Yates & Thom Ltd, or Yates of Blackburn, was a British manufacturer of stationary steam engine

Stationary steam engine

Stationary steam engines are fixed steam engines used for pumping or driving mills and factories, and for power generation. They are distinct from locomotive engines used on railways, traction engines for heavy steam haulage on roads, steam cars , agricultural engines used for ploughing or...

s and boilers at the Canal Ironworks, Blackburn, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, England.

The company had its origins in a blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

's shop started by William Yates in 1824.

In the 1860s, the company supplied a cam operated, drop valve compound engine operating at 100psi to the India Mill, Darwen

Darwen

Darwen is a market town and civil parish located within Lancashire, England. Along with its northerly neighbour, Blackburn, it forms the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen — a unitary authority area...

. Other mills supplied by Yates and Thom included the Durban Mill, Oldham

Oldham

Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...

. This was 1800hp triple expansion four cylinder engine built in 1906. It had a 24"HP, 29"IP, two 38"LP cylinders with a 5ft 6" stroke. At 180psi, it drove a. 27ft, 67 ton flywheel with 38 ropes, at 65rpm. It used Corliss

Corliss Steam Engine

A Corliss steam engine is a steam engine, fitted with rotary valves and with variable valve timing patented in 1849, invented by and named after the American engineer George Henry Corliss in Providence, Rhode Island....

 valves on all cylinders.

The company supplied a 3,300 horse power twin tandem compound engine which survives in the engine house at the Astley Green Colliery Museum

Astley Green Colliery Museum

The Astley Green Colliery Museum is a museum run by the Red Rose Steam Society in Astley near Tyldesley in Greater Manchester, England. Before becoming a museum, the site was a working colliery that produced coal from 1912 to 1970; it is now protected as a Scheduled Monument...

 and was the largest steam winding engine used on the Lancashire Coalfield

Lancashire Coalfield

The Lancashire Coalfield in north-west England was one of the most important British coalfields.-Geography and geology:The geology of the coalfield consists of the coal seams of the Upper, Middle and Lower Coal Measures, layers of sandstones, shales and coal of varying thickness, which were laid...

.

In later years the company was known as Foster, Yates and Thom and continued to manufacture boilers until 1964. The remainder of the works closed in 1973.

External links

• One Guy from Barlick– Forum discussing Lancashire mill engines
• http://www.cottontown.org/page.cfm?pageid=4801&language=eng