To design, manufacture, transport, and install that incredible volume of machinery in such a crowded space is in itself a feat to behold.

Wonder how many fingers and hands fell victim to those lethal open belts?

Then we ponder what happens to all this stuff when its life is over?

on the two drawer work table is cotton waste. It’s great stuff for wiping off greasy hands. I’ve used a lot of it working on trucks and heavy equipment. Wiping parts with it can be tricky. Those little strings can get in places where they’re not wanted.

Screw machines are quasi-automatic lathes with cutters run by cams. The ones I worked on in the 1950s were still belt-driven but each had its own motor. With big parts being made you still had to reach in there and pull out the completed parts.

The Queen Street Mill in Burnley, UK still has its original steam engine, boilers, and century-old drive shafts, belts, pulleys, and looms. It's a textile mill not a machine shop, but I bet the noise is similar. This video gives a good overview of the place, including what it all sounds like.

I can’t decide whether this photo is fascinating or terrifying.

My ears hurt looking at this photo. I bet the noise inside that building was incredible.