Tingtang, 1777, 1782

Cornish Mine Engines (14 items).

1288. Tingtang. Feb. 1777, Jan. 1782. 14 items.
Single-acting engine, with 52 inch cylinder, 8 foot stroke, chain connection.

Set of numbered drawings, Feb. 1777:
No. 1 - general view of the engine; No. 2 - plan of the engine and 2 round boilers; No. 3 - side view of boiler and cylinder; No. 4 - plans and section of cylinder, air pump, pipe etc.

Also general view of the engine, plan of the engine and boilers etc. (shaded), length of beam and condenser steam pipe - larger scale drawings than those above; plan of the beam; plans and section of cylinder, air pump, pipes etc. - shaded drawing.

Drawings made on removal to Scorrier, Jan. 1782:
General view of the engine, plan of the engine house and boiler, front view of the engine house, longitudinal and cross-sections of the boiler, communicating box.

Original Portfolio or 'Book' Nos. 4 [in the Drawing Office Index only], 28.
Catalogue of Old Engines p. 300.

For Tingtang Mine. The mine was frequently spelt as "Ting Tang" or "Ting-Tang". This was the first Boulton & Watt engine ordered for Cornwall, in 1776, although it was the second one erected; Chacewater [see Portfolio 5/1295] was the first one at work. The engine was sold to Scorrier, also called Wheal Chance, in 1782, where it worked until Aug. 1784. According to the List of Engines made at Soho, it was then removed to Wheal Fat, where it started work in May 1785 and worked until Nov. 1786. Dickinson & Jenkins give the name of this mine as Wheal Let and say that it was part of the Scorrier mine [p. 341]. It was then removed to Halebeagle, part of the North Downs Mines, where it worked from Oct. 1787 to Jun. 1788. According to Dickinson & Jenkins [p. 342] by 1794 the engine was lying idle, completely worn out.
John Southern placed both the original Tingtang drawings and the Scorrier drawings of 1782 in a book entitled "Drawings made in Cornwall". This book was No. 28 in his list. However the original Tingtang drawings were at some point removed and placed in a book which the Drawing Office numbered 4 in their series of books of pre-1778 drawings. Henry Hazleton re-united the drawings during his re-organisation.

Published references: Dickinson & Jenkins p. 130.

See also: Engine Agreements.