IEEC3.1 08 William Sandeman’s Engine

William Sandeman’s Engine

John Crompton

Appendix

1 The Sandeman Engine at Verdant Works     Chris Allen

An off-print from

Transactions of the 3rd International Early Engines Conference - Volume 1 pp169-181

Summary

In 2013 the author was invited to review the history of the Douglasfield engine, which was to be reconstructed in the Verdant Works museum of the Dundee Heritage Trust. This early Boulton & Watt engine was thought to date from c1785, and after its working life had been purchased and given to Dundee Museum. From 1900 to 1939 it had formed the centrepiece of the Dudhope Technical Museum and had remained there after the museum was closed in 1939 until its demolition in 1964. It remained in store until its reconstruction in 2014/15. It is one of only five surviving sun and planet engines in the world.

This paper investigates the design and construction of the engine as recorded in the incomparably rich Boulton & Watt Archive now maintained at Birmingham Central Library. Drawing copies show the original designs, and letters chart design changes to fit the site.  Drawing Office records chart the progress of manufacture, Soho Foundry ledgers record the weight and cost of casting the engine components, and Engine Department ledgers record the cost and time taken in finishing every component. From more letters, the story of the shipping of the components through Hull to Dundee and the building up and completion of the engine is drawn. The paper then examines the major alterations made to the engine during its working life, which were incorporated into its transfer to Dudhope, and which have become part of the engine’s history in the current reconstruction at Verdant Works.