What was, at the time, believed to be one of the largest steam engine cylinders in the world was manufactured for John Lancaster in November 1848 by Haigh Foundry, in Lancashire, for installation in a direct action pumping engine at Mostyn Colliery. It was long, eight feet four inches in diameter, and weighed 22 tons. It was said to have used 30 tons of molten metal in its manufacture, and a sizable crowd of interested observers went to view the casting. Mostyn is also notable in that in 1852, it became one of the first collieries to fit an experimental 'air pump'.
