steam mill

	McLean Mill - National Historic Site Anyone interested in the use of steam should visit the restored McLean steam mill near Alberni, British Columbia. This mill was built in 1928 but the steam machinery is from a far earlier time. The main steam engine used to power the head saws and much of the other machinery was built by Wheland Machine works around 1890. The steam engine originally used to power the log carriage was a ship's winch built in 1880. This mill has been restored to an operational state. The visitor can observe the mill in operation. The logs are pulled up from the pond into the mill. The logs are cut with the head saws and later to the edger to make the timbers into boards. They are then trimmed to length. Most of the machinery is run by belts from the main steam engine. Later the boards are fed to the plainer before being sent outside to dry. In addition there is a variety of logging equipment mostly from the forties around the yard. A lot of the old buildings that the men slept and ate in have been restored as well. There is also a steam tractor located next to the mill. An old spar tree is on the far end of the property but it needs a bit of work. The staff are well trained and give a bit of the atmosphere of earlier mill and logging shows. It brings back some memories for older coasters.
The log pond with the mill in the background

Head saw.	The logs are pulled up from the log pond to the deck

Workers building has been restores as it was in the 20's'. Camp life has been preserved.	Steam winch. There are 2 steam engines built 1890 and 1880

A restored 1929 steam engine takes passengers out to the mill site from Port Alberni 2 or 3 times a day in the summer. Check to see when it is running. It currently runs 5 days a week in the summer. The station in Port Alberni has also been restored. Be prepared to spend some time to ride the train and visit the mill. Well worth it.

Balanced Valve
The main engine in the mill proudly proclaims it had a balanced valve. One of the main defects of the ordinary D type slide valve was that the steam pressure in the steam chest forced the valve against its seat causing wear due to much friction. There was a small amount of power loss as well. This problem increased with increased steam pressure. For this reason compound engines often used a balanced piston valve on the HP.
By using a balanced valve and keeping the direct pressure off the top of the valve the problem was reduced. There were a number of different balanced valve designs. One method sealed the top of the valve against a plate. Another old engine (Ajax) used exhaust steam to take the pressure off the valve.

The McLean Mill