Linby Colliery Winding Engine

This engine came from the nearby Linby Colliery. The Winder was manufactured  by Robey & Co. of Lincoln in 1922 and was erected on Linby Colliery No. 2 Shaft to lift coal. It was used until December 1982, when It was replaced by an electrical driven winder in 1982.

The  Winder consists two steam engines, Nos. 40542 and 40543. They each have a cylinder bore of 24" and a stroke of 40", working on a steam pressure of 120 lbs. sq. in., and exhausting to the atmosphere. Producing  about 900 break horse power when winding coal.
Steam is admitted and exhausted via Robey Patent Drop Valves.
The two engines are connected to the Winding Drum that is 6' wide and  9' diameter. This acts as a combined Crankshaft and Flywheel with a total weight of 24 tons. The engine could operate up to a maximum rope speed of 32' per second, raising 4 tons of coal per wind in an automatically operated skip giving a maximum capacity of 300 tons of coal per hour, from a depth of nearly 450 ft. During its working life the Winder raised over 40,000,000 tons of coal.

After being rebuilt and housed at Papplewick with the generous assistance of British Coal, the engine was restarted by Mr. Ken Moses, Deputy Chairman of British Coal, at a ceremony held on 21st August 1990.
It  is believed to be the only steam winding engine that is in use and powered  by steam, in the UK at the moment.

A web link to another local museum with a pair of steam winding engines, the Lilleshall engine,
at the moment turned by an electric motor and the other, a Markham, under restoration.
This museum is about 10 miles NW of here, see www.pleasley-colliery.org.uk

The winder drum in the middle, with the two engines each side

Sign in front of the winding drum

A side view of the winding drum, the crank and connecting rod are above the name  "Robey & Co. Ltd. Lincoln".
The light blue segments are the brake shoes that clamp onto the outside of the 9 foot diameter drum.
The round black indicator show the engine driver, the position of the cages in the shaft.

View of the two cylinders with valve gear

A view of Linby colliery taken around 1930.