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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


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