This massive machine was a very impressive sight when we saw it in action just after we arrived in the Kelham Island museum.
Three huge cylinders set vertically move pistons driving the machinery below them, and setting the flywheel on the right turning and would have driven rollers used to squeeze steel as the steel passed through them. Sadly only this part of the machine survives - it would have been impressive to see it drive a rolling mill.
The history of the River Don steam engine began in 1905 when Davy Brothers of Sheffield, well known specialists in the manufacture of forge and rolling mill equipment, produced four sets of heavy plate mills and the engines to drive them. One set was supplied to John Brown of Sheffield, and another to Beardmore’s at Glasgow. The third set went to Japan. The fourth was supplied to Charles Cammell’s Grimesthorpe works Sheffield, and it is this engine which now resides in the Museum.
An information board at the museum described it as follows: "is possibly the largest working steam engine in any museum in the country. In terms of sheer physical dimensions it might be rivalled, or even surpassed in certain aspects, but when its size and power are combined it must be unique. It is the ‘River Don Engine’, 400 tons of iron and stee! giving an indicated 12,000 hp - a triumphant monument to mechanical engineering in the closing years of the Age of Steam.
The engine is a 3-cylinder, inverted, simple expansion, double-acting, non-condensing, piston-valved, reciprocating steam engine of massive construction. It was coupled directly to an 80 ton capacity plate rolling mill. Cylinder bores of 40 inch combined with 48 inch stroke give the engine an indicated horse power of 12,000 when steam is fed to the chests at 160 psi. This is equivalent to a weight of approximately 10 tons on each piston at the beginning of a stroke."
The other very impressive feature of this machine is the speed with which it can change the direction in which it rolls - literally a few seconds. As I mentioned yesterday it is essentiall to work steel quickly while it remains hot, and this machine achieved that.
Great capture of this impressing steam enige. Can`t see it`s a trple expansion or a three D machine. ( Are the dia of the cilinders different in size? it`s a triple.) Fav.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Seeing large steam engines like this at work in a real steel rolling mill is an impressive sight. In my mid teens my dad arranged for me to be taken on a tour of the rolling mill where he worked. His idea was to put me off the idea of working in such a place, and though I was impressed by the sight of all the machinery at work, he succeeded - I really didn't want to end up working there!
@pyrrhula This is a simple expansion engine. A triple would have a high pressure smaller cylinder, the steam exhauseted from there would be used again in a larger cylinder at a lower pressure, and finally used again in an even larger cylinder at lower pressure, so the steam has worked three times rather than the once in this engine. I suspect that the reason for using simple expansion is that cheap coal was easily available from the local coalfield, so little thought was given to efficiency.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Seeing large steam engines like this at work in a real steel rolling mill is an impressive sight. In my mid teens my dad arranged for me to be taken on a tour of the rolling mill where he worked. His idea was to put me off the idea of working in such a place, and though I was impressed by the sight of all the machinery at work, he succeeded - I really didn't want to end up working there!
Ian
Ian
What a coincidence, our last visit her was to a wedding reception after a wedding in a city centre church!
Ian
Thank you!
Ian