Caphouse Colliery

National Coal Mining Museum for England

 

The engine fits very snugly into the engine house. Not good for photography.

 

Click on pictures to enlarge

Caphouse Colliery in Yorkshire is now the official Coal Mining Museum for England. As well as the obligatory Social History of Coalmining stuff, underground tours, pit ponies and so on there are two preserved winding engines in situ. One is electric and need not concern us but the other is a small solid two cylinder slide valve engine built in 1876 by Davy Bros of Sheffield. The engine is kept in light steam and is regularly demonstrated to visitors. Unfortunately the usual intrusive guarding is present but the timber cylinder cladding is a very pleasant restoration. This was not there when George Watkins photographed the engine in 1970.

There is an official website, good for up-to-date information on opening times etc. at http://www.ncm.org.uk

Plain slide valves on the 16 inch cylinders.  The drum is 9 feet in diameter.  The engine worked a 150 yard shaft bringing up 8cwt in a 15 second wind (60 rpm). The drum from the side. Stroke 3ft 0in.

The engine was originally steamed by two mechanically stoked Lancashire boilers in an adjacent boiler house separated from the engine house by two time expired Lancashires used for water storage. Unusually the two working boilers were slightly staggered. A package boiler in a nearby building now provides steam for heating and demonstrating the engine.

The left hand boiler. Both boilers are fitted with patent "Low Ram" stokers by James Hodgekinson (Salford) Ltd of Manchester    The two boilers, note the staggered layout.    The right hand boiler

The two ex-boilers from above. The jungle is coming back.    The left hand boiler has had the flues blanked off to increase capacity.

Back to Homepage

To Stationary Steam Engines Websites Website