Burwell Engineers

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Engineers conducting repairs & installations on modern/historic textile & steam systems
Our engineers are available to work on pipefitting, plumbing, mechanical, steam & textile systems
This page covers restoration work at our Backbarrow Ironworks home

16/06/2026

It's been a while since we posted on the page, to be fair we've been quite busy! It's all been about power recently. We've managed to get a 1960's 6Kw Kirloskar diesel generator on site, and currently we are planning the construction of an era style power station to up our grid so large workshop machines can be fitted into the museum room.

In other news though, you might be interested to find out about our collection of Armfield Engineers Turbines, both are Pelton turbines. The first one in our collection is the now completely restored British Empire type and is from the early 1900's. This machine was rescued from Blencathra in Cumbria and is now sat on display in the engine room. The first picture is of the sorry state of the turbine before we went through blood sweat and tears to bring it back to Backbarrow for restoration!

The second turbine is another Armfield Pelton Turbine, but this one is an even older variant with the design dating right back to the 1880's. This is our most recent acquisition and has been removed from a farm in Wales (the old owner has asked for us to keep the site quiet so that is sadly all we can say) he had interesting stories about when the turbine was in use when he was a child, we can say that the turbine was decommissioned in 1956.

These turbines are quite special, mainly due to them been quite possibly the last of their type from Armfield Engineers of this era, so it was only right for them to be preserved. I certainly haven't seen any of these before but you never know what's hiding under 6ft of silt in your local mill!

17/04/2026

A long due update from Backbarrow Ironworks… Work has begun on restoring our blower engine. The photos show the first stage of stripping removing the rear cover and showing the rubber suction valves. On top of this the usual grinding and painting, the blower is to be painted in gun green and black, which is how it was when in operation.

In bigger news, we have finally figured out the engines manufacturer and production date! For years before Burwell Engineers had even taken the site on historians and enthusiasts have named her the Tangye engine, believing that she had come from an old textile mill second hand, coupling up to a new blower. Today in a BIHT meeting a new valuation document from 1941 (valuations of industrial sites where common during the Second World War) we found out that the engine is actually a Edgar Allen of Sheffield machine built specifically designed for the site! This was amazing news for Burwell as both Will and I are Yorkshiremen and it also fits in well with connections to Sheffield Steel alongside orders we’ve found for pig iron deliveries to Stocksbridge Steelworks.

This news is fantastic as we now not only have the only horizontal piston blowing engine left in the UK, but also the last remaining Edgar Allen engine. This connects Cumbrian iron making to Sheffield steel making perfectly!

We’re beginning to create an interesting collection of engines on site, the last remaining Edgar Allen Horizontal Blowing Engine, our Armfield Engineers British Empire Pelton Wheel and Josh Waddington & Sons of Barrow in Furness’s Hindpool Foundry as a converted workshop engine, again perhaps the only one in preservation.

13/02/2026

Ongoing work has seen the pump end of one of two of our Worthington Simpson boiler feed pumps. This is the one at the rear end of the engine house and was in charge of retrieving water from the reservoir and pumping it into the Lancashire boiler. One thing that did amaze me was how well built these things are! I was surprised to find the suction valves still working perfectly which was a shock knowing that this machine has not received any maintenance or worked since at least 1958! We know this thanks to some archive photos which show the boiler out of use and stripped in summer 1958, when a lot of the site was electrified through modernisation leading to dropping steam power as the reserve method for running the furnace blower system. They don’t make them like they used to anymore, I can’t think of much modern kit that would still operate left to the elements in a building with no roof for nearly 70 years…

The original check we did on the Tangye engine last year before we took on the ironworks checking the steam chest was just as surprising, like brand new. It was that check that made the decision for restoration of the site, rods can be replaced and machined.

Talking of machinery, we have recently invested in a 15kva lister TR2 diesel generator, which will be the main power supply for the machine shop we are creating. For further work on site we’ll be looking to install a lathe, milling machine and pillar drill, probably many more as funds allow! These will be fitted inside the compressor room which will become 50% workshop and 50% a museum, showing the story of Backbarrow Ironworks and a few of Burwell’s interesting relics collected over the years!

18/01/2026

Over the past week at Backbarrow Ironworks we’ve been putting in a hard shift on restoring our jet condenser located next door to the engine room in the old wheel pit. Previously we concentrated on restoring pipe work from the condenser to the pump house and restoring the centrifugal pumps located there which is also where our workshop is located.

So why have we concentrated primarily on restoring our circulating water system as apposed to the Tangye steam engine and blower? The first answer to that would be the ease of the restoration, as a two man team of engineers we knew that this work could be carried out with relative ease with all/most of the equipment still in situ and reasonably good condition. The second answer would be realising the importance of this system in the UK preservation scene. Understanding the importance of the Backbarrow site can be hard to comprehend at times, we have the only horizontal blowing engine left in the UK complete with blast furnace and ovens and that’s what the site is famous for and covers teaching future generations about iron production in the UK. But to have a fully complete circulating water system (boiler, engine, condenser, sump, pumps, reservoir) is also preserving the importance of circulating water systems from steel works and power stations in the UK as many simply get demolished or disappear over night.

Our condenser is in its current state of how it was when the ironworks closed in 1966, an ejector jet condenser from 1925 with additional equipment added to update the machines capacity, such as the 1956 installed pumps and vacuum pump. I’m sure we are the only preserved (if only existing) example of such a system in Britain. A unuique and pure survivor having been sat in the open air to the elements from 1966 - 2018, and she looks a beauty now with a new coat of paint!

We have a bit of pipe work to do now on reconnecting the air system, finish off the paint work and install a few detail items such as the vacuum pressure gauge and locate another valve handle in our collection!

15/01/2026

We're usually showing modern images of Backbarrow Ironworks and updates on our restoration work on the site, however I couldn't help but share this image I've just come across from the 1960's. Sadly not much can be found in terms of photographs of how the site used to look before the demolition began I've seen a few taken from behind the works but this is the only one I've seen taken from this side of the river and it gives a good view of how the ironworks looked just before closure. Nowadays when you visit you can see the pump house, engine house, Wheelpit, Ovens & Blast Furnace.

09/01/2026

Now the lighting and electricity has been fitted and working operationally well, work on the engine and equipment has taken priority.

During the week we have removed the old studs from the original Tangye governor base and have fitted our replacement for the upper governor workings with our own Pickering 3 Governor.

Work has began on restoring the engine stop valve, so far we have removed the valve shaft holder and handle and have ground the shaft holder smooth and applied black paint which is the colour we have chosen for the engine. More work will be carried out on the actual stop valve finding or machining a new gland follower and stem.

Finally investigative work has taken place on our early condenser. We have created a report and write up on how it works and have come to the understanding that the condenser is a low level submerged condenser with some of the images showing the air/steam Venturi ejector.

Keep an eye on our page for further updates!

01/01/2026

As mentioned briefly yesterday, new years eve was quite a historical one for us at Backbarrow Ironworks, as we completed the full illumination of the works bringing the place back to life at night in a way which hasn't been seen since 1966!

After many hours of fitting wago's and laying wires across the site the final light in the engine room was fitted this morning. If you weren't aware the site isn't connected to the national grid so power has been provided by solar panels powering a Bluetti AC180 which is backed up by a petrol generator located in the workshop when needed. The Pump House (Workshop) Wheel Pit and Engine Room are now accessible 24/7 and work can be carried out without the need of a headlight. The lights are all fitted with era industrial enamel lamps that have been rescued from now demolished industrial sites and the use of tungsten bulbs have been chosen specifically for the engine room.

With the completion of bringing electricity back to the site, and a fully working workshop, you can expect to see future posts looking more into engine and equipment restoration.

31/12/2025

Happy new year to our followers, these pictures where taken this evening as we fitted the engine room lights at Backbarrow Ironworks just in time for 2026, but more on that tomorrow! In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the celebrations into the new year!

11/11/2025

Not too much to update from Burwell recently, we’ve both been quite busy with our main jobs and other things that need seeing to, however some work has been undertaken on the Worthington feed pump in the engine room which is getting stripped and painted and our two centrifugal pumps and pipe work in the workshop are looking smart now with a layer of gun green on them!

Due to the heavy rainfall recently the wheel pit has filled with rain water covering the condenser completely, it’s usually bone dry in here however the majority of it has now flowed away back into the river.

10/09/2025

It's been a while since we've posted an update, but we've still been busy behind the scenes helping the Backbarrow Ironworks Heritage Trust and completing bringing back green electricity to our workshop!

We've completed our full report on the engine and filled in our work plans for the restoration of the Tangye horizontal steam engine, her condenser and the two Worthington Boiler Feed Pumps . We've also continued the long process of sanding down and preparing pipe work for painting, with most of the overhead pipe work now either painted, or prepared to be painted.

Electricity has been brought back to the site, powering our workshop in the pump house with plans in place to continue the project to light up the engine room, wheel house and compressor hall. The electricity is powered by solar panels and although 'off grid' we have enough power to operate our small lathe and light up the shop for 48hrs without charge off of our battery bank. The lighting has been fitted with traditional industrial enamel lampshades from the 'Burwell Collection' which are authentic have been rescued from factories of the past.

In other news, our project has made the news and we'd like to thank Chris Allen for featuring us in the International Stationary Steam Engine Society Bulletin. We'll include our article here but for more information on engines around the world, why not subscribe to receive the full magazine?

Address

Huddersfield

Website

https://www.burwellengineers.com/

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