground level. Having pumps at each end balanced the loading across the engine's centre.

What can one say! This has been described as "The finest industrial monument in the north-east". Victorian waterworks with preserved and workable beam engines and Lancashire boilers.