Geograph - photograph every grid square

This is the site's preserved Woolf compound beam pumping engine that was installed in 1904. This was the third beam engine on the site, the earlier two dating from 1849 and 1853. This part of the site was designed by T & C Hawksley of London, the engine was designed by Glenfield and Kennedy of Kilmarnock and erected by Teasdale Brothers of Darlington. It is believed that the major components were made by companies in Leeds and Manchester.

The beam engine was rated at 140 horsepower at 16 revolutions per minute with steam at 100 pounds per square inch. This is a view on the packing platform showing the parallel motion that connects the linear motion of the piston (2) and air pump rods to the arc described by the end of the beam. The linkage is anchored by the radius rods to the bracket at top right. The flat topped box in the bottom foreground is the upper valve chest that contains the Cornish drop valves for the top of the cylinders. The top of the low pressure cylinder and its piston rod gland are seen in the bottom right corner.