Engineering

Auto-Masters Ltd is a family firm that was founded in 1947. It specialises in producing special purpose machinery for a wide range of industries along with manufacturing and designing Harnden plastic bag making machinery and the Rowland range of friction material and foundry equipment. This is their premises at Hyde shortly before it was all demolished and now housing stands on this site. The company is now based at Hadfield, Glossop.

Ladder & Fencing Industries was established in 1947 and remains as a family business. The company is the UK's leading manufacturer & supplier of aluminium, timber, steel and GRP ladders, based in Newent, Gloucestershire.

Paint shop of an engineering company manufacturing conveyors and silos.

In 1837, John Taylor established a foundry in Rhydymwyn to provide mining equipment to the Mold mines. In 1862 the operations were transferred to an existing foundry at Sandycroft on the banks of the River Dee. The company specialised in making machinery for the mining industry. By 1877 the business was trading as the Sandycroft Foundry and Engine Works Company Ltd. The company was very busy supplying machinery to India, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and numerous mines and collieries throughout Britain. By the 1920s, however, competition had increased significantly and in 1927 the works closed due to lack of orders. The site was by 1942 occupied by International Electroplate Co Ltd, and is now used for steel fabrication and general engineering. The rail connection was already disused by 1967 but even today there are rails to be seen in the floor of the main building. The front of the works suffered a fire some time ago and has been rebuilt. However, the rear section seen the background of this photo s the original erecting shop with the distinctive roof trusses that can be seen in many old photos of the works.

H.S. Greenwood & Sons Ltd was established in 1948 and operated for many years from this building, Magnetic Works, Princess Street, Rochdale. They manufactured a wide range of permanent magnetic separators for the extraction of ferrous metal contamination. The company continues in business on another site as Greenwood Magnetics Limited.

The Great Western Railway lives on in this manhole cover on Milton Road, Swindon.

Flywheel casting in the foundry at Crossley Bros engine works in Openshaw c1900. These flywheels were probably used on Crossley's famous gas engines.

140 hp Crossley gas engine driving a Siemens dynamo generating set at the Brunner Mond soda ash works in Winnington, Northwich c1900.

The disused winding engine house at Hemingfield Colliery once contained a beam winding engine dating from c1842. Inside the cast iron support for the beam and associated bearing mounts remain, along with the spring beam. The drive would have passed through the wall to the right to the rope drum. The arc of stonework marks the blocked hole for this.

The Hawk is a British aero engine designed by Rolls-Royce in 1915. Derived from one bank of six cylinders of the Rolls-Royce Eagle engine, it produced 75 horsepower at 1,370 rpm. Power was progressively increased to 91 hp by February 1916, and 105 hp by October 1918. After Rolls-Royce made the prototypes, the Hawk was manufactured under licence by Brazil Straker in Bristol between 1915 and 1918. During this period 204 engines were built, and the Hawk earned a reputation for high reliability. It is said that Royce developed the engine having seen coastal blimps struggling over the English Channel with unreliable and underpowered engines. Many engines of this type were used to power the SSZ (Sea Scout Zero) class coastal patrol airships of which 76 were built. They were capable of patrols of 30 hours duration.

The New Conveyor Company specialised in conveyors and elevators but also operated as general mechanical engineers. In 1914 the company was listed as proprietors of the Midland Engineering Company. It was acquired by Tube Investments, Ltd in 1951. In 1961 the firm employed 800 people and in 1968 it supplied the coal handling plant for Cottam Power Station. This 1907 advert was published in the Journal of Gas Lighting.

1909 advert for a company specialising in materials handling equipment. The firm, which was established in 1889, continues in business at Grange Works, Wellington Street in Accrington.

A study in corrugation. Engineering works in Whaley Bridge. Home to D & A Engineers Ltd who have over 30 years experience in machine design and manufacture, automation systems and maintenance.

The fascination with steam is evident in this new generation of enthusiasts watching the River Don plate mill engine at Kelham Island Industrial Museum. This is the largest surviving steam engine in the UK, generating 12,000 horsepower, and was used to roll armour plate for warships at thicknesses up to 18 inches. Steam remained in use for these large rolling jobs for so long due to the speed that the engine could be reversed for another pass of the plate. The engine is still steamed and run daily at the museum and is recommended to anyone with an interest in heavy engineering.

Woodware Repetitions was founded in the early 1940's and made its name by producing quality tool handles, including both the knob and handle for the famous Record Planes. In 1976, the late Fred Barnsley and his eldest son Colin decided to leave the family company, George Barnsley & Sons Ltd, and bought Woodware Repetitions Ltd. Fred and Colin continued the quality ethos and soon expanded the range of handles and turned wooden components, widening the customer base to include customers as far afield as Canada and the USA. They used their previous wealth of experience to start to produce a range of knives and tools, starting with just 4 patterns. The range steadily increased and by the early 1990s it comprised of over 160 patterns. Following the closure of George Barnsley's at the end of 2003, Woodware Repetitions took over the remaining stock and are continuing to re-introduce tools that were missing from the George Barnsley stock. Without the efforts of Woodware Repetitions many classic pieces of equipment could have been lost to the shoe repair trade. This company continues to make every effort to satisfy the demand for traditional shoe repair and shoemaking tools.

This crane base Wheelock Wharf bears the cast name of the manufacturer. Richard Kitchin of Scotland Bank Iron Works at Warrington. During the 19th century the works specialised in the manufacture of weighing machines, cranes, turntables and water cranes.

Contractors D G Mills are undertaking piling of a weak section of the Macclesfield Canal embankment at Middlecale. The interlocking heavy duty steel piles are being driven using a Menzi Muck A91 Powerline spider excavator with vibrating piling rig. It pushed this pile into position in less than a minute. Picking it up and getting it into position took rather longer.

1910 Letterhead for Richard Johnson, Clapham & Morris Ltd manufacturers of a wide range of metal goods at their works in Newton Heath, Manchester. In 1934 the firm relocated to Trafford Park and by the 1950s seems to have been acting as a wholesaler of household goods. The business also seems to have been connected to the ironfounders and wire manufacturer Richard Johnson and Nephew Ltd.