APPENDIX A
Detailed report on 1978.14.A.IND
J & E Wood horizontal tandem compound steam engine
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Acquisition details
The engine was brought to the attention of Bolton Museum by a Mr P
Williams, who was acting in a private capacity in conjunction with George
Drake, a member of the Yorkshire branch of the Northern Mill Engine Society
(NMES). Beamish Museum expressed brief interest in acquiring the engine,
but eventually collected a similar Hick Hargreaves engine instead.
Just over £7500 was spent on the purchase, dismantling and transport of the
engine in 1978. The purchase price was £1500, from Sona Consultants Ltd.
A further £5900.75 was spent on dismantling and transporting the engine to
the museum offsite store at Dean Mills, Barrow Bridge. This was undertaken
by Thomas Mitchell & Sons of Bolton.
£1875 was awarded from Greater Manchester Council towards the project,
with a further £3700 awarded from the PRISM fund. The remaining balance
was paid for from the museum acquisition budget.
History
The engine served its working life at J. Beaumont & Son, Woodland Mills in
Huddersfield. It worked there continuously until not long before it’s acquisition
by Bolton Museum in 1978.
The engine was made in Bolton by John and Edward (J & E) Wood. J & E
Wood were founded in the 1830’s, and based at the Victoria Foundry in
Bolton. They were early makers of horizontal steam engines as opposed to
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beam and vertical types of engines, and produced something like 700 engines
throughout their history. They were (along with Hick Hargreaves & Co and
John Musgraves) Bolton’s biggest steam engine manufacturers, well known
nationally for their engines. Along with Hick Hargreaves and Musgraves, J &
E Wood were pioneer users of the Corliss valve in England (thought to be first
introduced in 1863 from the USA by Hick Hargreaves J & E Wood patented
double-ported Corliss valves in 1867, and fitted Corliss valves on all their
engines from 1875). This valve-gear was at the time unbeatable for economy
and performance and was capable of very fine speed governing, ideal for
textile mills. A characteristic J & E Wood design feature was to incorporate
the Corliss valve on the underside of the cylinders rather then on the top,
which gave the engine a more aesthetically pleasing appearance. HicK
Hargreaves and Musgraves also used the Corliss valve on their engines. The
Corliss valve was gradually taken up by many British engine engineers. The
Corliss valve was eventually bettered in later years by the advent of the
German designed drop-valves for superheated steam. Musgraves were
pioneers users of this system in 1903. Musgraves were also the first firm to
build uniflow engines in 1909.
The engine is a tandem compound mill engine, of the horizontal type. This is
probably the most common design of mill engine, with both the high and low
pressure cylinders on a common piston rod driving a single crank. The
horizontal engine became the standard form well into the 20th century. This
particular engine incorporates Corliss valves on the underside of the low and
high pressure cylinders, as was characteristic of J&E Wood designs. The
engine is unusual in having the LP cylinder at the rear (usually the smaller
and lighter HP cylinder is in this position, although this was down to the whim
of individual designers).
Other J & E Wood Engines
This engine is the only example of an engine made by J & E Wood left in
Bolton, and one of three J & E Wood engines (of around 700 that were made)
known to survive. The two others are also located in Lancashire - in Wigan
and Blackburn. The engine in Wigan is at Trencherfield Mill, at Wigan Pier.
This engine is preserved in its original engine house. £600,000 was spent on
restoration in 2003/4, including around £370,000 from the HLF. It is
operational and steam powered. This engine is much larger then the
museum’s engine, operating at 2,500 horsepower, and is a triple expansion
type (with four cylinders – a high, an intermediate, and two low pressure).
The third engine is on static display outside India Mills in Blackburn. This
engine is very similar in design and specifications to the engine at Bolton
Museum, except that it a cross compound rather then tandem compound,
meaning that the cylinders are located side to side instead of one behind the
other.
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Trencherfield Mill, Wigan
Date made
Trencherfield
India Mills
Bolton
Museum
1907
1905
1903
outside India Mills, Blackburn
Cylinder
size
(inches)
flywheel
RPM
Horsepower
HP19, LP32
HP16, LP29
15ft diameter
18ft diameter
68
75
67
2500
450
350
Other steam engines in Bolton
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An inverted single cylinder engine made by Hick Hargreaves is
preserved in a glass case in Oxford Street, where it is turned via an electric
motor. This is owned and maintained by Bolton Council.
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A small vertical engine made by T Crook & Son of Bolton is in the
collections of Bolton Museum. It is currently in storage.

Around 27 steam powered engines at Bolton Steam Museum. This
includes two Bolton made engines by Musgraves – a two cylinder inverted
vertical compound design (thought to be the only surviving one of its type in
the world), and a small barring engine (transferred from Bolton Museum).
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There are also steam engines in other museum locations near the
Bolton area, for example at MOSI, Queen Street Textile Museum (Burnley),
Elland Road Mill (Rochdale) to name a few.
Condition
At the time of collection in 1978, the engine was referred to as “not only of
excellent quality but in original and unaltered condition, retaining many fittings
usually replaced. It has been beautifully maintained and is a credit to the
former mill engineer”.
Since collection it has been in a dismantled state, and has been transferred
from the Dean Mills store to the current offsite store at Bolton Enterprise
Centre (Lincoln Mill). Whilst at Dean Mill, some of the bearings (including the
main bearings) were stolen.
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The metalwork looks to be in good condition but would need to be steam
cleaned and repainted.
The engine really needs a more detailed condition report and a definitive
inventory of parts accounted for and missing.
Plans for redisplay
There have been several industrial history museum proposals for Bolton since
the late 1970s, which were to include the steam engine. After the Barrow
Bridge Dean Mills scheme fell through, a museum was proposed at Moscrops
Lion Oil Works in Bolton town centre, but this scheme was scrapped in the
early 1990s. The last serious proposal was for a museum to be located in the
disused warehouse next to the Bolton Steam Museum on the Atlas Mills site,
but this too was cancelled around 2003.
Redisplaying the engine would need an appropriate site. The floor would
need to be able to take the weight of the engine parts. Pits would need to be
constructed to take the bottom half of the flywheel, and the air pump and
condenser unit (see diagrams). But if the engine is to be turned by electric
motor instead of steam, then there is no advantage to installing this part of the
engine (this would save on the construction of an additional pit). If the engine
was to be installed as a static display, then again there would be no
advantage to installing this part of the engine.
John Phillps from NMES has estimated that the total cost of transport,
restoration, reassemble, replacement of missing parts etc could exceed
£250,000.
ASSESSMENT USING DISPOSAL CRITERIA
Significance
The engine can be said to have some historic value. It is an excellent
example of its type – a horizontal tandem compound stationary steam engine
made in the first decade of the twentieth century.
In terms of rarity, there are two levels off analysis. Firstly, as a J & E Wood
engine. As one of only three from 700 J&E Wood engines known to survive,
the engine can certainly be called rare. But J&E Wood were one of hundreds
of steam engine manufacturers from across the country. It is worth noting that
the two other engines are also located in Lancashire, not far from Bolton.
Both of the other engines were made at a similar time, and indeed the India
Mills engine is very similar in type and dimensions, although it may not be
complete as some of the parts may not have been preserved with the engine
being on static display.
As a steam engine of its type, it is an excellent example, but by no means
unique. Horizontal compound steam engines were by far the most common
type of engine built, and there are lots of examples preserved around the
country (see Hayes G, 1981, “A Guide to Stationary Steam Engines”). Some
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of these examples incorporate types of Corliss valve. For example, Bolton
Steam Museum has a horizontal tandem compound engine of similar
dimensions that incorporates Corliss valves on the high pressure cylinder.
The placing of the LP cylinder at the rear of the engine is slightly unusual, but
there are other engines in museum collections with this feature (for example,
at Forncett industrial Steam Museum in Norfolk)
Relevance
The engine is Bolton made and so has an obvious local connection. Bolton
was well known for steam engine manufacture, although Hick Hargreaves
was always the better known of the three main steam engine makers.
Engineering was second only to cotton spinning as an employer in Bolton.
Bolton steam engines were used in mills and industrial sites across the
country and around the world. As such, the engine could be said to be a preeminent part of Bolton’s history and culture, and one that gives a regional,
national and global context to Bolton’s collections.
The engine links with other steam engine related material in the collections
(most connected to Hick Hargreaves or Musgraves) as well as material made
by other Bolton engineering firms. The J&E Wood business archive is held in
the archival collections at Bolton Museum.
Support for key services
The engine would be able to support learning or tourism, but only after
restoration. This would require an appropriate site, substantial funding, and
external assistance. With Bolton Steam Museum in the Borough, and a Hick
Hargreaves engine displayed in the town centre, is the engine pivotal to
Bolton’s historic/cultural services?
Potential use
 Re-assembly for display, as a working exhibit (steamed or by an
electric motor),
 Re-assembly for display as a static exhibit
 Display of engine parts
 Remain in storage, but re-assembled to some extent.
 Remain dismantled in store
Resources are required to bring the engine (or parts of the engine) into
potential use. See ‘plans for redisplay’ section above, and ‘demands on
resources’ section below.
Uniqueness
Uniqueness can be judged on two levels. As a J&E Wood engine, there are
no others in the Bolton collection or in the Bolton area. But there are two
other J&E Wood engines preserved locally in the Lancashire area. There are
also dozens of steam engines preserved in museums and heritage centres in
the north-west, including 27 (and two Bolton made) at Bolton Steam Museum,
which can be seen operating under steam. There is also a Hick Hargreaves
engine displayed in Bolton town centre, and a small steam engine (by T Crook
& Son of Bolton) in the Bolton Museum collections. So in terms of providing
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an example of a Bolton made steam engine, the engine is duplicated in the
collections. There are also comparable types of steam engine accessible in
the Bolton area and beyond.
Demands on resources (secondary factor)
The engine presents major storage issues. In terms of space, no other
museum object takes up more space in the museum collections. The weight
of the engine may be as much as 60 tons – the flywheel on its own is around
13 tons. Even the smaller parts can be over a ton in weight and pose
significant logistical problems for moving with heavy lifting equipment.
It seems likely that the museum will have to vacate Lincoln Mill in the next two
to five years, and relocate to another store. The movement and transportation
of the engine would be a huge undertaking, costing perhaps as much as tens
of thousands of pounds.
The engine would require major conservation work for any planned reassembly or re-display.
This would include steam-cleaning, painting,
replacement of missing parts, and could come to £250,000.
Alternative locations
Because the engine is Bolton made, the logical conclusion is that the engine
is of greatest relevance to Bolton Museum and the Bolton area. Bolton Steam
Museum is an obvious alternative museum site in Bolton. But it is unlikely
that they have the floor space to accommodate such a large engine. There
are museums and heritage centres around the country that collect and
preserve steam engines. Some of these organisations do not restrict their
collecting within geographic boundaries. For example, Bolton Museum is
transferring a small Tangye (Birmingham made) steam engine to Beamish
Museum in the north-east.
If another museum or heritage organisation was found that could provide a
greater level of care and access then that provided by Bolton Museum, and
was willing to take the engine on, then should transfer out of the borough be
considered? How important is it that the steam engine remains in the Bolton
area?
Reasons to keep the engine
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Bolton made
An important piece of Bolton’s industrial history
Some inherent historical significance.
Rare, one of only three J & E Woods engines known to survive, and
the Only J & E Wood engine still in Bolton
Good provenance
Links with other steam engine and engineering material in the museum
collections
Reasons to dispose
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
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Incomplete
No suitable display space, nor is there likely to be in the future.
There are steam engines made by other local firms that are accessible
in the borough, in the town centre, at Bolton Steam Museum, and in the
Museum Collections.
Two other J & E Wood engines are displayed and accessible not far
from Bolton, in Wigan and Blackburn, and there are other steam
engines accessible in Museums near to Bolton in Lancashire and
Greater Manchester
The engine could receive a greater level of care and be more
accessible to visitors/researchers at another Museum or heritage
centre
Big, heavy and difficult to store
Would require extensive resources for redisplay.
SUMMARY OF OPTIONS
1. Retain in storage in dismantled state
2. If and when transfer to new store, continue to store in dismantled state, or
look at (partial?) re-assembly in some way?
3. Display on museum premises, operational or static
4. Display offsite within borough of Bolton, operational or static
5. Decide to offer as transfer to accredited museums outside of Bolton
6. Consider transfer to other public organisations
7. Consider transfer to private owner/organisation
8. Consider retention if unable to find suitable home
9. Recycle all or majority of engine parts as scrap (possibly retaining some
engine components in museum collections)
Transferring the engine parts to a new store would require an external
specialist with heavy lifting equipment and transport, a significant financial
outlay. If the engine was to be re-assembled in some way, this would again
require external assistance.
At present, the museum does not have a gallery space where the display and
operation of the engine is realistically feasible. This is not likely to change in
the near future.
Display offsite within the borough of Bolton, either operational or static, would
require identifying a site suitable for re-display, with two pits c. 4m deep to
accommodate engine parts under ground level - one to house the bottom half
of fly wheel, the other to house the condenser, air pump and piping. The floor
would also need the capacity to take the weight of this material. John Phillp of
NMES suspects that engine house at Swan lane Mill may be only building in
the borough with floor load capacity to take the engine. Do any other suitable
sites exist? What would be the cost of building some kind of display
case/container such as the one housing the Hick Hargreaves engine in the
town centre?
Running from steam is realistically not an option unless the engine is
erected at Bolton Steam Museum, where there is not the space. So running
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the engine from an electric motor is a more realistic option. Missing parts
would need to be replaced. Extensive funding would be required.
Displaying the engine static (as at India Mills in Blackburn) would not require
construction of pits (or pits to the same depth), as engine parts below ground
level would not be on display and so be superfluous (would any unused parts
would need to be retained in store?). No missing parts, or not as many
missing parts, would need to be replaced. The engine would not need to be
indoors, it could be displayed in the open as the engine at India Mills is, or the
steam hammer is at Bolton University. Some kind of roof structure could be
built over the engine providing some level of protection from the elements. It
would be easier to find a site, and costs would be a great deal less. The
disadvantage would be that a static display is not as effective as an
operational display. To truly appreciate what these machines did and why
they were made (to produce power) you need to see them working. But
engines can be seen operating at Bolton steam Museum, and a J & E Wood
engine can be seen working at Trencherfield Mill in Wigan. So a static display
would be a compromise, but a more realistic and financially viable option.
Any museum interested in taking the engine would need to have the skills,
equipment and financial resources to be able to transport, restore, re-erect
and maintain the steam engine.
Another important note: if the engine is transferred out of the public domain,
then PRISM would require the original grant of £3700 to be paid back (see
email from PRISM officer in object history file)
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