Flying Scotsman, probably the most famous steam locomotive in the world, celebrates its centenary in 2023. Built for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1923 at Doncaster Works, it soon became the flagship locomotive of the company.

The Flying Scotsman enjoyed a long and distinguished career with both the LNER and British Railways prior to retirement in 1963. The steam locomotive has been owned by several individuals and is the first to circumnavigate the globe, including tours of North America and Australia. Flying Scotsman now resides with its current owners, the National Railway Museum.

The locomotive has undergone many restorations over the years, with Stephenson Engineering being entrusted with various projects including large format CNC machining. Stephenson Engineering has experience in producing a wide variety of components for the rail industry, from heritage steam locomotion drive and coupling gear to the manufacture of modern, complex rolling stock. We currently hold the rail welding accreditation to 15085 and continue to support steam preservation projects throughout the UK.

We are always looking for new people to join our expanding team - Please call us directly on: 01942 883046, or complete the Contact Us section and enter your message

Recently we have undertaken the manufacture of a large quantity of pulling heads for various customer applications which will see service world-wide. Pulling Heads are typically used for the lifting of pipelines during installation activities and consist of a flanged structure that bolts directly onto the flexible pipe end fitting. Our multi-capability service allows us to machine, weld, load-test and paint to customer specifications.

Stephenson Engineering has supported subsea sectors for the past 35 years, working with all the oil majors and service companies. We produce high-integrity customer designed products to customer-designed specifications.

Key to our manufacturing services is the ability to CNC machine very large components and fabrications within close tolerances. Stephenson Engineering has extensive large-capacity CNC machining facilities for components up to an incredible 14m x 4m and 35 tonnes in weight. Machine programming is performed offline using CAD-CAM, enabling complex toolpaths to be generated. Our range of machines covers milling, drilling, boring, and vertical and horizontal turning.

Make UK Defence champions and celebrates the UK’s defence supply chain. They represent the sector’s interests to government and champion our innovative, global and dynamic industry to the public.

Make UK Defence is the lead trade association for the MOD SME Working Group. They provide thought leadership in over a dozen Defence Suppliers Forum working groups – from social value to cyber security to commercial policy.

We are delighted to join the organisation and very much look forward to a rewarding and productive partnership, especially new opportunities and awareness within the UK defence sector.

Nearly all the welding we undertake at Stephenson Engineering is for the most demanding service applications, requiring high integrity welds, ultrasonically tested to the most exacting standards. Where heavy wall, full penetration welding is called for we employ the submerged-arc weld process.

This process ensures we get excellent penetration between both parent materials combined with very high deposition rates. Furthermore, because the process is semi-automated, we get outstanding repeatability. All our welding processes are controlled through our TWI 3834 Part 2 accreditation which is overseen by our in-house welding engineer.

Rolling out of our Manchester facility last week was two more high-integrity machined fabrications. These items are part of a series of structures built to our clients’ specification and manufactured entirely in-house by Stephenson Engineering.

Our turnkey service provides total control over budget, schedule and quality throughout production, and promotes manufacturing efficiency. Measuring 4 metres across and weighing in at over 7.5 tonnes each, they are a good example of our expertise in large structure build with close tolerance machining.

Alongside our coded welding professionals is the ability to CNC machine such weldments up to an incredible 14 metres / 35 tonnes. Often our manufacturing capability is only limited by road haulage constraints – another a tight squeeze through our security gates!

An early arrival one morning in November was the first of two transports bringing our latest vertical boring machine. The Dörries Scharmann CNC Vertical Borer is another addition to our CNC machining capabilities and compliments our current Schiess Vertical boring centres. This purchase marks another investment and commitment to large-capacity manufacturing here at Stephenson Engineering.

This principal machine enables the company to boost production capacity and meet increasing customer demands for our high-integrity machined fabrications and components. Constant investment in plant and facilities will not only benefit our customers, but also creates additional job vacancies within the business.

JOSCAR (the Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register) is a collaborative tool used by major prime contractors in the aerospace, defence and security sectors to act as a single repository for pre-qualification and compliance information. JOSCAR collects, validates and maintains supplier information, used by buyers to help with procurement compliance.

JOSCAR provides objective and validated information which is the perfect foundation for a quick and efficient approval process and a holistic view of suppliers for sourcing new business. As a supplier to multiple customers within the defence sector, this scheme reduces duplication and creates a single source of validated data available to all buyers.

In November Stephenson Engineering attended Offshore Energy 25 exhibition and conference in the Netherlands.

The OEEC event proved to be a hugely beneficial two days with representation from all aspects of industry including contractors, equipment suppliers, service providers and marine operators.

The event certainly promoted an atmosphere of collaboration and engagement - especially regarding discussions around technical challenges and opportunities within the supply chain. Great to catch up with some of our connections and clients old and new.

We have a new member of the Stephenson Engineering team! We’re excited to announce that Adam James has joined our project management team.

Adam will be responsible for managing and overseeing engineering projects from start to finish for key clients. As Project Engineer he will manage all aspects of production from initial enquiry and order placement, through manufacture, to final delivery. Our Project Managers ensure efficient and timely workflows across all departments, continuous quality control and enhanced customer service.

Adam is entering into this role at a pivotal time for the business as we continue to invest and expand. We’re confident he will play a key role in our operations and support our continued growth. Welcome to the team!

The joint Hydrogen Technology and Carbon Capture Technology Expo 2025 proved a very interesting and engaging event for Stephenson Engineering as we continue to gain exposure in this sector.

The world’s largest carbon and hydrogen trade fair featured over 1,000 exhibitors spread across six halls at the Hamburg Messe, Germany.

We are committed to support CCS technology and emerging energies through a combination of our knowledge, skills and manufacturing expertise developed over many years in the energy sector.

Stephenson Engineering are delighted to continue supporting local football club Daisy Hill FC. Based a short distance from our facility in Westhoughton, Daisy Hill Juniors will be wearing kit with our logo proudly displayed on the front.