The museum is back open, and I booked a ticket to visit it yesterday. Admission is free but they’re still limiting visitor numbers, so you need to arrange a timeslot in advance.
Among the museum’s many artefacts exhibiting Scotland’s industrial heritage are not one but two (2) beam engines. The first photo depicts the Boulton and Watt engine, designed by James Watt himself (Boulton was his business partner; Watt supplied the designs, Boulton the manufacturing). It’s one of the oldest surviving beam engines in the world, having been made in 1786 for pumping water at a London brewery. Later adaptations made it capable of grinding barley as well.
The other three pictures show the Newcomen atmospheric engine. This was also built for pumping water, in this case out of the mineshafts at Caprington Colliery in Ayrshire. A lot of beam engines (like, a lot) were made for this purpose at various mines around the world. Although it’s of an older and less efficient design than the B&W engine, it’s actually younger; this particular engine was probably made around 1811 to replace an earlier engine on the same site. A few cutaways in the stonework give you a better view of the engine inside its house, though the one that shows you most of the beam itself is best viewed from the next gallery up, which is currently still closed.
