The International Steam Pages


Stationary Steam in Europe

Europe

Azores
(9th Oct 14)

Belgium
(25th Oct 19)
Czech Republic
(25th Aug 06)

Estonia
(6th Oct 18)

Germany
(16th Jun 12)

Hungary
(30th Sep 13)

Italy
(25th Oct 19)

Kosovo
(2nd Apr 07)

Latvia
(6th Oct 18)

Lithuania
(6th Oct 18)

Madeira
(10th May 22)

Netherlands
(25th Oct 19)

Norway
(11th Jul 08)

Poland
(8th Jun 12)

Portugal
(8th Nov 22)

Russia
(14th Aug 14)

Spain
(7th Oct 18)

Ukraine
(14th Aug 14)

 

Click here for the International Stationary Steam Index

Click here for the Surviving Steam Road Engine Index


Some time ago, Frederick Crammond uploaded a list of links to stationary steam museums in mainland Europe. Some of the links no doubt will have perished but it is a very good working list for anyone wanting to explore:

http://www.stationarysteamengines.co.uk/GE.htm (site infected with malware by 25th October 2016,

A very helpful site which includes listings in museums is:

http://www.albert-gieseler.de/

Azores

John Raby reports (24th June 2005) "You may both be interested in an item on BBC East Midlands Today on 20th  June. 'The biggest island of Azores has a tea plantation 100% equipped by Marshall's of Gainsborough with the last equipment provided in the 1940s.' The brief shots showed steam age equipment including a stationary engine/traction engine but I wasn't able to confirm steam boiler/engine driving the plant. See also http://www.greentea.net/tea_process.html (link is dead by 9th October 2014) for background information.

James Waite now confirms that Marshall equipment is present in both tea factories on the island but the only stationary steam engine kit is a disused Marshall portable steam engine (9th October 2014)..

Belgium

Kevin Hoggett reports that there have been two steam pumps working in the port of Zeebrugge right under his nose for many years, but not for much longer. Read his illustrated report (6th March 2009).

Thomas Kautzor has sent some nice pictures of preserved stationary steam at the Bakkersmolen Steam Museum and Stoomcentrum Maldegem (originally 30th September 2013, the latter updated 20th October 2013). In the first case further information about the engines would be appreciated.

Kevin Hoggett tells me that there is an active 1894 Bollinckx single cylinder horizontal engine at the paper mill and former cardboard factory at Herisem which is run from time to time. The photograph is courtesy of Stijn Vandenbranden, their website is http://www.herisem.be/nl/herisemmolen.php (all this 21st October 2013, link dead by 25th October 2016).

Marc Stegeman tells me of the former De Wulf flour mill in Bruges with an inactive preserved VanDenKerchove stationary steam engine - http://www.industrialheritage.eu/EYCH2018/March/steam-engine-Brugge (Link broken by December 2023. RD) and https://inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be/erfgoedobjecten/57743. Marc adds that at Jabeke-Zerkegem, "Hellegatshoeve", there is another VanDenKerchove engine preserved although this is not its original site. It is run on compressed air now. See http://industrialheritage.eu/EYCH2018/March/steam-engine-Hellegathoeve-Zerkegem (Link broken by December 2023. RD) and www.hellegathoeve.be (Link dead by May 2023) although I couldn't see a mention of the engine on the latter. He also says there are at least half a dozen other sites in northern Belgium, one is a Phoenix steam engine in the former flax company Sabbe in Kuurne http://www.industrialheritage.eu/EYCH2018/March/steam-engine-Kuurne.(Link broken by December 2023. RD) (All this paragraph 25th October 2019.) 

Czech Republic

Kevin Hoggett reports that the ZOS Ceske Velenice railway works in the Czech Republic (one mile from the Austrian border at Gmund) has a blacksmith's shop with 4 working steam hammers (updated 25th August 2006). Click here for an account and some pictures.

Estonia

Chris Capewell spotted a duplex pump at Lavassare Peat Railway Museum. The plate appears to be in Cyrillic and all I can work out is a probable builder's date of 1957 (6th October 2018).

Germany

DLM (Winterthur) - http://www.dlm-ag.ch - are best known for their work on 'Modern Steam Locomotive Design). However, they have now put back into commission a 1954 'Lokomobil' which is what I would call an over-boiler stationary steam engine. It works at the Elztäler mineral works in Elzach, in the Black Forest of Germany, using woodchips and Chinese reeds as fuel. Power in excess of internal needs is fed into the local electrical grid (25th February 2012). Compared to its 'as built' state it seems not many modifications have been made beyond improving stream flow beyond boiler and engine and improved insulation. I assume it benefits from a programme to encourage CO2 neutral power generation and it's maybe surprising there are not more such examples. 

The loss of the link to Richard Hingley's report made a bit of a mess of this section, now Christoph Oboth has sent me up-to-date news of stationary engines in Germany (18th May 2012):

"Two active shaft winding engines are still in use at Ibbenbüren and Ensdorf mines in Saarland - both with steam and not converted to compressed air. The last ones in the Ruhr were withdrawn in 2008 when the two steam supply at Fürst Leopold-Mine in Dorsten had been cut down. Although the major part of the site had been demolished since then, the steam engines had been preserved and will be opened to the public from time to time. Another two engines have been preserved at Auguste-Victoria mine shaft 1/2 in Marl. These engines were in use up to 2005, but had been converted to run on compressed air.

These pictures shows the Dingler engines at Ensdorf:

This is the Buckau engine at Ibbenbüren:

The Fuerst Leopold engines in the Ruhr:

Christoph continues (16th June 2012)

Bergmannsglück mine at Gelsenkirchen-Hassel closed down in 1961 and was reused as a branch from Westerholt mine up to the early 1980ies. The mine headgears and the washing plant has been demolished since then, but for some unknown reasons one of the steam driven shaft winding engines survived on its original site up to the present. A miracle! During the last 30 years, there was absolutely no public access, but now it will be opened to public on june 30th this year - as part of "Extraschicht" (a special event when most the heritage sites all over the Ruhr will be opened for the entire night).

The future of the engine is uncertain, for most of the remaining buildings will be demolished soon. As long there is no investor, there is a current danger of destruction. The engines are Eisenhütte Prinz Rudolph, Dülmen, No.847/1911.

The following is what had appeared previously on this page:

You don't have to travel to the third world to see working stationary steam engines. See Richard Hingley's report from August/September 2002 - http://mysite.freeserve.com/dingleyspages/stationarysteam/winding/winding02.htm (link is dead). 

Alan Murray-Rust adds of his September 2005 visit (which was to "Schacht Gustav 2, Velsen, Saarland"):

"The Dingler engine shown remains operable, albeit using compressed air rather than steam. I found it virtually by accident – I was chasing mine headgear rather than anything else, but recognised the location when I got there as one that I recalled having a reference to steam engines. By good fortune the engineman was just going on duty as I arrived at the site, and was more than happy to show me round the engine and even run it for me.

http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/443117/display/3894211
http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/443117/display/3887824
http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/443117/display/3873704

The other engine referred to in Richard Hingley’s report, at the Ensdorf pit, is still working as described."

Hungary

Chris Capewell has sent me some pictures of preserved items which crossed his path while on a rail orientated visit to the country (30th September 2013).

Italy

Chris Hodrien tells me that in Trieste  there is a preserved hydraulic pumping station with its four engines. They are each inverted vertical 3-cylinder compound engines, three built in 1891 and one (confusingly No II engine) built in 1904, all made by Breitfeld & Danek, Prague. The engines were built to the designs of Sir William Armstrong of Newcastle. The museum website is https://www.museitrieste.it/musei/scheda/91 and the image is by Dave Collier (added 25th October 2019).

Kosovo

Not working steam, but Torsten Schneider turned up a preserved Ruston Proctor portable, which must have been lost from sight for a long time (2nd April 2007). Click here to see it.

Latvia

Chris Capewell spotted what must be a very rare Pluentsch stationary engine in the agricultural museum at Talsi. For some (bare) information on the company see http://www.albert-gieseler.de/dampf_de/firmen0/firmadet2677.shtml (6th October 2018).

Lithuania

Chris Capewell spotted this water pump at Vilnius Station Museum (6th October 2018). From the attached notice, I can work out it is a compound built in 1911, if you are in a position to translate it properly, please get in touch.

Madeira

John Raby visited a sugar mill here in January 2007 which is part of the local rum industry, read his report (2 more pictures, 27th January 2007), which includes some extra photographs culled from the web. Fabulous stuff! I have now added a short update to include a preserved mill engine (27th October 2013). Dave Collier has provided a 2015 update (1st January 2016) and Chris Grimes has a later update (10th May 2022). .

Not working by any means, but these fascinating survivors were spotted by Mike Dale (added 3rd August 2007). A nearby boiler is marked as being from Clarke Chapman of Gateshead, UK and they may be from the same company. Chris Allen believes the steam winches were once used by the whaling industry which had a base on this island until 1981 (there is a whaling museum - Museu da Baleiaat - at Caniçal). Martin Green (31st August 2007) has sent me a close up which confirms that the winches are also from Clarke Chapman. Accepted opinion is that the current disposition dates from their mounting for exhibition and bears no relation to their original use. Andrew Hancock confirms that they were still in place in May 2010 - near central Funchal in the hotel zone next to a marine research institute - and that there are actually four winches, his are the second two pictures (8th June 2010). Steve Lord has been there and reports that the large walled structure was formerly a coal bunker, his is the picture of the Clarke Chapman boiler (15th October 2011).

Netherlands

To quote from the website http://www.panorama360.es/woudagemaal/ :

"The steam age is over. But in Lemmer the ir.D.F.Woudagemaal as this monument is officially known, is the only steam-driven pumping engine in the world that still serves its original purpose. Built during World War One and opened in 1920, the impressive, monumental pumping-station holds its own for draining excess water. On these occasions the sleeping giant is revived for a few days to do its much-needed duty. It has a capacity of 2520 H.P. and a capacity of 4000m³ water per minute, this is approximately the volume of the machine hall!. Per day approximately 6 million m³ water can be pumped. Since 1998 the Woudagemaal has a place on UNESCO's World heritage list. Historical machines and buildings like this keep the memory of the former times alive. And the people who run the station and explain its workings to visitors, with much courtesy, make us feel a part of those times." More information (in Dutch) on the operational days is on the main website http://www.woudagemaal.nl/. Filippo Ricci visited in May 2014 and you can read his illustrated report (31st August 2014)..

Thomas Kautzor reports on a stationary steam engine at the Netherlands Open Air Museum, perhaps an unlikely location (30th September 2013).

Thomas Kautzor reports on the Veenpark (Peat Park) at Barger-Compascum which has several stationary engines including a Garrett portable which gives occasional demonstrations of Peat extraction (30th September 2013).

Chris Hodrien (4th February 2010) has sent me a list of websites for the country, these are (mainly) for drainage pumping:

Individual sites:

The exhibits in the Zuiderzee Museum (https://www.zuiderzeemuseum.nl) include a stationary steam engine which was used in a laundry together with its boiler, (10hp @120rpm Bayer type engine built in 1894 by Bakker of Rotterdam, single cylinder). Picture and information are courtesy of Phil Barnes (4th November 2018).

Marc Stegeman tells me of a relatively new 'museum' about 1km from the town of Dronten, somewhere between Lelystad and Kampen (or Zwolle, if you wish). The MEC (which stands for Mechanisch Erfgoed Centrum) is a site for all kinds of mechanical heritage items and the third weekend of the month is a steam day. This site has enormous halls which host the collections of several former technical museums that were discontinued. It is privately owned and a bit of a mess, but interesting nevertheless to see all this old stuff. As well as stationary steam engines, there are steam rollers, a portable engine, a centre engine for gallopers and a rail steam crane. The website is http://mecmuseum.nl/ (added 25th October 2019, link adjusted 28th December 2021) and the steam machines are listed here http://mecmuseum.nl/stoommachines/stoommachines/, sadly the site is not easily accessed by public transport. (Link broken by December 2023. RD)

Norway

One of my friends was planning a visit to Spitzbergern, which boasts the most northerly steam locomotive in the world at Ny-Alesund (78.56N). This prompted me to do a little web searching which threw up Colin Billington's trip there (see http://www.billogs.com/cb/spitzberegen.htm link dead by April 2015) which included the remains of both a stationary steam engine and a Taylor and Hubbard steam crane at Ny London (78.50N) across the water (11th July 2008). Since then I have added more pictures of the crane in another section of this site.

Poland

The Polish National Museum of Agriculture and Agro-Food Industry (http://www.muzeum-szreniawa.pl/?q=en/node/155) in Szreniawa, just SW of Poznan on the road to Wolsztyn contains an amazing collection of old steam powered machinery. Read Thomas Kautzor's picture report (8th June 2012)

Not totally 'real' but of interest from a country where stationary engines are not well known, Christoph Oboth reports (18th May 2012):

"There is a newly formed touristic route of technical monuments in Upper Silesia. There are at least three sites being involved with stationary steam:

Krolova Luiza mine at Zabrze (shaft winding engine, shown in working condition in steam due to a large power plant in the near neighbourhood).

Ignacy mine at Rydultowy (shaft winding engine out of use), access only by prior arrangement

Zawada water pumping station at Karchowice (a huge plant packed with lots of steam engines of all sizes; the site is still in use but converted to electric, the steam engines are still in situ and preserved). Karchowice situated is on the Pyskowice - Bytom main road.

Portugal (added 8th November 2022)

The country does not get much attention from steam enthusiasts apart from its well regarded steam locomotives. Thomas Kautzor reports on a Portuguese Steam Engine Miscellany (8th November 2022). 

Russia

When Harvey Smith worked on Sakhalin Island in the Far East, he found the remains of assumed Japanese built stationary engines - see his report which includes a picture.

Harvey also reports that there are two British portable engines preserved at the Technical Museum Vadima Zadorojnogo, Moscow (24th July 2013), one is a Ruston.

I have now added a page of surviving portables in the former Soviet Union (14th August 2014).

Spain

I had been told there was a working sugar mill in Malaga, Spain (in 2003), Thomas Kautzor found this large Corlis stationary steam engine (Fives Lille 1929) at 36.717954, -4.435262 and most likely it had been at the mill previously (7th October 2018).

Outside Almeria's mutimodal station Thomas found this engine mounted on a boiler, probably a former portable. A plate on it says '"Calla, Chaligny & Cie, Paris". Christophe Calla was the founder of the company which he sold to the Chaligny family in 1868 - which could well have been about the time it was built (7th October 2018).

At Torre del Mar is another Fives-Lille engine of 1900. It might be a tandem compound type, but given it is from a local sugar mill more likely it is a vacuum pump. The mill is now a museum - Central Cultural Nuestra Señora del Carmen - which is open daily, outside are a few more bits and pieces (7th October 2018).

Ukraine

I have now added a page of surviving portables in the former Soviet Union which includes examples in Ukraine. (14th August 2014).


Rob and Yuehong  Dickinson

Email: webmaster@internationalsteam.co.uk