Stockton Steam Engine – built 1895

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This triple expansion steam engine, built by Worth Mckenzies of Stockton, was installed at Hereford Water Works in 1895 and is said to be the oldest of its type still working. It is still in the Hereford Water Works Museum so it has not really moved location since it first ran. I understand it is powered up on special museum days. Triple expansion engines were the most common form of efficient steam engines. A very rough estimate of this engine suggests the power to be about 50hp.

Photographs and details courtesy of Fred Starr.

5 thoughts on “Stockton Steam Engine – built 1895”

  1. Hereford WW Museum have qualified for the IMechE Eng heritage (‘Landmark’) Award for their rare 1895 Worth Mackenzie (Stockton) triple expansion engine. It is definitely the oldest Water Works steam engine of this type that survives in the UK. The award ceremony will be in Spring 2018.

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  2. Dear Fred, thanks for all of this. Your above submission was the inspiration to write the Worth Mackenzie history, as virtually no information was widely available on this interesting local company. It took me most weekends during the winter to research the company at Stockton, North East, and London libraries. I had planned to start at Hereford last year, but could not travel. I will be going this year. Picture Stockton (PS) seemed the best choice for the company history as few would see or read it in a small print run academic journal, also PS had photos of the works with no comments. I still have some questions to answer about the company, maybe later this year.

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  3. The Hereford Water Works Museum are very pleased to have got the summary which Alan B wrote about the Worth Mackenzie company. They would welcome people coming down from Stockton to see the engine in steam. They have a steaming day about once a month from the late spring through to the early autumn.

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  4. A comprehensive history of the Worth Mackenzie Company (1880-1935), Engineers, Stockton, has been placed under the Picture Stockton photograph of its works titled ‘The Railway Sidings at the Phoenix Works, c.1901’, search Phoenix. The August 1890 contract for the supply of new engines and pumps to the Kidderminster Corporation Waterworks was for 1965 pounds. The engines were possibly not that different from the above. Spelling Mac not Mc for Mackenzie in the references I have.

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