The Alexander steam engine

Discover the history of a steam engine with more than 130 years of history: its construction, its use and its heritage protection and restoration.

An award-winning restoration

In 2024, an interdisciplinary team from the group restored the Alexander steam machine. This work was recognized with the Bonaplata Award awarded by the Association of the Museum of Science and Technology and Industrial Archaeology of Catalonia, highlighting the rigor of the process and the prior study carried out to learn about and value the machine.

A vintage engraving of the Alexander steam engine with a prominent flywheel, columns, and mechanical components housed between stone arches.
Illustration of the Alexander machine in an advertising catalog from Alexander Hermanos. 1890. Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona.

The manufacturer of this machine is Alexander Hermanos, a company created by the brothers David and Thomas Alexander. It was one of the main companies building steam engines in Catalonia between the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. Its machinery was key to implementing water extraction and pumping systems everywhere, especially in Barcelona.

Manufacturing

The Alexander machine in the Museu de les Aigües was manufactured in 1894 to extract water from the Besòs aquifer in Santa Coloma de Gramenet through a well belonging to an irrigator community. Aigües de Barcelona would eventually buy the well, preserving the original machinery in the garden of the Central Cornellà.

A large, old steam engine with a prominent flywheel exposed outdoors near leafless trees, a brick chimney, parked cars, and buildings in the background. The image is in black and white.
An old magazine page with Spanish advertisements, including a large image of industrial machinery on the left and several advertisements for machinery construction, wine, leather processing, and other businesses on the right and below.
Advertisement by Alexander Hermanos in Industria e Inovación. 1990s. National Newspaper Archive. National Library of Spain

To learn about the history of the piece, exhaustive historical research has been carried out, which has allowed documents, news and advertising catalogues to be recovered.

Articles about technologies by Alexander Hermanos in Crónica de la Industria. 1880. National Newspaper Archive. National Library of Spain

The machine arrives in Barcelona

In Barcelona, ​​its technology was implemented in projects such as the Llobregat Power Plant, the Besòs Water Tower or Pous de Montcada, all projects that were important for the water supply in Barcelona at the end of the 19th century.

An old, worn cover of a catalog or brochure titled Alexander Hermanos Constructores Máquinas y Calderas de vapor, Barcelona with ornate borders and decorative elements in Spanish text.
Large, complex steam machinery with vertical columns, exposed gears, and metal components inside an industrial building with tiled walls and a tiled floor.
Alexander machine of the Río Llobregat Underground Water Concession Company. 1918. Hermenter Serra. National Archive of Catalonia

The Empresa Concesionaria de Aguas Subterráneas del Río Llobregat in 1897 installed two Alexander steam engines of 200 horsepower each, which drove four pumps that in total could extract 14,000 cubic meters of water daily and raise the water to a height of 100 meters.

Architectural drawing of a small building, showing floor plans, front and side elevations, and cross sections; labeled in Spanish with precise measurements and construction details on aged paper.
Alexander Building of the Llobregat Río Subterranean Water Concession Company. N/A SGAB archive

The Llobregat Power Plant, integrated into the Cornellà Water Plant in Barcelona, ​​still preserves the building where the two Alexander machines were housed.

The extraction in the Besòs

In 1882, the Compañía General Anónima de Aguas de Barcelona, ​​Ladera Derecha del Besós launched its project to extract water from the Besós aquifer using Alexander machines.

A black and white collage of four vintage illustrations: a long building, a tall brick lighthouse, a close-up of a tower or wall, and a large mechanical engine with a wheel.
A tall brick tower with arched windows stands tall under a partly cloudy sky. Its warm, orange structure contrasts with the blue sky. Nearby, to the left, a similar brick building is seen.
Besos Tower. 2019

The imposing Torre de les Aigües del Besòs, which commemorates his association with Alexander Hermanos, also remains from this project. The tower was restored in 2011, with the support of Aigües de Barcelona.

Two sepia-toned photographs: on the left a room with large industrial machinery and a spiral staircase is shown; on the right two large boilers are shown under a balcony with railings and various valves or indicators.
Machine Alexander dels Pous de Montcada in the Municipal Gazette. 1910. Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona.

Aguas de Montcada, a company that supplied water to the Ciutat Vella area, also installed Alexander pumps in its extraction wells located in Montcada i Reixac in 1879.

Industrial water heritage

Today, Alexander machinery is part of the heritage complex of the Casa de les Aigües de Montcada i Reixac, where, in addition, boilers of the same brand can be seen.

The Alexander machine with metal rods, gears and wheels, located indoors with white tiled walls with blue decorative patterns and a wooden ceiling above.

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