Collections: Kelham Island Museum

The River Don Engine

The 12,000 horse power River Don Engine was built by Davy Brothers of Sheffield in 1905. It was made to drive Charles Cammell's armour plate rolling mill located at his Grimesthorpe Works. The engine was one of four all built for the same purpose. The second went to John Brown's Atlas Works, the third to the Japanese government, and the destination of the fourth is unknown.

The River Don Engine ran at Cammell's mill for almost 50 years. The engine was then transferred to what was formerly known as the British Steel Corporation's River Don Works. At the Works, the engine continued to drive a heavy plate mill, producing products such as stainless steel reactor shields and steel plates for North Sea oil rigs. In 1978, the engine ceased production and was transferred to Kelham Island Museum.

It is now the most powerful working steam engine remaining in Europe, and you can see it "in steam" at the Museum:

Monday - Thursday 12pm and 2pm and Sunday 12pm, 2pm and 4pm*

Engine Technical Specification:

Metric Imperial
Cylinder bore 1.06m 41 inches
Piston Stroke 1.22m 48 inches
Working Pressure 11bars saturated steam 160 lb / sq. in. saturated steam
Crank pin diameter 0.53metres 21inches
Main journal diameter 0.53metres 21inches
Estimated total weight 426.83 tonnes 420 tons
Largest single component weight 51.83 tonnes 51 tons
Overall height 8.54 metres 28 feet
Overall length 12.2 metres 40 feet

* Due to aging equipment and limited resources we regret we cannot always guarantee the daily running of the engine as advertised above and ask visitors travelling specifically to see the engine in steam to contact the museum before their visit for the most recent information on the engines current status.Thank you.

Please note the River Don Engine wil not be running on the following days in 2013 due to essential maintenance. We apologise for any inconvenience.

17 January
22 February
21 March
18 April
16 May
20 June
18 July
16 August
19 September
17 October
21 November
19 December