Model of a sugar cane mill, c.1850

This is a working model of a sugar-cane mill. It is powered by a single cylinder beam engine and represents the type of cane crusher used in Mauritius about 1850. The three horizontal rollers are driven by reduction gearing from the beam engine. The feeding table is a travelling apron, and the juice spout and trash shoot are shown. Trash cane would have been used to fuel the boiler. The condenser and pumps are contained in the base, and the speed was controlled by the heavy flywheel and a centrifugal governor. A locomotive tubular boiler was used to power the model. Together, they appeared in the Mauritius section at the Franco-British Exhibition at Shepherd's Bush in 1908.