BESTWOOD WINDING ENGINE HOUSE
Bestwood Country Park, Nottingham
Bestwood Winding Engine House is all that remains today of the once extensive mining and metal refining complex of the Bestwood Coal and Iron Company. The pit was sunk in 1872 and the winding engine commissioned in 1876. The ironworks closed in 1928 but the pit carried on into the NCB era.With the closing of the mine in 1971 the site was converted into a country park with the engine house and pithead gear a solitary reminder of the once vibrant works. The engine house contains Britain's sole surviving example of a twin cylinder vertical winding engine. Under the joint management of Nottinghamshire County Council and Gedling Borough Council the engine is being restored by the Bestwood Colliery Winding House Volunteers. Already the engine can be rotated slowly electrically via the winding cable and there are long terms plans to re-introduce steam operation when a suitable steam source can be obtained. Open days are held occasionally and details can be obtained from the Country Park Rangers (0115 9273674) or keep an eye on the events page of the Nottinghamshire Tourism website http://www.nottinghamshiretourism.co.uk
THE ENGINE
The engine is a twin cylinder vertical winding engine built by R. J. & E. Coupe, Worsley Mesnes Ironworks, Wigan in 1876. The two cylinders are of 36 inch bore and the stroke is 6 feet. Drop valves control the steam admission. Steam was supplied at 80 lbs/sq. inch and the engine operated at 1500 horsepower. The 18 foot diameter rope drum wound three tons of coal from 220 yards at 15 rpm originally although in later years all coal was extracted via a drift and the winders only used as standby and for men and materials. When photographed by George Watkins in 1951 the engine was protected by the hideous NCB "off licence windows on a rough estate" style guarding but happily this has all been removed and the engine can now be easily inspected in detail.
Base of a cylinder and framing seen from below Cylinder and valves from the mezzanine floor The top of the left hand cylinder
Connecting rod and crosshead from above Left hand cylinder top and crosshead The driver's position by the right hand cylinder
The winding drum seen from below. The lower half of the winding drum. Detail of the winding drum.
Some details
Crankshaft and connecting rod. Part of the clutch mechanism. The reversing engine
The brake engine. The cage position indicator (telltale). Worsley Mesnes steam controller.
Future prospects.
The Volunteers have every intention of restoring the engine to steam operation. When the pit was operational there was a battery of boilers supplying the vertical engine, the horizontal Nasmyth Wilson engine on No.2 shaft and all the numerous fan engines, generators, capstan engines etc. that went with a well run colliery. Sadly all these have been demolished and the engine house now stands in solitary glory. The Economic Boiler seen above was brought to the site at considerable expense to be installed in a lean-to boiler house alongside the engine house. Sadly , opposition from English Heritage to any additions to the listed engine house put paid to that plan and the hope now is to provide an electrically fired flash steam generator that could be housed in the existing building. Meanwhile the Economic rusts slowly away as a monument to what could have been. Sic Transit.......
Once a driver..........
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