Bolton Steam Museum facts for kids

Bolton Steam Museum

View from above the Park Street Mill non-dead-centre engine

A special engine from Hardman and Ingham's Diamond Rope Works

A Tangye Horizontal "Colonial" steam engine

A Walkers of Radcliffe Steam Fire Pump

The Bolton Steam Museum is a cool place in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It's filled with amazing old steam engines that have been saved and fixed up. The museum is located in what used to be the cotton storage area of the old Atlas Mill. It's looked after by a group called the Northern Mill Engine Society (NMES).

What is the Bolton Steam Museum?

The Northern Mill Engine Society (NMES) is a charity that runs the museum. They have special "Accredited Museum" status, which means they meet high standards.

You can visit the museum most Wednesdays and Sundays from 10 AM to 2 PM. During these times, you can see the engines up close, but they won't be running. Volunteers will be there to answer your questions.

The most exciting times to visit are on special Open Days. These usually happen on Bank Holiday weekends. On these days, the museum brings the engines to life! You can see them working just like they did many years ago, powered by steam.

If you're a big fan of engines or want to bring a group, you can arrange a special visit. You can find more details on their website. It's easy to get there, too. You can park for free in the Morrisons supermarket car park nearby.

Amazing Steam Engines to See

The Bolton Steam Museum has a fantastic collection of old steam engines. These powerful machines were once used in factories and mills to run machinery. Here are some of the cool engines you can explore:

Crossfield Mill Beam Engine

This is a very old engine, probably from around 1840. It has two large "beams" that move up and down, like a seesaw. It used gears to turn a big flywheel. This engine came from the Crossfield Mill in Wardle, Lancashire.

Wasp Mill Tandem Engine

Built in 1902 by J & W McNaught Ltd, this engine is a "tandem compound." This means it has two cylinders lined up one after another. It uses a special type of valve system called Corliss valve gear. It used to work at the Wasp Mill, also in Wardle.

Park Street Mill Engine

This engine is quite unique! It's an "inverted vertical compound engine" built in 1893 by John Musgrave & Sons of Bolton. It uses a special design called "non-dead-centre" which helps it start easily. It came from Park Street Mill in Radcliffe.

Diamond Rope Works Engine

This is another inverted vertical compound engine. It was built in 1914 by Scott & Hodgson Ltd. It also uses Corliss valve gear. This powerful engine helped make ropes at Hardman and Ingham's Diamond Rope Works in Royton, near Oldham.

Cellarsclough Beam Engine

This engine started its life around 1870 as a single beam engine. It was later updated in 1908 by Woodhouse and Mitchell. It used to power the Cellarsclough Mill in Marsden, Huddersfield.

Vertical Cross Compound Engine

This engine is a "true vertical compound" design. It was rebuilt in 1900 from older parts. It has a large flywheel in the middle. This engine worked at Messrs Kenyon's Dearnside Mills in Denby Dale.

Robey Uniflow Engine

This is a "single-cylinder horizontal Uniflow engine" built by Robey of Lincoln in 1926. Uniflow engines are known for being very efficient. This one originally worked at the Baltic Sawmills in South Wales.

Robey Cross Compound Engine

Another engine by Robey of Lincoln, this one was built in 1935. It has two cylinders arranged in a "cross-compound" setup. It was used in the laboratories of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.

Barraclough Vertical Engine

This "A-frame" vertical engine was built around 1860 by Joseph Barraclough of Barnsley. It was used at Redfearn's Glassworks in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

Chadwick Vertical Engine

Built by John Chadwick Ltd of Manchester, this vertical engine had an important job. It was used to pump water at Cellarsclough Mills in Marsden.

Browett & Lindley Engine

This is a "high-speed compound inverted vertical engine" from 1900. It was built by Browett, Lindley & Co of Patricroft. This engine was special because it drove an early two-pole dynamo, which is a type of electric generator. It came from Lakefield Mill in Farnworth, Bolton.

Tangye Horizontal Engine

This is a single-cylinder horizontal engine made by Tangye of Birmingham. It came from Vantona Textiles Ltd in Farnworth.

Langbridge Diagonal Engine

This engine has two cylinders arranged diagonally. It was built by Lang Bridge Ironworks of Accrington. It was used to power textile printing machines at Bollington Printworks in Cheshire.

Walker Fire Pump Engine

This single-cylinder horizontal engine was built by Walkers of Radcliffe around 1890. It was a "rotative fire pump engine," meaning it was used to pump water to fight fires at the Fern Mill in Shaw, Lancashire.

Barring Engines

The museum also has four different "barring engines." These smaller engines had a very important job. They were used to slowly turn the huge flywheels of the main mill engines. This helped get the big engines into the right position to start. Before these engines existed, workers had to turn the flywheels by hand, which was very hard work! One of these barring engines is very special because it's only a few yards from where it originally worked in Atlas No 6 Mill.

Other Engines

Besides the big mill engines, the museum also displays four smaller steam engines. They also have some old oil (diesel) and gas engines made by the National Gas & Oil Engine Co.

See also

• Bolton Museum