The engine of industrialisation

Winding engines were at the heart of coalmines, transporting people and equipment deep underground and coal to the surface.

The National Mining Museum Scotland at the site of the former Lady Victoria Colliery, owns the country’s most powerful steam winding engine, supplied by eight Lancashire boilers and designed to lift 10 tons 10 meters a second.

This is just about the same speed as the first fully electric winding engine in the magnificent engine hall of the German Zollern II/IV Colliery. Apart from this important technical innovation it was the outstanding Art Nouveau entrance of this engine hall, that saved this technical monument from being demolished.