The Museum website www.ellenroad.org.uk/index.htm Membership phil@ellenroad.org.uk Enquiries enquiries@ellenroad.org.uk to contact Jake jake.addelman02@gmail.com
I would send coal, but probably a bank account number would be easier if they would like to have donation. @MarinZero, can you please change the @ to _at_ so spambots would not flood them...
Thank you very much for interviewing my friend Jake, this is exactly what he needed. He's an unbelievably qualified and self taught steam engineer, anyone who employs him for that is lucky
Still got my grandad's shovel he used to fire a Lancashire boiler in Failsworth. I had the pleasure of seeing the Dee mill engine running a couple of times, another beautiful machine.
I work on, and operate, process steam boilers for a living, and although they are gas fired and PLC controlled these days, there is still something very visceral about them. I truly love my job
I saw this mill running in early 1975 as part of a fire brigade course on cotton mill constuction and fire risks. There were 8 boilers all fired up then to make enough steam to run the spinning machines. The rope race was an amazing and scary sight.
That's a place I'll be going next year. In the 70s, I worked a night shift in the boiler house that provided the heating for Burtonwood airbase. The old boilerman took me round, showed me the coal hoppers and above the boilers, explained all about forced draught flues, calorifiers, boiler tubes etc with great passion.
@@MartinZero for fluing and the re-start of this engine see the story written by stanley challenger graham on oneguyfrom barlick website - also covers a lot of of other mill engines (inc the Whiteless rebuild at the site) and the ltp (lancashire textile project of transcripted audio reminiscences).
Yes, worked on those, very different to Lancashire boilers, can’t remember the name of them, but they were huge in comparison , all automatic. They did replace one of them with a more modern, but still coal fired boiler, around 1980.
@@robertdodd2087 All gone apart from those in museums. As an Electrician, I kept fairly clean, but I remember seeing welders replacing leaking tubes, welding each end onto the faceplates. The one who got the short straw had to squeeze through a small hatch and came out of the boiler looking like a Panda.
When I was a young teenager, I used to go into the steam engine house where my parents worked in the Mill. The smell of the hot steam I remember to this day and I was allowed to stoke the boiler. Hard work!! Later, the flywheel broke free and went straight through the wall of the building
Nothing Like Vintage Steam...... Martin, this was such a great watch --- and as a licensed mechanic I fully approve of this video. Thanks to Martin and team "and" all the volunteers at the Steam Museum.
@@MartinZero I could be a docent there and enjoy every day I was there. Hmmm That would be kinda of funny a docent in the UK with an American "Californian" accent.... LOL
Fair play to the guys running the engine house, keeping our heritage alive. I wish them every success for the future. Thanks for posting Martin. Great video.
You certainly did the museum justice. Great video and thank you for making my visit to Lancashire such a joy. You never mentioned about Avro at Chadderton. My father worked on the Avro Lincoln in Singapore during his national service and I have worked for BAE Systems on a few occasions as a contractor both here and abroad. Thank you very much Martin. This was a unique experience everyone should visit.
Doesn't the fact someone actually dreamed up the idea, designed the equipment and got it working blow your mind? If I'm not mistaken I think one of the boilers on Titanic was a Lancashire Boiler The big fly wheel looks like a massive liquorice wheel you used to get as a kid, with a horse-cake in the middle!!. Well done all the volunteers who keep this bit of history alive. 👏
'Doesn't the fact someone actually dreamed up the idea, designed the equipment and got it working blow your mind?' Exactly what I was thinking. The scale of it all is almost beyond comprehension.
Hi Martin and team. What a great visit this was, really enjoyed it. Next to no vibrations that's amazing, that 2p was going nowhere. No better place for a bacon butty too!! Great to see and hear the enthusiasm of Jake and the rest of the team. Toreador from Bizet's Carmen worked really well👌👌 Cracking outro!! All the best!!
Very cool! It is very rare to see any of these old steam engines being operated with real steam. We have quite a few formerly operating for coal mines here in the Ruhr area but the museums operate them with compressed air. So my first thought seeing that big drum was drive a cable to hoist a cage up and down a mine shaft. What an amazing machine and museum staff!
hi there - not so far from the engine in this video we have the Astley Green colliery engine. The drum looks a bit like this rope drum, but it took the cable for the cage as you describe. On this one, the drum spirals down to small radius at both ends so it gives the engine a hand (change in ratio) to get the cage moving, and then slows it down towards the end of the run. Clever stuff! That one runs on compressed air - and a few big tanks full at 100 psi or more only gives it a minute or so running - it is huge.
@@markavis7232 Non native English speaker, colliery was the word I was looking for. Heard it many times on this channel and finally looked up the exact definition. Definitely have to look for this detail when I visit one in the area here next time.
Ho Martin in the 60,s I worked for a firm that used to put new boilers in and take the Lanky boilers outer said we could move anything into anywhere without using a crane. I used to go to Glasgow. John Thomson made the new boilers and it was brought back by low,- loaders,to take the boiler out the Lanky the lagging had been taken off so we could cut it out with gas axes they had plenty of heavy boiler plate and we would load up the trucks and take it to the Smelters there was one in Leeds I always was sorry when we got a job just cutting the Lankies out and no boiler put back that meant the end of the mill ,you do a good job Martin and Team
Nice that the warming valve was mentioned. In the early 1970s I ran coal fired steam plant in a glucose refinery and we would only allow a trickle of steam through into the steam mains when they were cold following a shutdown. Too much steam all at once could create a slug of condensed water that would travel through the pipe like a bullet in a gun and hit the far end of the steam main with the potential to blow the end off. Obviously an undesirable situation! Our coal was sourced from Brodsworth or Hickleton coal mines. Hickleton was better quality coal for our purposes.
Can I say that as a steam enthusiast in his sixties, how pleased and encouraged I am to see such enthusiasm from a bunch of people who are younger than me! Great video - please make more!
That's a national treasure right there absolutely fantastic 🤩,, when I was 16 and started serving my time,, I was on a factory job with steam blow heaters and the steam trap /condensation sets up ,,steam boiler still used in big Hospitals and large factory's oil fired,, great place to visit ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️ from northern Ireland
Excellent film. I worked on these beasts at Sutton Manor colliery, we had five of them. The air compressors were like the mill engine and worked at a steady speed. But for drama, watching a winding engine go from zero to full speed, back to zero, reverse and do it again, and again and again. The power, the speed, the steam escaping, the smell of hot oil, the air moving, the building shaking. Will never be seen again.
Reminds me of when I was a nipper in 1950s. I used to "help" the stoker in Accrington laundry, they had a small boiler fed by a hopper like the ones shown in this video.
This is bittersweet. I used to be a member of the Ellenroad Engine House radio club. We met in the generator room upstairs. We had keys to the place and would go exploring the whole place. Seen the bottom of the flywheel and been all over the boilers. Great place. One of the things I miss from the UK.
Absolutely brilliant piece of film. Lovely people, superb machinery. It warmed the cockles of my heart. A man with a passion and a calling is what keeps the good things turning!
Great video lads. The first place I ever worked had a blacksmiths shop like that, except the steam engine had been taken out and replaced with an electric motor. That was fifty three years ago, it's long since gone. Good to see those volunteers have managed to save that engine house and restore it to working condition.
Note the scene where coins are balanced on edge on a machine in operation at full speed. Steam power involved EXPANSION of steam, in cylinder rather then the EXPLOSION that happens in internal combustion motors. Steam power is as it were SMOOTH.
If ever there was a man with a passion for the subject material, it's Jake. 😊 rare, and lovely to see in someone so young ! Great video. We need more people to notice how rare this stuff is now ❤
Fantastic video and I love how the old time steam engines look. All that wonderful brass and paint. They really knew how to make beautiful equipment back in the day.
I watched this over an hour ago and ended up down an historic rabbit hole I had no idea existed - The Lancashire Cotton Famine. My lungs are grateful for the Clean Air Act, but I'd love to time travel back for just a day to see and hear what it must have been like with the mills at full strength with the air filled with smoke and steam with the bustle of people on cobbled streets beneath. Like a Lowry come to life I guess. Thank you :-)
I've just read the Wikipedia page on "The Lancashire Cotton Famine". I never realised how interconnected the American civil war and other international politics were with it. Fascinating read.
You guys know how to preserve your engines! Here in the states, we get close (privileged to run a 350 horse engine), but you guys take the win on preservation. Thank you!
Amazing to see some of the preserved industrial history and architectural craftsmanship of the past. British do a wonderful job of preserving bits of history. Thanks from Across the Pond for all the history tour videos you share.
What a wonderful thing to have preserved! Many thanks have to go to everyone who works hard to keep it preserved and operating! As an engineer, I am always intrigued at the multiple ingenious ways old machinery like this was oiled. I've noticed at least two new methods that I'd never seen before!
A great video Martin. Your enthusiasm and that of Jake is infectious! If you want another dose of steam and oil get yerself over to Bancroft Mill Engine Museum in Barnoldswick on Sunday 24th. It's their final steaming for this year until March next year. They might even let you start the engine!
Just incredible that the steam plant literally provided EVERYTHING for the mill... electricicity, heat, motive power...we could relearn a lot from beautiful examples like this. Would love to visit one day.
What a beautiful machine ! I remember Queen Street Mill in Burnley as a working mill and used to talk nicely to the engine man who’d let me in to see the engine during school holidays. My gran was also a weaver there when she was young. I’m definitely having a day out at Ellen Road soon !
Martin , i used to work in a sawmill on the fraser river. It still had steam driven equipment. Some of the saws were originally belt drive driven by individual steam engines but had been converted to electric motors. Log handling was all by steam even in my time as was the #2 head saw log carriage . These old steam pots and lines were an excellent way of drying out your gloves in the winter. Excellent video! Full steam ahead!
Incredible machines. They are so smooth and quiet, considering their size and weight. There's a much smaller almost identical version used in Balloch on loch lomond. They used it to pull the paddle steamers out of the water and up the slipway for maintenance. It's kept in pristine condition, and they fire it up once a month so everyone can watch it's truly a magnificent experience
that's just because it is only ticking over. in the early 70's i visited a working mill still powered by steam , you could feel the power . all the moving parts were just a blur.
That was absolutely fantastic. It seems to run so smooth, totally fascinating. I would visit if I was over there, I love it. Thanks for taking me along. Please take care
What a Marvellous place to visit, so nice to see a young man so interested and knowledgeable on this technology, we must visit, one of my favourite subjects industrial archeology and I Love Steam 😊Julie
Great job Martin! 85 tons on the fly wheel gives plenty of momentum to keep things turning. My "light bulb" moment on terms of mill architecture / layout came because of this video. Namely, you have these three to six story mills full of spinning and weaving machines requiring a central power source to run the whole place. This is a PURE example of economies of scale. One large 3000 hp steam engine and drum can power a lot of machinery at the same time and is much cheaper to run per unit than two mills half the size. Until the widespread use of electric motors, this was the only way to scale up.
I come from Milnrow, and the various mills of Rochdale are very much a part of my childhood. There’s still some of them left, Moss Mill Kingsway, for example, but it’s a shame that they are falling into ruin. Thank you for highlighting the obviously brilliant work that the volunteers do in keeping this heritage alive.
A piece of antique/vintage machinery that you missed was that Rigid 300 threader at 14:00. That threader is likely between 30 & 50 years old. All the parts are still available for it from the original manufacturer (Ridge Tool Company) in Elyria, Ohio-USA. Ridgid threaders are the unsung workhorses of the electrical, plumbing and steam fitter industries. When I first got into the electrical apprenticeship working for Holloway corp at Kennedy Space Center in 1985 a Rigid Threader is one of the 1st pieces of equipment I was taught how to use. I now own a 535 threader for my shop that is likely older than I am (58) and is still used regularly to thread conduit.
In the mid sixties I was an apprentice electrician, the electrician I was working with had worked in the mills, I was taken to see a working mill steam engine in Morley Leeds. The ropes going to the upper floors was quite scary, there was no safety guarding. The video took me right back, even to the 6 gang light switch. Great video Martin.
Brilliant video and so glad I have found your channel. I'm proud to be Yorkshire and definitely think I was born in the wrong generations. The days these amazing mill engines engines were working was the days people had amazing knowledge/skills and knew how to graft. It's sad to think how many Mills are now closed and demolished - wouldn't it be great to see our Mills working again to produce good quality products for Britain and not importing foreign rubbish. Looking forward to watching more of your videos.
Thanks. I enjoyed this. I belong to a group which operates an oil-fired steam locomotive in the US. A reporter thought we were fumbling around in the dark and said they aren't like automobiles where there are owners' manuals? The manufacturers did produce manuals and there are engineering manuals on the various engines. I wonder how long until that boiler has to undergo a required scheduled breakdown? That is when things get expensive. Our locomotive is undergoing the required 15 year breakdown and the boiler tubes are being replaced. We have some people from a local chemical plant volunteer to do ultrasound testing of the boiler. If one helps maintain steam equipment, the realization comes quick why everyone wanted to move to electric and diesel. They are maintenance nightmares.
Absolutely fan****tastic, I do enjoy your videos and this is as so many are, truly amazing. I was born just 2 miles from the mill and fully intend to visit when I'm back home again. Keep up the brilliant content Martin and team.
Great look around the working mill engine, I worked in engineering from the 70s till 5yrs ago and recognise the machinery in the boilersmiths workshop as similar to what we learned on.🙂
That is fantastic Martin , 9000 views and I hope your video boosts their visitors and donations , we are just so blessed this engine house has been saved for posterity .
For me nothing will beat stumbling across Ryhope Engines Museum in Sunderland as a young teen. I was hooked on steam engines at the time and the museum holds a victorian pumping stations. They have regular steam days and have been going from strength to strength in recent years.
When the museum is plagued by money problems, they should simply install a contemporary AC-generator with frequency- and voltage regulator and sell the electrical energy instead of running the engine just for producing nothing then carbon dioxide.
Seeing how impressed you were with that engine, you really must take a trip to see Bolton Steam Museum. It’s easy to get to, there’s plenty of free parking (it’s next to a Morrisons supermarket) and there are many different types of steam engines demonstrating the evolution from the beginnings of steam power right up to the last types built in the early 20th century. The drive ropes turned what was known as line shafting and each spinning frame had its own drive belt taken from the overhead line shaft. This was turning constantly, so if it was needed to stop the frame for any reason the operator worked a lever which moved the drive belt off the driving pulley onto one which was loose on the shaft. The drive pulley was fast on the shaft, hence the saying “playing fast and loose”.
Amazing how people back then built such huge highly engineered machines from no previous reference. Up from scratch. From the designers, to the casting, fitters and Turner's, assemblers.... The vision. Built to last. It's mind boggling the industrious vision these people had.
My grandfather was chief engineer for one on Dukinfield in the day. Got hit by the face by the crankshaft while it was running. I was very impressed by the scar when I was a kid!
Tragic the original mill burned down, great they rebuilt it. What a beutiful peice of history, and i always enjoy your detailed, passionate, well organised information that goes with the video and pictures! I so love the old technology. Thankyou for showing us this 😊
What amazes me is that just the flywheel, not counting anything else, they had to cast it, machine it, transport it and install it! We're talking about the early 20th century! Just WOW! And I imagine that you could put the whole thing back to work, and it wouldn't bother it a bit.
Another great video Martin and the Lads, great to see the enthusiastic team working on this. The Mather & Platt water pump was great to see, as my dad served his time there in the foundry casting those . I'm working in Liverpo at the moment on Mersey Tunnels elevators, it would be great if they would let you into the Woodside Ventilation building, they have 6 x 100 tonne fans over 3 floors 60 meters high driven by the original David Brown gearboxes think DBS ? Again great video, will have to visit this , good to see Fred Dibnah had been there. Regards Russ...🙏
Yes we work in the George's Dock building as well, and the Ferry terminal, I can email a couple of photos to you of Woodside if you have email, I don't use Facebook or Twittr etc.
Looks a fantasic place with freindly volunteers all doing their bit to keep steam and the machines working, will visit next year hopefully, also dont forget Bolton Steam museum working static engines and other stuff.
Absolutely fabulous video. Lovely bunch of lively guys with obvious enthusiasm. One of the best videos -if not the best - I have seen.. congratulations on the brilliance…😊
Absolutely wonderous. My Grandfather was a loco engineer. One of the machines he operated from 1913 still pulls trains in a museum. I love this more than I can express. Thanks ever so much for documenting this incredible place. I stillhave the British railway book for you I spoke of if you wish to have it.
Brilliant video, as an engineer myself I thoroughly enjoyed all the content and spotted the reciprocating saw in the blacksmiths shop at the end which is identical to the one in our workshop. Ours is now driven by an electric motor but it was great seeing this one still driven by original line shaft and belt with the release clutch to stop the saw once it finishes its cut. Top stuff ! 👍
The Museum website www.ellenroad.org.uk/index.htm Membership phil@ellenroad.org.uk Enquiries enquiries@ellenroad.org.uk to contact Jake jake.addelman02@gmail.com
I would send coal, but probably a bank account number would be easier if they would like to have donation.
@MarinZero, can you please change the @ to _at_ so spambots would not flood them...
Hi Martin. Do you know who was the woman with the white hair who was in the video quite a bit.?
What a great bunch of volunteers. All the best to them and their trust. Great video you three!!
Yep, totally agree
Thank you very much for interviewing my friend Jake, this is exactly what he needed. He's an unbelievably qualified and self taught steam engineer, anyone who employs him for that is lucky
@@AEKarnes seems like a really good bloke and proper loves it and knows his stuff. Dying breed unfortunately now 👍
Coal 34p a pound £750 divided by 2240 pounds
@@garethparr9482 Never a dying breed. We are everywhere, we are just crushed down by the world.
@@Johnketes54 we also have to pay for insurance
Well said
Still got my grandad's shovel he used to fire a Lancashire boiler in Failsworth. I had the pleasure of seeing the Dee mill engine running a couple of times, another beautiful machine.
Thats brilliant, keep that shovel 😄👍🏻
Absolutely phenomenal engineering. Dibnah will be so pleased to know that the Mill is being looked after.
Fred Dibnah. He sure made excellent videos. Surely missed.
8:08 He looks right pleased 😊
That massive machine so gentle it never moved those old coins , great stuff again lads
Yeah, very impressive
Real engineer. No CAD just pencil paper and a straight ruler.
Fantastic stuff. Thanks for sharing with us.
Paul Thailand.
Cheers Paul
So great to see them keeping history alive, fantastic machines they are
Yeah, really good job the volunteers do 👍🏻
@@MartinZero they really do very impressive
Hats off for the volunteers ! Good to know that industrial heritage is still preserved even by comparatively young people & Thanks for sharing !
Yeah, they do a great job
I work on, and operate, process steam boilers for a living, and although they are gas fired and PLC controlled these days, there is still something very visceral about them. I truly love my job
I saw this mill running in early 1975 as part of a fire brigade course on cotton mill constuction and fire risks. There were 8 boilers all fired up then to make enough steam to run the spinning machines. The rope race was an amazing and scary sight.
That was fantastic to see. Thank you Martin, James, Roy and to all the volunteers who make it all possible.
Cheers Martin, great place
@@MartinZero It certainly looks it Martin🙂
That's a place I'll be going next year. In the 70s, I worked a night shift in the boiler house that provided the heating for Burtonwood airbase. The old boilerman took me round, showed me the coal hoppers and above the boilers, explained all about forced draught flues, calorifiers, boiler tubes etc with great passion.
That sounds brilliant 👍🏻
@@MartinZero for fluing and the re-start of this engine see the story written by stanley challenger graham on oneguyfrom barlick website - also covers a lot of of other mill engines (inc the Whiteless rebuild at the site) and the ltp (lancashire textile project of transcripted audio reminiscences).
Yes, worked on those, very different to Lancashire boilers, can’t remember the name of them, but they were huge in comparison , all automatic. They did replace one of them with a more modern, but still coal fired boiler, around 1980.
@@robertdodd2087 All gone apart from those in museums. As an Electrician, I kept fairly clean, but I remember seeing welders replacing leaking tubes, welding each end onto the faceplates. The one who got the short straw had to squeeze through a small hatch and came out of the boiler looking like a Panda.
When I was a young teenager, I used to go into the steam engine house where my parents worked in the Mill. The smell of the hot steam I remember to this day and I was allowed to stoke the boiler. Hard work!! Later, the flywheel broke free and went straight through the wall of the building
Nothing Like Vintage Steam......
Martin, this was such a great watch --- and as a licensed mechanic I fully approve of this video. Thanks to Martin and team "and" all the volunteers at the Steam Museum.
Thanks very much. We loved it there
@@MartinZero I could be a docent there and enjoy every day I was there.
Hmmm That would be kinda of funny a docent in the UK with an American "Californian" accent.... LOL
Fair play to the guys running the engine house, keeping our heritage alive. I wish them every success for the future.
Thanks for posting Martin. Great video.
Thank you
You certainly did the museum justice. Great video and thank you for making my visit to Lancashire such a joy. You never mentioned about Avro at Chadderton. My father worked on the Avro Lincoln in Singapore during his national service and I have worked for BAE Systems on a few occasions as a contractor both here and abroad. Thank you very much Martin. This was a unique experience everyone should visit.
Thanks Ashley
Another great video Martin , showed my 9 year old son what it used to be like , highly amazed, thanks Martin
@@ImranKhan-dk8bo Cheers Imran 👍
Doesn't the fact someone actually dreamed up the idea, designed the equipment and got it working blow your mind?
If I'm not mistaken I think one of the boilers on Titanic was a Lancashire Boiler
The big fly wheel looks like a massive liquorice wheel you used to get as a kid, with a horse-cake in the middle!!.
Well done all the volunteers who keep this bit of history alive. 👏
'Doesn't the fact someone actually dreamed up the idea, designed the equipment and got it working blow your mind?' Exactly what I was thinking. The scale of it all is almost beyond comprehension.
Hi Martin and team. What a great visit this was, really enjoyed it.
Next to no vibrations that's amazing, that 2p was going nowhere. No better place for a bacon butty too!! Great to see and hear the enthusiasm of Jake and the rest of the team.
Toreador from Bizet's Carmen worked really well👌👌
Cracking outro!! All the best!!
Thanks very much David
Absolute genius, this video was! Jake himself, is a national treasure! Thoroughly enjoyed the video, gentlemen. Thank you!
"run of the mill" ...nicely done!
Cheers
Great video of an astonishing piece of engineering. They've done a magnificent job of restoration and preservation. Thank you.
What a fabulous place to visit. Jake is a nice chap and dedicated to the museum too. I loved the metalworking toolshop. Great video!
One for your bucket list Philippa
Thank you, love the old stuff.
Me to thank you
@@williamparry9314 I like James as well as Martin and Roy though! Haha!
Very cool! It is very rare to see any of these old steam engines being operated with real steam. We have quite a few formerly operating for coal mines here in the Ruhr area but the museums operate them with compressed air. So my first thought seeing that big drum was drive a cable to hoist a cage up and down a mine shaft. What an amazing machine and museum staff!
Yes , so much better with steam
hi there - not so far from the engine in this video we have the Astley Green colliery engine. The drum looks a bit like this rope drum, but it took the cable for the cage as you describe. On this one, the drum spirals down to small radius at both ends so it gives the engine a hand (change in ratio) to get the cage moving, and then slows it down towards the end of the run. Clever stuff! That one runs on compressed air - and a few big tanks full at 100 psi or more only gives it a minute or so running - it is huge.
@@markavis7232 Non native English speaker, colliery was the word I was looking for. Heard it many times on this channel and finally looked up the exact definition. Definitely have to look for this detail when I visit one in the area here next time.
Ho Martin in the 60,s I worked for a firm that used to put new boilers in and take the Lanky boilers outer said we could move anything into anywhere without using a crane. I used to go to Glasgow. John Thomson made the new boilers and it was brought back by low,- loaders,to take the boiler out the Lanky the lagging had been taken off so we could cut it out with gas axes they had plenty of heavy boiler plate and we would load up the trucks and take it to the Smelters there was one in Leeds I always was sorry when we got a job just cutting the Lankies out and no boiler put back that meant the end of the mill ,you do a good job Martin and Team
That sounds fascinating Richard
My Dad used to work for John Thompson, commissioning them once in place, his name was Norman Dodd, he loved his job.
Nice that the warming valve was mentioned. In the early 1970s I ran coal fired steam plant in a glucose refinery and we would only allow a trickle of steam through into the steam mains when they were cold following a shutdown. Too much steam all at once could create a slug of condensed water that would travel through the pipe like a bullet in a gun and hit the far end of the steam main with the potential to blow the end off. Obviously an undesirable situation! Our coal was sourced from Brodsworth or Hickleton coal mines. Hickleton was better quality coal for our purposes.
Can I say that as a steam enthusiast in his sixties, how pleased and encouraged I am to see such enthusiasm from a bunch of people who are younger than me! Great video - please make more!
That must be the best video I've seen, great enthusiasm, the best of British
That's a national treasure right there absolutely fantastic 🤩,, when I was 16 and started serving my time,, I was on a factory job with steam blow heaters and the steam trap /condensation sets up ,,steam boiler still used in big Hospitals and large factory's oil fired,, great place to visit ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️ from northern Ireland
Thanks very much Cecil 👍🏻👍🏻
What a fantastic place, on the bucket list. Jake and those volunteers are great, keeping the past alive.
Excellent film. I worked on these beasts at Sutton Manor colliery, we had five of them. The air compressors were like the mill engine and worked at a steady speed. But for drama, watching a winding engine go from zero to full speed, back to zero, reverse and do it again, and again and again. The power, the speed, the steam escaping, the smell of hot oil, the air moving, the building shaking. Will never be seen again.
Reminds me of when I was a nipper in 1950s. I used to "help" the stoker in Accrington laundry, they had a small boiler fed by a hopper like the ones shown in this video.
Great stuff !!!
This is bittersweet. I used to be a member of the Ellenroad Engine House radio club. We met in the generator room upstairs. We had keys to the place and would go exploring the whole place.
Seen the bottom of the flywheel and been all over the boilers. Great place. One of the things I miss from the UK.
Convert to natural gas?
Such a beautiful piece of industrial engineering I would actually call it a work of art so powerful and inspiring
Absolutely brilliant piece of film. Lovely people, superb machinery. It warmed the cockles of my heart. A man with a passion and a calling is what keeps the good things turning!
Great video lads. The first place I ever worked had a blacksmiths shop like that, except the steam engine had been taken out and replaced with an electric motor. That was fifty three years ago, it's long since gone. Good to see those volunteers have managed to save that engine house and restore it to working condition.
Thanks Kevin 👍🏻
Steam engines are just wonderful - the noise, the smell 🎉🎉🎉
They are, the smells in there are amazing
Bf loved the steam, oil..coal fire smell
Note the scene where
coins are balanced on
edge on a machine in
operation at full speed.
Steam power involved
EXPANSION of steam,
in cylinder rather then
the EXPLOSION that
happens in internal
combustion motors.
Steam power is as it
were SMOOTH.
If ever there was a man with a passion for the subject material, it's Jake. 😊 rare, and lovely to see in someone so young !
Great video. We need more people to notice how rare this stuff is now
❤
Fantastic video and I love how the old time steam engines look. All that wonderful brass and paint. They really knew how to make beautiful equipment back in the day.
I watched this over an hour ago and ended up down an historic rabbit hole I had no idea existed - The Lancashire Cotton Famine.
My lungs are grateful for the Clean Air Act, but I'd love to time travel back for just a day to see and hear what it must have been like with the mills at full strength with the air filled with smoke and steam with the bustle of people on cobbled streets beneath.
Like a Lowry come to life I guess.
Thank you :-)
Yep, all fascinating stuff
I've just read the Wikipedia page on "The Lancashire Cotton Famine". I never realised how interconnected the American civil war and other international politics were with it. Fascinating read.
Lowry captured what it was really like very well. Just look at his pictures ...
Thank you, gentleman. Great video!
You guys know how to preserve your engines!
Here in the states, we get close (privileged to run a 350 horse engine), but you guys take the win on preservation.
Thank you!
Excellent program! Thank you for doing this.
Thank you
Amazing to see some of the preserved industrial history and architectural craftsmanship of the past. British do a wonderful job of preserving bits of history. Thanks from Across the Pond for all the history tour videos you share.
Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed
Credit to all, and top marks for the volunteers. Great job lads. From down here in London. Bless you all in keeping the country's heritage.
Thanks Kevin
What a wonderful thing to have preserved! Many thanks have to go to everyone who works hard to keep it preserved and operating!
As an engineer, I am always intrigued at the multiple ingenious ways old machinery like this was oiled. I've noticed at least two new methods that I'd never seen before!
A great video Martin. Your enthusiasm and that of Jake is infectious!
If you want another dose of steam and oil get yerself over to Bancroft Mill Engine Museum in Barnoldswick on Sunday 24th. It's their final steaming for this year until March next year. They might even let you start the engine!
Just incredible that the steam plant literally provided EVERYTHING for the mill... electricicity, heat, motive power...we could relearn a lot from beautiful examples like this. Would love to visit one day.
Thank you for your content Martin. I have watched you for years. Greeting from Kansas
What a beautiful machine ! I remember Queen Street Mill in Burnley as a working mill and used to talk nicely to the engine man who’d let me in to see the engine during school holidays. My gran was also a weaver there when she was young. I’m definitely having a day out at Ellen Road soon !
did he live opp Queen Street -
@ Not sure tbh
Worth it Andy 👍🏻
Martin , i used to work in a sawmill on the fraser river. It still had steam driven equipment. Some of the saws were originally belt drive driven by individual steam engines but had been converted to electric motors.
Log handling was all by steam even in my time as was the #2 head saw log carriage . These old steam pots and lines were an excellent way of drying out your gloves in the winter.
Excellent video! Full steam ahead!
Hi Bill, cant beat a steam engine and its multiple uses 😄
Great to see these wonderful old steam engine houses keep on going, its all of our heritage, thanks you all
Incredible machines. They are so smooth and quiet, considering their size and weight. There's a much smaller almost identical version used in Balloch on loch lomond. They used it to pull the paddle steamers out of the water and up the slipway for maintenance. It's kept in pristine condition, and they fire it up once a month so everyone can watch it's truly a magnificent experience
That be worth seeing 👍👍
that's just because it is only ticking over. in the early 70's i visited a working mill still powered by steam , you could feel the power . all the moving parts were just a blur.
That was absolutely fantastic. It seems to run so smooth, totally fascinating. I would visit if I was over there, I love it. Thanks for taking me along. Please take care
We have a beautiful Steam engine in Hamilton Ontario Canada that you should see .its incredible.
Visited about six years ago, absolutely gorgeous engine. Had a great time on the tour, still need to frame the print I got there.
What a Marvellous place to visit, so nice to see a young man so interested and knowledgeable on this technology, we must visit, one of my favourite subjects industrial archeology and I Love Steam 😊Julie
Great job Martin! 85 tons on the fly wheel gives plenty of momentum to keep things turning. My "light bulb" moment on terms of mill architecture / layout came because of this video. Namely, you have these three to six story mills full of spinning and weaving machines requiring a central power source to run the whole place. This is a PURE example of economies of scale. One large 3000 hp steam engine and drum can power a lot of machinery at the same time and is much cheaper to run per unit than two mills half the size. Until the widespread use of electric motors, this was the only way to scale up.
I come from Milnrow, and the various mills of Rochdale are very much a part of my childhood. There’s still some of them left, Moss Mill Kingsway, for example, but it’s a shame that they are falling into ruin.
Thank you for highlighting the obviously brilliant work that the volunteers do in keeping this heritage alive.
great great video love to see the old quality build machines still running brilliant
Thanks for the great video Martin. I'd be in there all day being very annoying since I'm a boilerman myself.
Hi Martin , thank you so much for putting this video together. We’ve just been to visit today,1st dec , brilliant day out ⚒️
Splendid explanation and production Martin and lads! Well worth support. Cheers to all the drivers and other volunteers. Right - no, on me bike!
Thanks very much Frank
Amazing video Martin, great bunch of people care taking this wonderful heritage '
A piece of antique/vintage machinery that you missed was that Rigid 300 threader at 14:00. That threader is likely between 30 & 50 years old. All the parts are still available for it from the original manufacturer (Ridge Tool Company) in Elyria, Ohio-USA. Ridgid threaders are the unsung workhorses of the electrical, plumbing and steam fitter industries. When I first got into the electrical apprenticeship working for Holloway corp at Kennedy Space Center in 1985 a Rigid Threader is one of the 1st pieces of equipment I was taught how to use. I now own a 535 threader for my shop that is likely older than I am (58) and is still used regularly to thread conduit.
What a brilliant adventure. Great machine. Great people. An important piece of history preserved for all to see. Thanks, Martin.
Excellent video Martin, Roy & James. I'll definitely be paying the mill a visit next year. Cheers lads!
Lovely to see Martin, thanks for showing it to us.
Thanks very much Paul
In the mid sixties I was an apprentice electrician, the electrician I was working with had worked in the mills, I was taken to see a working mill steam engine in Morley Leeds. The ropes going to the upper floors was quite scary, there was no safety guarding. The video took me right back, even to the 6 gang light switch. Great video Martin.
Fabulous. Every schoolboy should be taken to see these marvels of engineering.
Brilliant video and so glad I have found your channel.
I'm proud to be Yorkshire and definitely think I was born in the wrong generations.
The days these amazing mill engines engines were working was the days people had amazing knowledge/skills and knew how to graft.
It's sad to think how many Mills are now closed and demolished - wouldn't it be great to see our Mills working again to produce good quality products for Britain and not importing foreign rubbish.
Looking forward to watching more of your videos.
I was down last Sunday for my first visit to this particular steam engine, absolutely love it there!
Great isnt it
Thank you Martin and team. That engine could push a very large ship.
Thanks. I enjoyed this.
I belong to a group which operates an oil-fired steam locomotive in the US. A reporter thought we were fumbling around in the dark and said they aren't like automobiles where there are owners' manuals? The manufacturers did produce manuals and there are engineering manuals on the various engines.
I wonder how long until that boiler has to undergo a required scheduled breakdown? That is when things get expensive. Our locomotive is undergoing the required 15 year breakdown and the boiler tubes are being replaced. We have some people from a local chemical plant volunteer to do ultrasound testing of the boiler. If one helps maintain steam equipment, the realization comes quick why everyone wanted to move to electric and diesel. They are maintenance nightmares.
Fantastic to see this kind of heritage being preserved. Great video, Martin and co., never knew this existed, hope to get to see it one day.
Absolutely fan****tastic, I do enjoy your videos and this is as so many are, truly amazing. I was born just 2 miles from the mill and fully intend to visit when I'm back home again. Keep up the brilliant content Martin and team.
Great look around the working mill engine, I worked in engineering from the 70s till 5yrs ago and recognise the machinery in the boilersmiths workshop as similar to what we learned on.🙂
That is fantastic Martin , 9000 views and I hope your video boosts their visitors and donations , we are just so blessed this engine house has been saved for posterity .
Lets hope so Keith
The ingenuity to build such marvelous machines is mind boggling indeed.
For me nothing will beat stumbling across Ryhope Engines Museum in Sunderland as a young teen. I was hooked on steam engines at the time and the museum holds a victorian pumping stations. They have regular steam days and have been going from strength to strength in recent years.
Be good to visit 👍
Glorious!!! I can also highly recommend Crossness pumping station in London, magnificent beam engines galore!!!
That sounds good 👍🏻
Absolutely brilliant , visit pending! Cheers Martin Zero team
Thanks David
When the museum is plagued by money problems, they should simply install a contemporary AC-generator with frequency- and voltage regulator and sell the electrical energy instead of running the engine just for producing nothing then carbon dioxide.
Another great video, Martin and gang. Sandwich looked yummy.
Greetings from California where it was burning for a while.
❤🔥
Thank you, yep that bacon was good 👌
Seeing how impressed you were with that engine, you really must take a trip to see Bolton Steam Museum. It’s easy to get to, there’s plenty of free parking (it’s next to a Morrisons supermarket) and there are many different types of steam engines demonstrating the evolution from the beginnings of steam power right up to the last types built in the early 20th century. The drive ropes turned what was known as line shafting and each spinning frame had its own drive belt taken from the overhead line shaft. This was turning constantly, so if it was needed to stop the frame for any reason the operator worked a lever which moved the drive belt off the driving pulley onto one which was loose on the shaft. The drive pulley was fast on the shaft, hence the saying “playing fast and loose”.
Ive actually been, but it was just a visit. Great place
Amazing how people back then built such huge highly engineered machines from no previous reference. Up from scratch. From the designers, to the casting, fitters and Turner's, assemblers.... The vision. Built to last. It's mind boggling the industrious vision these people had.
That was excellent Martin. I love steam engines but that giant was wonderful. Looks like a great day out. Thanks
Thank you David
My grandfather was chief engineer for one on Dukinfield in the day. Got hit by the face by the crankshaft while it was running. I was very impressed by the scar when I was a kid!
Bloody heck !!!
Tragic the original mill burned down, great they rebuilt it.
What a beutiful peice of history, and i always enjoy your detailed, passionate, well organised information that goes with the video and pictures! I so love the old technology.
Thankyou for showing us this 😊
Thanks very much 😄👍🏻
What amazes me is that just the flywheel, not counting anything else, they had to cast it, machine it, transport it and install it! We're talking about the early 20th century! Just WOW! And I imagine that you could put the whole thing back to work, and it wouldn't bother it a bit.
It's great to see old heritage kept alive thanks to the volunteers. That was a really great video. Thanks, Martin and the crew. 👍
Thank you Jeff
Great video. I used to volunteer at Crofton. Kind of done that. Keeping that boiler in certification must be fun.
Another great video Martin and the Lads, great to see the enthusiastic team working on this.
The Mather & Platt water pump was great to see, as my dad served his time there in the foundry casting those .
I'm working in Liverpo at the moment on Mersey Tunnels elevators, it would be great if they would let you into the Woodside Ventilation building, they have 6 x 100 tonne fans over 3 floors 60 meters high driven by the original David Brown gearboxes think DBS ?
Again great video, will have to visit this , good to see Fred Dibnah had been there.
Regards Russ...🙏
That would be good to see. We did the Mersey Tunnel tour earlier in the year
Yes we work in the George's Dock building as well, and the Ferry terminal, I can email a couple of photos to you of Woodside if you have email, I don't use Facebook or Twittr etc.
Amazing video. Just top class. Jake and the volunteers total respect for what you do..
Lovely to see the volunteers and there pure enthusiasm its fabulous 👌 👏.
Great to have these fab machines 😀 preserved
Great work and thanks for video
Looks a fantasic place with freindly volunteers all doing their bit to keep steam and the machines working, will visit next year hopefully, also dont forget Bolton Steam museum working static engines and other stuff.
Ive actually been to Bolton but never filmed it
Absolutely fabulous video. Lovely bunch of lively guys with obvious enthusiasm. One of the best videos -if not the best - I have seen.. congratulations on the brilliance…😊
Absolutely wonderous. My Grandfather was a loco engineer. One of the machines he operated from 1913 still pulls trains in a museum. I love this more than I can express. Thanks ever so much for documenting this incredible place. I stillhave the British railway book for you I spoke of if you wish to have it.
Thanks Christopher. Where is the museum. The book sounds great thank you
@@MartinZero PM me pls with shipping info and I'll post it straight away to you.
Brilliant video, as an engineer myself I thoroughly enjoyed all the content and spotted the reciprocating saw in the blacksmiths shop at the end which is identical to the one in our workshop. Ours is now driven by an electric motor but it was great seeing this one still driven by original line shaft and belt with the release clutch to stop the saw once it finishes its cut. Top stuff ! 👍
Is that Fred Dibnah at 8:09 Still watching vid..... Great so far.....
What a LEGEND he is/was! I would have loved to have spent an afternoon talking steam with him!
@@robertschemonia5617 I wasn't sure if it was Fred as I'm 5000 miles away in CA.....
LOL
His Photo was on that wall. i think he visited at some point
@@MartinZero I believe there was a documentary series made that he hosted that an episode was filmed possibly there.
@jetsons101 hell, I'm in Southern Illinois. So, only a few miles closer than you! Lol