Model shows 'ideal' early 20th century workshop

The IMechE has a model of exceptional quality showing the ‘ideal’ workshop of the early 20th century.

Made at a scale of one inch to one foot, it is largely based on the Royal Arsenal workshops at Woolwich in south London. It was made by optometrist E J Windsor of Curry & Paxton between 1893 and 1910.

The model used to be owned by Sir Hiram Maxim, inventor of the first portable, fully automatic machine gun. In 1885, Maxim introduced his invention at the Institution in the paper “Description of the Maxim automatic machine gun”. After Sir Hiram died, his widow gifted the model of the workshop to the IMechE. 

The workshop is belt-driven from a horizontal steam engine (it doesn’t steam now) and features an overhead crane. The machinery is based upon Whitworth products; Windsor used the company’s catalogues, which are now in the IMechE Archive. 

You can see lots of photos of the machinery in the workshop, as well as a video of it running, at https://archives.imeche.org/archive/industrial/model-shop?

The model is now in the IMechE Library. Email archive@imeche.org if you’d like to come to see it.