George Saxon
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George Saxon & Co was an English engineering company that manufactured
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 car ...
s. It was based in the
Openshaw Openshaw is a suburb of Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, about three miles east of the Manchester city centre. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Lancashire, Openshaw was incorporated into the city of Manchester in 1890. ...
district of
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. The company produced large steam-driven engines for power stations and later for
textile mills Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...
in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
and elsewhere.


Biography

George Saxon was born in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
in 1821. He served an apprenticeship with
William Fairbairn Sir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet of Ardwick (19 February 1789 – 18 August 1874) was a Scotland, Scottish civil engineer, structural engineer and shipbuilder. In 1854 he succeeded George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson to become the third ...
and rose to supervisor. In 1851, he moved to be foreman at Benjamin Goodfellow's works in
Hyde, Greater Manchester Hyde is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county boundaries of Cheshire, and became part of Greater Manchester in 1974. The built-up area as defined by the Office for Nati ...
. Here in 1854, he invented and patented a
fusible plug A fusible plug is a threaded cylinder of metal, usually bronze, brass or gunmetal, with a tapered hole drilled completely through its length. This hole is sealed with a metal of low melting point that flows away if a predetermined high temperatur ...
for steam boilers. That year he formed his own business at Spring Works, Openshaw, trading as George Saxon. He was a mill-wright. He probably started manufacturing steam engines in 1860. He patented many small improvements to engine design. He was elected president of the
Manchester Association of Engineers Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
in 1871. He was also a member of the
Institute of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 110,000 membe ...
. In February 1879 he patented an automatic cut-off motion, which made his engines more economical. He believed in the use of a long cylinder stroke on his horizontal engines to produce more power. His sons followed him into the business and continued it after his death in 1879.


History

Up to 1860 Saxon appears to have mainly concentrated on engine repair work and producing mill gearing and shafting. Spring Works was extended in 1860 by the addition of an erecting shop when engine making seems to have started in a small way and was further expanded in 1870. An example of an early Saxon engine was one built in the 1860s for a Manchester confectionery firm which was a horizontal single-cylinder non-condensing engine, 60 ihp, with a Meyer variable cut-off slide valve. The construction of larger engines had started by 1870/71 when they built a horizontal cross compound engine, possibly for an Oldham customer, which used steam at the relatively high pressure for that time of 100 lbs psi. By 1875 Saxon was building engines of between 750 and 1,000 ihp, for the new 'Oldham Limiteds'. These were mostly horizontal twin tandem compound engines - a 4-cylinder design for which Saxons became noted during the last quarter of the 19th century. During 1871–80 Saxons are known to have built at least 10 engines with a capacity of about 6,800 ihp, mostly for cotton mills. George Saxon engines were characterised by having a long stroke and high operating speed. They used Corliss valves on their large mill engines from around 1890 onwards, having previously used slide valves in their engines. The Saxon design dispensed with the wrist plate and unusually placed Corliss valves on both the HP (high-pressure) and LP (low-pressure) cylinders where other designers, such as McNaught and Petrie would have used
piston valve A piston valve is a device used to control the motion of a fluid or gas along a tube or pipe by means of the linear motion of a piston within a chamber or cylinder. Examples of piston valves are: * The valves used in many brass instruments * ...
s. Saxons were late adopters of Corliss valve engines but were quick to adopt the efficient triple-expansion engine design. During 1891 and 1892 they converted a number of large compound engines to triple-expansion, with a saving in fuel of up to 18%, and in 1892 they built their first horizontal twin tandem triple-expansion engine, 1,260 ihp, for
Rock Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne Rock Mill was cotton spinning mill in the Waterloo district of Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, in England. It was built between 1891 and 1893 for the Ashton Syndicate by Sydney Stott of Oldham. Rock Mill was built on the site of Wilsha ...
. They also continued to build large horizontal twin tandem compound engines. Near-identical engines Saxons built in 1902 for
Dawn Mill, Shaw Dawn Mill, Shaw was a cotton spinning mill in Shaw and Crompton, Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was built on the site of Shaw Mill at the "dawn" of the 20th century. Dawn Mill was equipped with mule weft spindles in 1950. It was powered by En ...
, and
Magnet Mill, Chadderton Magnet Mill, Chadderton is a cotton spinning mill in Chadderton, Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was built by the Magnet Mill Ltd. in 1902, but purchased by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1935. It was later taken over by the Courtaulds Gr ...
, developed 1400 hp at 140 psi and 1700 hp at 160 psi. The flywheels of these engines were 26 ft in diameter and weighed between 80 and 90 tons. The speed of 60 rpm and stroke of 5 ft was standard at this time. Saxons built their first inverted vertical engine in 1896, a space-efficient design that became quite popular with mill builders. They built some particularly large engines. In 1908 they built a 2,750 ihp engine for No 2 Mill, Times Mill, Middleton – their largest to be built in the Oldham area. In
Pear New Mill Pear New Mill is a former Edwardian cotton spinning mill on the northern bank of the River Goyt in Bredbury, Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. Pear Mill was one of the last cotton spinning mills to be ...
,
Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...
, and Hall Lane Spinning Mill, Leigh, George Saxon used the Manhattan design. This design was so named because
Allis-Chalmers Allis-Chalmers was a United States, U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various Industry (economics), industries. Its business lines included list of agricultural machinery, agricultural equipment, heavy equipment, construction equipment, electric ...
, in designing a 60,000 h.p. engine to generate electricity for the Manhattan transport system, had been faced with a small site and had laid out the 88-inch-diameter low-pressure cylinders horizontally, and the 44-inch high-pressure cylinders vertically. This had enabled eight strokes per revolution instead of the former four, leading to a smoother motion. Saxons were very busy during the first decade of the 20th century, especially during 1901–02 and 1905–08. They built 85 engines aggregating 90,240 ihp between 1901 and 1910.Collier p 495 However, with the advent of the First World War in 1914, their engine output declined rapidly. They also exported a small number of horizontal cross-compound engines to India during the 1890s and early 1900s. The last mill engine produced by George Saxon is reputed to be one made for J J Hadfield, a bleachworks in
Chinley Chinley is a rural village in the High Peak Borough of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 2,796 at the 2011 Census. Most of the civil parish (called Chinley, Buxworth and Brownside) is within the Peak District National Park. Historical ...
. This final specimen was built in 1928 and was a 450 hp cross-compound engine. The technical specifications included -inch-diameter HP (high-pressure) cylinder, a 31-inch LP and a 3 ft 6 in stroke. It was steamed at 120 psi, and drove a 16 ft flywheel with 12 ropes, at 100 rpm. It had Corliss valves on both cylinders. The horizontal condenser was behind the LP cylinder. No engines have survived.


Mills driven by their engines

* Junction Mill. Middleton - 1875, 1,000 ihp * Boundary Mill,
Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...
- 1875, 750 ihp * Star Mill, Oldham - 1875, 750 ihp * Hawthorn Mill,
Chadderton Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale and north-east of Manchester. The ...
* Lark Mill, Hollinwood - 1901 * Curzon Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne - 1901 *
Magnet Mill, Chadderton Magnet Mill, Chadderton is a cotton spinning mill in Chadderton, Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was built by the Magnet Mill Ltd. in 1902, but purchased by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1935. It was later taken over by the Courtaulds Gr ...
, * Broadstone Mill, Reddish * Cairo Mill, Waterhead, Oldham, Triple expansion * Irk Mill, Middleton, a Manhattan * Fox Mill, Hollinwood, a Manhattan * Ridgefield Mill, Failsworth, a Manhattan * Swan Lane Mills, Bolton, 1200 hp


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * Collier, D A (1985) 'A Comparative History of the Development of the Leading Stationary Steam Engine Manufacturers of Lancashire, c.1800–1939', Ph D thesis, University of Manchester, 1985 {{DEFAULTSORT:George Saxon and Co Industrial Revolution Steam engine manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Manchester Defunct companies based in Manchester Engineering companies of England 1878 establishments in England 1943 disestablishments in England Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1943 Manufacturing companies established in 1878 British companies established in 1878 British companies disestablished in 1943