Victoria Lake

Quite a desirable part of town.

It is private as stated by Bolton MBC, but they haven't done much to keep it private.

View south down Devonshire Road towards the junction with Lonsdale Rd. The junction with Lowndes St is just behind the photographer. Most of the houses are between the wars semi-detached red brick houses.

This is the most typical type of Lancashire mill engine of which many thousands were made. Originally built by J & W McNaught Ltd of Rochdale in 1902 for the Barchant Spinning Company in 1902, it was later used at Wasp Mill from 1917 until 1967. The engine is named "Elsie"; many textile mill engines were named, often after members of the mill-owners family. She has recently been given metal cladding with brass banding over the cylinders to reduce condensation and make it more efficient so it no looks very different than on my last visit (SD6909 : Bolton Steam Museum, Tandem-Compound Engine).

A closer look at SD6909 : Wasp Mill Steam Engine. This is the most typical type of Lancashire mill engine of which many thousands were made. Originally built by J & W McNaught Ltd of Rochdale in 1902 for the Barchant Spinning Company in 1902, it was later used at Wasp Mill from 1917 until 1967. The engine is named "Elsie"; many textile mill engines were named, often after members of the mill-owners family.

A closer look at SD6909 : Wasp Mill Steam Engine. This is the most typical type of Lancashire mill engine of which many thousands were made. Originally built by J & W McNaught Ltd of Rochdale in 1902 for the Barchant Spinning Company in 1902, it was later used at Wasp Mill from 1917 until 1967. The engine is named "Elsie"; many textile mill engines were named, often after members of the mill-owners family.

From one of the exhibits at the Bolton Steam Museum at Atlas Mill.

Bolton Steam Museum is operated by volunteers from the Northern Mill Engine Society (NMES) who have rescued 25 of the old stationary steam engines which once powered the cotton mills of Lancashire and Yorkshire. It has the largest collection of working steam mill engines in the UK and probably the largest in the world. The original museum was first opened to the public in 1983 in one of the original engine-houses of Atlas No 3 Mill where 5 of the rebuilt engines could be seen working in steam and over the following 7 years it became a well-known attraction in the area. However, in 1990, the mill complex was sold for redevelopment as a retail supermarket and the museum was in the way. Fortunately, the new owners, William Morrison Supermarkets, were sympathetic to the Society's plight and undertook to relocate the museum into another building on the far side of the site. Unfortunately, this meant dismantling all the engines, moving all the parts into the new building and beginning the rebuilding work all over again but the society now has the security of a long lease and has spent the last 22 years reassembling its collection, which has now grown to some 27 engines, in the new premises. The new building is ideal for the museum, with plenty of natural lighting and full crane coverage to assist with moving and assembling the heavy engine parts. The Society's collection of steam engines now represents one of the largest in the UK. Due the fact that work is still in progress, it is not yet possible to open the museum to the public on a regular basis, although special Steam Open Days are held each year. Link Northern Mill Engine Society website

A close up of the governor which maintains a regular steam pressure in SD6909 : Wasp Mill Steam Engine when it is operating.

Bolton Steam Museum is operated by volunteers from the Northern Mill Engine Society (NMES) who have rescued 25 of the old stationary steam engines which once powered the cotton mills of Lancashire and Yorkshire. It has the largest collection of working steam mill engines in the UK and probably the largest in the world. The original museum was first opened to the public in 1983 in one of the original engine-houses of Atlas No 3 Mill where 5 of the rebuilt engines could be seen working in steam and over the following 7 years it became a well-known attraction in the area. However, in 1990, the mill complex was sold for redevelopment as a retail supermarket and the museum was in the way. Fortunately, the new owners, William Morrison Supermarkets, were sympathetic to the Society's plight and undertook to relocate the museum into another building on the far side of the site. Unfortunately, this meant dismantling all the engines, moving all the parts into the new building and beginning the rebuilding work all over again but the society now has the security of a long lease and has spent the last 22 years reassembling its collection, which has now grown to some 27 engines, in the new premises. The new building is ideal for the museum, with plenty of natural lighting and full crane coverage to assist with moving and assembling the heavy engine parts. The Society's collection of steam engines now represents one of the largest in the UK. Due the fact that work is still in progress, it is not yet possible to open the museum to the public on a regular basis, although special Steam Open Days are held each year. Link Northern Mill Engine Society website

This is one of the more recent engines to be added to the Society's collection, having been acquired in 1995. It is an inverted vertical compound design. The "inverted vertical" layout obviously owed much to marine practice and was quite widely used in the textile industry from about 1900 onwards. No doubt the small floor area required for the engine-house was an attraction to customers, particularly if the engine was a replacement and had to be squeezed into an existing site. This relatively small example, named "Lily", was built by Scott and Hodgson of Guide Bridge in 1914 and supplied to Hardman and Ingham's Diamond Rope Works at Royton near Oldham. The company manufactured a wide range of ropes and twines using a trademark of two interlocking diamonds. The mill was badly damaged by fire in 1973 and the engine never ran again.

Bolton Steam Museum is operated by volunteers from the Northern Mill Engine Society (NMES) who have rescued 25 of the old stationary steam engines which once powered the cotton mills of Lancashire and Yorkshire. It has the largest collection of working steam mill engines in the UK and probably the largest in the world. The original museum was first opened to the public in 1983 in one of the original engine-houses of Atlas No 3 Mill where 5 of the rebuilt engines could be seen working in steam and over the following 7 years it became a well-known attraction in the area. However, in 1990, the mill complex was sold for redevelopment as a retail supermarket and the museum was in the way. Fortunately, the new owners, William Morrison Supermarkets, were sympathetic to the Society's plight and undertook to relocate the museum into another building on the far side of the site. Unfortunately, this meant dismantling all the engines, moving all the parts into the new building and beginning the rebuilding work all over again but the society now has the security of a long lease and has spent the last 22 years reassembling its collection, which has now grown to some 27 engines, in the new premises. The new building is ideal for the museum, with plenty of natural lighting and full crane coverage to assist with moving and assembling the heavy engine parts. The Society's collection of steam engines now represents one of the largest in the UK. Due the fact that work is still in progress, it is not yet possible to open the museum to the public on a regular basis, although special Steam Open Days are held each year. Link Northern Mill Engine Society website

The shaft of sunlight is probably illuminating dust in the air rather than steam.

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

One of the largest exhibits in the museum. It is in working order and had just been demonstrated. The silver pipes on the wall deliver steam from a separate boiler house to the various engines in the museum.

The volunteer here explained that while larger engines would have a small engine (steam, or later diesel) to position the main steam engine correctly to start with maximum torque, on a smaller engine it is still done by hand with a large crowbar - hence the term "barring".

Just a few of the many smaller exhibits on the walls of the museum. I have a rather tenuous connection with the engineering heritage that they represent. The plaque at the top tells us that the consulting engineer for Trafford Power Station was C S Allott - I worked at one time for Allott & Lomax as they had then become - and the pressure gauge was made by Babcock and Wilcox, and again I worked at one time for part of the Babcock group.