Plans to restore one of the greatest inventions of the Industrial Revolution have steamed to a successful conclusion in Salford.
One of James Nasmyth’s steam hammers,nicknamed Thor after the Norse god of thunder because of the noise it made, stands near the site of his Victorian Salford workshop in tribute to the mechanical engineering genius.
Now, as part of a wider £5.5 million restoration package to the nearby Bridgewater Canal and with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Salford City Council, Nasmyth’s Business Park and donations from community local groups, the historic machine has been restored, repainted and a new interpretive canopy installed over it to protect it from the weather and explain its significance to visitors.
Deputy City Mayor, Councillor David Lancaster, said “The steam hammer was one of the greatest innovations of the Industrial Revolution. Before it came along mechanical hammers struck every blow with the same amount of force.
“Nasmyth’s steam hammer could gently break the top of an egg set in a wine glass without breaking the glass or be set to fall with such force it shook the whole building and could be heard for miles around.
“His steam hammers were sold across the world and transformed manufacturing by cutting production costs in half. It also led the company to pioneer a pile driving machine, using the same principles in 1845. That machine, using a four and a half ton hammer took four and a half minutes to drive in a 70ft long pile that previously took men 12 hours to install.
“Unsurprisingly, this pile driving machine was sold across the world for large scale building contracts, including the High Level road and rail bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne and the Aswan Low Dam in Egypt.
“Thor was used at Elsecar Colliery in Barnsley for over 100 years before an enthusiastic group of local people brought it to Salford and it was set up at its current site, Nasmyth’s Business Park which stands close to another masterpiece of engineering – the Bridgewater Canal.
“The current paintwork needed refreshing and the metal had started to corrode because of exposure to the weather. We’ve undertaken thorough conservation work, blasted off several layers of paint, which revealed the original colour of the steam hammer and improved the surroundings with new landscaping to make more of this incredible piece of British heritage.
“The steam hammer has been given a new coat of paint in its orginal blue colour and a specially designed canopy has been lifted into place to preserve this marvel of the industrial age for future generations.”
Nasmyth made his first steam engine at the age of 17 in his father’s workshop and three years later, in 1828, built a complete steam carriage capable of running a mile carrying eight passengers – the year before Stephenson’s Rocket won the Rain Hill trials.
He worked as a engineering draughtsman in London before setting up his own business in Manchester aged 23, relocating to Patricroft and opening the Bridgewater Foundry in 1836.
He chose the site close to the new Liverpool and Manchester Railway and Bridgewater Canal to build railway locomotives and machine tools to construct bigger and better engines. Nasmyth built his first steam hammer in 1842 in Patricroft.
The steamhammer is included on the Eccles coat of arms in recognition of Nasmyth’s achievement and of the importance of engineering to the borough.
