who developed a steam engine that could drive machinery
James Watt
375340
motion to a water pump. Each piston was raised by the steam pressure and returned to its original position by gravity. The two pistons shared a common four way rotary valve connected directly to a steam boiler. The next major step occurred when James Watt developed (1763–1775) an improved version of Newcomen's engine, with a separate condenser. Boulton and Watt's early engines used half as much coal as John Smeaton's improved version of Newcomen's. Newcomen's and Watt's early engines were "atmospheric". They were powered by air pressure pushing a piston into the partial vacuum generated by condensing steam, instead of
Steam engine
347267
mode for tram transport even after the arrival of steam engines, well till the end of the 19th century. The major reason was that the horse-cars were cleaner compared to steam driven trams which caused smoke in city streets. James Watt, a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer, greatly improved the steam engine of Thomas Newcomen, hitherto used to pump water out of mines. Watt developed a reciprocating engine in 1769, capable of powering a wheel. Although the Watt engine powered cotton mills and a variety of machinery, it was a large stationary engine. It could not be otherwise: the state
Rail transport
8760954
Cornish engine A Cornish engine is a type of steam engine developed in Cornwall, England, mainly for pumping water from a mine. It is a form of beam engine that uses steam at a higher pressure than the earlier engines designed by James Watt. The engines were also used for powering man engines to assist the underground miners' journeys to and from their working levels, for winching materials into and out of the mine, and for powering on-site ore stamping machinery. Cornwall has long had tin, copper and other metal ore mines, but if mining is to take place at
Cornish engine
1682988
began to replace the Bessemer process near the end of 19th century, improving the quality of steel and further reducing costs. Steel completely replaced the use of iron in rails, becoming standard for all railways. James Watt, a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer, greatly improved the steam engine of Thomas Newcomen, hitherto used to pump water out of mines. Watt developed a reciprocating engine in 1769, capable of powering a wheel. Although the Watt engine powered cotton mills and a variety of machinery, it was a large stationary engine. It could not be otherwise: the state of boiler technology necessitated
History of rail transport
16359354
often transmitted their force through the beam by means of chains and an "arch head", as only a tension in one direction was needed. Where these were used for pumping mine shafts and only had to act against a load in one direction, single-acting designs remained in use for many years. The main impetus towards double-acting cylinders came when James Watt was trying to develop a rotative beam engine, that could be used to drive machinery via an output shaft. With a single-cylinder engine, a double-acting cylinder gave a smoother power output. The high-pressure engine, as developed by Richard Trevithick,
Single- and double-acting cylinders
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he also invents an ink to work with it. This is the first widely used copy machine for offices and is a commercial success, being used for over a century. This letter copying press is considered to be the original photocopier. 1781: James Watt markets his rotary-motion steam engine. The earlier steam engine's vertical movement was ideal for operating water pumps but the new engine can be adapted to drive all sorts of machinery. Richard Arkwright pioneers its use in his cotton mills and within 15 years there are 500+ Boulton & Watt steam engines in British factories and mines.
Science and invention in Birmingham
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automatically regulate the speed of the engine. Finally the sun and planet gear convert the reciprocating motion of the beam into a rotating motion, which can be used to drive rotating machinery. The engine is featured on the Bank of England £50 note along with Matthew Boulton, James Watt, and the Soho Manufactory. Whitbread Engine The Whitbread Engine preserved in the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, built in 1785, is one of the first rotative steam engines ever built, and is the oldest surviving. A rotative engine is a type of beam engine where the reciprocating motion of the beam
Whitbread Engine
858295
invented by James Watt, in which the steam was condensed in a separate condenser. The Watt steam engine, aided by better engineering techniques including Wilkinson's boring machine, was much more fuel efficient, enabling Watt and his partner Matthew Boulton to collect substantial royalties based on the fuel saved. Watt subsequently made other improvements, including the double-acting engine, where both the up and down strokes were power strokes. These were especially suitable for driving textile mills, and many Watt engines were employed in these industries. At first attempts to drive machinery by Newcomen engines had mixed success, as the single power
Thomas Newcomen
3968327
significant development, with James Watt's stationary steam engine design leading the way. Water could be pumped from deeper than ever before, and mines could be driven to find even more dense seams. At the same time, the growth in use of machinery (e.g. for mills, forges, and ships) rapidly increased the demand for coal - to which the town responded. Land exchanged hands in St Helens rapidly, as established families moved out of the growing towns filled with the working classes to more gentrified and less industrially developed places. In their place came self-made wealthy industrialists such as John Mackay
St Helens, Merseyside
16043184
was undertaken in rural cottages. The steam engine was invented and became a power supply that soon surpassed waterfalls and horsepower. The first practicable steam engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen, and was used for pumping water out of mines. A much more powerful steam engine was invented by James Watt; it had a reciprocating engine capable of powering machinery. The first steam-driven textile mills began to appear in the last quarter of the 18th century, and this transformed the industrial revolution into an urban phenomenon, greatly contributing to the appearance and rapid growth of industrial towns. The progress of
Economic history of the United Kingdom
4482573
temperature of the steam and, most importantly, a steam condenser chamber separate from the piston chamber. These improvements increased engine efficiency by a factor of about five, saving 75% on coal costs. The Newcomen engine could not, at the time, be easily adapted to drive a rotating wheel, although Wasborough and Pickard did succeed in doing so in about 1780. However, by 1783 the more economical Watt steam engine had been fully developed into a double-acting rotative type with a centrifugal governor, parallel motion and flywheel which meant that it could be used to directly drive the rotary machinery of
Steam power during the Industrial Revolution
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Water-returning engine A water-returning engine was an early form of stationary steam engine, developed at the start of the Industrial Revolution in the middle of the 18th century. The first beam engines did not generate power by rotating a shaft but were developed as water pumps, mostly for draining mines. By coupling this pump with a water wheel, they could be used to drive machinery. The steam engine was not, as widely held, the "cause" of the Industrial Revolution, but rather arose as a result of it. The primary power source of the Revolution, certainly in the 18th century, was
Water-returning engine
1350063
first powered farm implements in the early 19th century were portable engines – steam engines on wheels that could be used to drive mechanical farm machinery by way of a flexible belt. Richard Trevithick designed the first 'semi-portable' stationary steam engine for agricultural use, known as a "barn engine" in 1812, and it was used to drive a corn threshing machine. The truly portable engine was invented in 1839 by William Tuxford of Boston, Lincolnshire who started manufacture of an engine built around a locomotive-style boiler with horizontal smoke tubes. A large flywheel was mounted on the crankshaft, and a
Tractor
1424985
constant power and smoothed the action of the alternating strokes. To its rotating central shaft, belts and gears could be attached to drive a great variety of machinery. Because factory machinery needed to operate at a constant speed, Watt linked a steam regulator valve to a centrifugal governor which he adapted from those used to automatically control the speed of windmills. The centrifugal was not a true speed controller because it could not hold a set speed in response to a change in load. These improvements allowed the steam engine to replace the water wheel and horses as the main
Watt steam engine
196096
efficiency so that Boulton & Watts engines used only 20–25% as much coal per horsepower-hour as Newcomen's. Boulton and Watt opened the Soho Foundry for the manufacture of such engines in 1795. By 1783 the Watt steam engine had been fully developed into a double-acting rotative type, which meant that it could be used to directly drive the rotary machinery of a factory or mill. Both of Watt's basic engine types were commercially very successful, and by 1800, the firm Boulton & Watt had constructed 496 engines, with 164 driving reciprocating pumps, 24 serving blast furnaces, and 308 powering mill
Industrial Revolution
15685751
had inspired the development of the water-returning engine: a steam pump that could raise water to drive the wheel, in times of low water on the river. The Kinneil Engine had been built as a pump, for use in a coal mine, and so was suitable for this new task. Watt's rotative beam engine had not yet been considered and so the only way to produce rotary work to drive machinery in the Manufactory was by water power. In 1777 Boulton and Watt decided to build a second engine for use at Soho, either to supplement the Kinneil Engine or
Old Bess (beam engine)
4928052
history displays. Hook Norton Brewery uses a Buxton & Thornley steam engine that has powered most of the machinery in the brewery since 1899. It is the last commercially working open crank stationary steam engine in the UK. It is a small, simple engine consisting of a cylinder, flywheel, connecting rods and little else. The engine drives a system of shafts and belts connected to most of the machinery in the brewery; different sections of machinery can be engaged and disengaged by levers which slide drive belts on and off their wheels. Where there are gears in the lineshafting, each
Hook Norton Brewery
6175349
could be attached beside the flywheel. This transmitted the power to other drive shafts and from these other belts could then be attached to power a variety of static machinery e.g. threshing, grinding or milling machines. The first steam-powered ships used variants of the rotative beam engine. These marine steam engines – known as side-lever, grasshopper, crosshead, or 'walking beam', among others – all varied from the original land-based machines by locating the beam or beams in different positions to take up less room on board ship. Compounding involves two or more cylinders; low-pressure steam from the first, high-pressure, cylinder
Beam engine
375341
the pressure of expanding steam. The engine cylinders had to be large because the only usable force acting on them was atmospheric pressure. Watt developed his engine further, modifying it to provide a rotary motion suitable for driving machinery. This enabled factories to be sited away from rivers, and accelerated the pace of the Industrial Revolution. The meaning of high pressure, together with an actual value above ambient, depends on the era in which the term was used. For early use of the term Van Reimsdijk refers to steam being at a sufficiently high pressure that it could be exhausted
Steam engine
15688343
lack of finance, it was not until 1836 that Alfred was able to build a steam hammer, independent of this water supply. These restrictions led to the very earliest form of steam engine used for power generation rather than pumping, the water-returning engine. With this engine, a steam pump was used to raise water that in turn drove a water wheel and thus the machinery. Water from the wheel was then returned by the pump. These early steam engines were only suitable for pumping water, and could not be connected directly to the machinery. The first practical examples of these
Water-returning engine
13490607
drought interrupting the water supply, or of expanding demand for the furnace outstripping the available water capacity. These restrictions led to the very earliest form of steam engine used for power generation rather than pumping, the water-returning engine. With this engine, a steam pump was used to raise water that in turn drove a waterwheel and thus the machinery. Water from the wheel was then returned by the pump. These early steam engines were only suitable for pumping water, and could not be connected directly to the machinery. The first practical examples of these engines were installed in 1742 at
Blowing engine
20111992
used to drive machinery) their products could compete with others in Europe. Donát Bánki who was working on the rotary plow machine since beginning, changed the original steam engine structure to a petroleum motor and with this he contributed largely to that the rotary plow became one of the greatest technical innovations of that era. Mechwart's electric motor powered felling machine was created for domestic needs and for the hopes of mass production. 29% of the territory of Hungary was at that time covered in forest and the timber were cut with hand tools. The machine consists of three main
András Mechwart
13598380
blade, wheeled machines cut a continuous swath. Instead of threshing the grain by beating it with sticks, threshing machines separated the seeds from the heads and stalks. The first tractors appeared in the late 19th century. Power for agricultural machinery was originally supplied by ox or other domesticated animals. With the invention of steam power came the portable engine, and later the traction engine, a multipurpose, mobile energy source that was the ground-crawling cousin to the steam locomotive. Agricultural steam engines took over the heavy pulling work of oxen, and were also equipped with a pulley that could power stationary
Agricultural machinery
20893983
boilers that operated at a pressure of and a temperature of . The turbines were designed to produce for a speed of . The ships carried a maximum of of fuel oil which gave a range of at . In service the steam consumption of the engine-room auxiliary machinery proved to be excessive and the boilers could not generate enough steam to drive the turbines at their designed capacity. This reduced the Type 39s' top speed to and their range to at 19 knots. The main armament of the Type 39 class consisted four 42-caliber SK C/32 guns in single
Type 39 torpedo boat
375334
called the Rankine cycle. In general usage, the term "steam engine" can refer to either complete steam plants (including boilers etc.) such as railway steam locomotives and portable engines, or may refer to the piston or turbine machinery alone, as in the beam engine and stationary steam engine. Steam-driven devices were known as early as the aeliopile in the first century AD, with a few other uses recorded in the 16th and 17th century. Thomas Savery's dewatering pump used steam pressure operating directly on water. The first commercial engine producing continuous rotary motion was only developed in 1712 by Newcomen.
Steam engine
8639084
machine and was much cheaper to run than the horses it replaced. Indeed, it was so successful that it remained in use for nearly 70 years, and has been preserved by the Science Museum in London. Although termed 'semi-portable', as they could be transported and installed without being dismantled, these engines were essentially stationary. They were used to drive such barn machinery as pumps and hammer mills, bone-crushers, chaff and turnip cutters, and fixed and mobile threshing drums. It was not until about 1839 that the truly portable engine appeared, allowing the application of steam power beyond the confines of
Portable engine
2589819
are the Internal Fire - Museum of Power, in Wales, and the Anson Engine Museum in Cheshire. The Amberley Working Museum in West Sussex also has a number of engines, as does Kew Bridge Steam Museum in London. Stationary engine A stationary engine is an engine whose framework does not move. They are used to drive immobile equipment, such as pumps, generators, mills or factory machinery. The term usually refers to large immobile reciprocating engines, principally stationary steam engines and, to some extent, stationary internal combustion engines. Other large immobile power sources, such as steam turbines, gas turbines, and large
Stationary engine
20772328
engines need to be driven through at least two gears and sometimes, for long distance haulage work where faster speeds are required, three gears. The general purpose traction engines were essentially an agricultural engine. Their main job was threshing, although in Australia they were commonly used for carting wool, wheat and timber, for land clearing, for direct ploughing, to drive chaff cutters and pumps and to operate machinery in sawmills. They were also used for haulage during road building. Steam traction engines eventually gave way to tractors powered by internal combustion engines, initially developed during the First World War. A
John Fowler 7nhp Steam Road Locomotive
2233940
the 16th century onwards because of a reduction in the flow of the rivers driving the water-wheels. As a result, in 1778 they were rebuilt with a new steam engine to drive the machinery; this steam engine caused considerable discomfort to the prisoners affected by the smoke and noise. Criticism of the castle prison increased at the end of the 18th century. The facilities were felt to be inadequate and the crowds of spectators who gathered outside the prison to see inmates being taken into York for execution unseemly. Attempts were made to improve the way executions were carried out
York Castle
18194009
linear motion is eventually converted into rotational motion with the use of a flywheel or some other means. There are many variations on this concept that have developed over the years, but the general concept can be explained as above. This type of piston steam engine harnesses the steam that has been used to drive a piston within the engine and uses it to drive one or more additional pistons. This configuration offers increased engine efficiency by improving the force produced per unit of fuel consumed. A paddle-wheel is a device used to transmit the power produced by the steam
Steam-powered vessels
7941670
shafts while a small cruising VTE engine drove the center shaft. At full speed the center propeller had to be uncoupled as there was not enough steam to drive all three engines simultaneously; the outer propellers were uncoupled when cruising. The two main engines were designed for a total of , but they developed on trials and drove the ship to a maximum speed of . The cruising engine developed . Thirty-two Belleville water-tube boilers provided steam for the engines. She could carry a maximum of of coal. This gave her a radius of action of at . In 1898,
Russian cruiser Rossia
11616835
condensing walking beam steam engine, with a cylinder in diameter and a piston stroke of . A small auxiliary steam engine assisted in starting the main engine. The main plant developed 2,100 indicated horsepower on the steamer’s formal trial trip, riving the vessel at on 45 pounds steam. There were two large main coal-fired boilers which generated steam at 45 pounds working pressure for the main engine. Each boiler was about long, in diameter, and weighed about . Auxiliary machinery and an auxiliary boiler powered the fire pump and the dynamo. The vessel was illuminated throughout by electricity, 250 lights
Olympian (sidewheeler)
8639082
during their heyday were typically towed to their work sites by draft horses or oxen, or, in the latter part of that era, motive power including self-propulsion or towing by traction engines, steam tractors, other tractors, or trucks. They were used to drive agricultural machinery (such as threshing machines), milling machinery (such as gristmills, sawmills, and ore mills), pumps and fans (such as in mines and oil wells), and factory line shafts (for machine tools, power hammers, presses, and other machines). In common with many other areas of steam technology, the initial design and development of portable engines took place
Portable engine
11690848
was nearly in the middle of the vessel. The vessel was long, on the beam, with depth of hold. Her paddlewheels were in diameter. She had a single cylinder walking-beam steam engine, with a 17" bore and an 84" stroke. The engine generated 140 horsepower, which could drive the vessel at a rate of about 12 miles per hour. The machinery was brought out to the west coast from New Orleans and was originally intended to power a steamboat on the Sacramento River. When the equipment arrived in San Francisco, White and his associates bought (paying $15,000) before it was
Lot Whitcomb (sidewheeler)
17086259
attempted to reduce their dependency upon seasonal water supply by a series of water-returning engines. These engines did not drive the ironworks machinery directly, but pumped water from the lower to upper ponds to recycle it. The first of these engines was horse-worked in around 1735, then replaced by a Newcomen engine in 1742–1743. Newcomen engines were recognised as expensive in their coal consumption and were replaced in most situations other than coal mines, where waste slack could be used. At Coalbrookdale, the steam engines were fired with high quality coal, possibly the same grade of metallurgical coal as used
Resolution (beam engine)
3332753
and exhaust blowers. Engine rooms were separated from its associated fire room on fighting ships from the 1880s through the 1960s. If either experienced damage putting it out of action, the associated engine room could get steam from another fire room. Engine room On a ship, the engine room or ER is the propulsion machinery spaces of the vessel. To increase a vessel's safety and chances of surviving damage, the machinery necessary for operations may be segregated into various spaces. The engine room is generally the largest physical compartment of the machinery space. It houses the vessel's prime mover, usually
Engine room
12242744
maintenance and appearance. In the 19th century, the first steam ships were developed, using a steam engine to drive a paddle wheel or propeller to move the ship. The steam was produced in a boiler using wood or coal and fed through a steam external combustion engine. Now most ships have an internal combustion engine using a slightly refined type of petroleum called bunker fuel. Some ships, such as submarines, use nuclear power to produce the steam. Recreational or educational craft still use wind power, while some smaller craft use internal combustion engines to drive one or more propellers, or
Transport
2589808
Stationary engine A stationary engine is an engine whose framework does not move. They are used to drive immobile equipment, such as pumps, generators, mills or factory machinery. The term usually refers to large immobile reciprocating engines, principally stationary steam engines and, to some extent, stationary internal combustion engines. Other large immobile power sources, such as steam turbines, gas turbines, and large electric motors, are categorized separately. Stationary engines were once widespread in the era when each factory or mill generated its own power, and power transmission was mechanical (via line shafts, belts, gear trains, and clutches). Applications for stationary
Stationary engine
375338
stations and supplying water to water wheels that powered textile machinery. Savery engine was of low cost. Bento de Moura Portugal introduced an improvement of Savery's construction "to render it capable of working itself", as described by John Smeaton in the Philosophical Transactions published in 1751. It continued to be manufactured until the late 18th century. One engine was still known to be operating in 1820. The first commercially-successful engine that could transmit continuous power to a machine, was the atmospheric engine, invented by Thomas Newcomen around 1712. It improved on Savery's steam pump, using a piston as proposed by
Steam engine
8911204
Vauclain's balanced compound system used on a number of railway locomotives around 1900. Stephenson's valve gear replaced the previous Joy motion. This engine was used on all vehicles developed thereafter. Again, the car neither possessed nor needed a clutch or transmission, and due to the engine being integrated directly into the rear axle, it did not need a drive shaft either. Like all steam vehicles it could burn a variety of liquid fuels with a minimum of modification and was a noticeably clean running vehicle, its fuel being burned at high temperatures and low pressures, which produced very low pollution.
Doble steam car
18645027
not invent the steam engine and there is no single 'Watt steam engine' as such. He developed a number of separate innovations, each of which improved the existing engines of the day, beginning with Newcomen's. The Lap Engine of 1788, also the Whitbread Engine (1785), represent survivors of the first engines to show all of Watt's major improvements in one. The rotative beam engine needs a means to convert reciprocating motion of the piston and beam to rotary motion. The crankshaft was well known for centuries before Watt, mostly from its use in mining machinery powered by water wheels. However
Lap Engine
375343
could be made small enough for transport applications. Thereafter, technological developments and improvements in manufacturing techniques (partly brought about by the adoption of the steam engine as a power source) resulted in the design of more efficient engines that could be smaller, faster, or more powerful, depending on the intended application. The Cornish engine was developed by Trevithick and others in the 1810s. It was a compound cycle engine that used high-pressure steam expansively, then condensed the low-pressure steam, making it relatively efficient. The Cornish engine had irregular motion and torque though the cycle, limiting it mainly to pumping. Cornish
Steam engine
15685750
London. It is the oldest surviving Watt engine, and the third-oldest surviving beam engine. Watt's first engine at Kinneil had been unsuccessful and the parts were taken down and re-used at Boulton's Soho Manufactory in Birmingham. The reworked engine was more successful there, and encouraged Boulton to invest further in this developing steam technology and in Watt's inventions. The Manufactory had been built to use a water wheel to drive its machinery, and the site had been chosen on that basis, but there were concerns over seasonal lack of water to power the wheel. Similar problems in the iron industry
Old Bess (beam engine)
16812878
for customers worldwide, 91 for use in Britain A boiler raised steam at , feeding one or two steam motors. The first steam motors had two cylinders as were used on contemporary steam lorries but by 1925 a 6-cylinder version had been developed. In the early units chains were used in final drive until a gearbox and cardan shaft drive was developed in 1927. In the early units the engine unit was articulated, enclosed in similar coachwork to the passenger section; the whole car was made of steel. A car was shown at the British Empire Exhibition in 1924 and
British steam railcars
12275555
into business was relatively easy. Budding entrepreneurs could rent 'space and power' from a mill owner operating as a commercial landlord. In many cases the entrepreneur would rent a floor of a mill which was served by line shafting powered by a steam engine somewhere else in the building. The floor might already have machinery (spinning mules, carding engines or looms) installed or he might have approached a cotton machinery manufacturer who would rent or lease the machinery to him. If up-front cash was a problem, the banks were likely to oblige with a loan. By 1863, Bagley and Benjamin
Bagley & Wright
4448616
Combined Harvester." This machine used flexible chain belts rather than gears to transmit power from the ground wheels to the working mechanism, reducing breakage and down time. While manufacturing coach and wagon wheels and carriage bodies, Benjamin saw a need for mechanical Traction engines to replace horse-drawn machinery. In 1890, Holt built his first experimental steam traction engine, nicknamed "Old Betsy". It developed on a -long frame from a single -diameter, -stroke piston. It could burn wood, coal, or oil as fuel. Carrying of water, it weighed and rode on huge metal wheels. Holt’s tractors could harvest large fields for
Benjamin Holt
196097
machinery; most of the engines generated from . Until about 1800 the most common pattern of steam engine was the beam engine, built as an integral part of a stone or brick engine-house, but soon various patterns of self-contained rotative engines (readily removable, but not on wheels) were developed, such as the table engine. Around the start of the 19th century, at which time the Boulton and Watt patent expired, the Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick and the American Oliver Evans began to construct higher-pressure non-condensing steam engines, exhausting against the atmosphere. High pressure yielded an engine and boiler compact enough
Industrial Revolution
986207
also displayed their 5 ¾ inch diameter slice of cable that was going to be used for the Brooklyn Bridge. Besides machinery, visitors could also find new foods such as bananas, popcorn and Heinz ketchup. Technologies introduced at the fair include the Corliss Steam Engine. Pennsylvania Railroad displayed the "John Bull" steam locomotive that was originally built in 1831. Waltham Watch Company displayed the first automatic screw making machinery and won the Gold Medal in the first international watch precision competition. Until the start of 2004, many of the fair's exhibits were in the Smithsonian Institution's Arts and Industries Building
Centennial Exposition
15623512
was disassembled and transported to Rainier Beach on Lake Washington. Once there, the hull was reassembled by J.F Dulthie, the machinery was installed, and the upper works (these were of wood) were constructed. The ferry was launched on December 6, 1913. Conducting the christening was Eleanor Chittenden, daughter of the well-known Army engineer Hiram M. Chittenden (1858–1917), chairman of the Port Commission, who spoke at the ceremony. In 1931 "Leshi" was rebuilt. The sidewheelers were removed and the ferry was converted to propeller drive. The steam engine was replaced by a diesel. This increased the speed from to . Later
Leschi (steam ferry)
5623890
is a grade II* listed watermill dating from the 18th century. The machinery is complete and in working order. In 1893 mill owner Reuben Rackham purchased a Whitmore and Binyon horizontal condensing steam-engine for his mill, priced at £25,000, to drive the entire plant. The engine was installed in July 1893 and the entire plant was operational by October of the same year. The engine was last worked in 1957 and was subsequently moved to Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket as a gift of Edward and Robert Rackham, Rueben Rackham's sons. In 2009 it was announced that one
Wickham Market
5845756
in the U.S. Flat belt drive systems became popular in the UK from the 1870s, with the firms of J & E Wood and W & J Galloway & Sons prominent in their introduction. Both of these firms manufactured stationary steam engines and the continuing demand for more power and reliability could be met not merely by improved engine technology but also improved methods of transferring power from the engines to the looms and similar machinery which they were intended to service. The use of flat belts was already common in the US but rare in Britain until this time.
Line shaft
9866557
and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two oil-fired Yarrow Shipbuilders boilers each supplying one geared Brown-Curtis or Parsons steam turbine; this developed 10,500 ship horsepower (7,800 kW) to drive two screws. Submerged power came from four electric motors each producing . It was also had an diesel engine to be used when steam was being raised, or instead of raising steam. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . It could operate at depths of at for . "K14" was armed with ten torpedo tubes, two deck guns, and a
HMS K14
9866454
and one geared Brown-Curtis or Parsons steam turbine; this developed 10,500 ship horsepower (7,800 kW) to drive two screws. It also contained four electric motors each producing . It was also fitted with a diesel engine providing to be used when steam was being raised, or instead of raising steam. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . It could operate at depths of at for . "K9" was fitted with a anti-aircraft gun, ten torpedo tubes, and two deck guns. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the bows, the midship section, and two
HMS K9
9859363
geared Brown-Curtis or Parsons steam turbine; this developed 10,500 shaft horsepower (7,800 kW) to drive two screws. Submerged power came from four electric motors each producing . It was also had an diesel engine to be used when steam was being raised, or instead of raising steam. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . It could operate at a maximum depth of and travel submerged at for . "K15" was armed with ten torpedo tubes, two deck guns, and a anti-aircraft gun. The torpedo tubes were mounted in the bows, the midship section
HMS K15
9835395
powered by two oil-fired Yarrow Shipbuilders boilers each supplying one geared Brown-Curtis or Parsons steam turbine; this developed 10,500 shaft horsepower (7,800 kW) to drive two screws. Submerged power came from four electric motors each producing . It was also had an diesel engine to be used when steam was being raised, or instead of raising steam. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . It could operate at a maximum depth of and travel submerged at for . "K16" was armed with ten torpedo tubes, two deck guns, and a anti-aircraft gun. The
HMS K16
9866523
powered by two oil-fired Yarrow Shipbuilders boilers supplying one geared Brown-Curtis or Parsons steam turbine; this developed 10,500 ship horsepower (7,800 kW) to drive two screws. Submerged power came from four electric motors each producing . It was also had an diesel engine to be used when steam was being raised, or instead of raising steam. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . It could operate at depths of at for . "K9" was armed with ten torpedo tubes, two deck guns, and a anti-aircraft gun. Its torpedo tubes were fitted to the
HMS K12
4922857
powered by two oil-fired Yarrow Shipbuilders boilers each supplying one geared Brown-Curtis or Parsons steam turbine; this developed 10,500 ship horsepower (7,800 kW) to drive two screws. Submerged power came from four electric motors each producing . It was also had an diesel engine to be used when steam was being raised, or instead of raising steam. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . It could operate at depths of at for . "K1" was armed with ten torpedo tubes, two deck guns, and a anti-aircraft gun. Its torpedo tubes were four in
HMS K1
15793901
technical advisor A.S.E. Ackermann and British physicist Sir Charles Vernon Boys, developed an improved system using mirrors to reflect solar energy upon collector boxes, increasing heating capacity so much that water could now be used instead of ether. He also developed a low-pressure steam turbine, since most 1910 vintage steam engines were built for steam and not sun-heated water. Shuman's turbine processed energy four times faster than any engine of his day. Shuman then constructed a full-scale steam engine that was powered by low-pressure water, enabling him to patent the entire solar engine system by 1912. Scientific American again featured
Frank Shuman
17894120
want to pay more than necessary, particularly when they were starting a new venture that might not have its full complement of machinery. The problem of determining the actual power output of the steam engine was solved around 1800 through the development of the ‘indicator’, a device that recorded the pressure of the steam in the cylinder against the movement of the piston . John Southern realised that the power of the engine could be calculated from the area of the graph described by the indicator. Abbot Payson Usher Prize The Abbot Payson Usher Memorial Prize, established in 1961 and
Abbot Payson Usher Prize
12562918
two separate wooden frames which enabled the drive wheels to be raised or lowered independently. This allowed the combine to operate on slopes as steep as 30 degrees while the threshing machine remained level. In 1890, Holt built his first experimental steam traction engine, nicknamed "Old Betsy". Built on a frame, it developed from a single cylinder (, ). The firebox could burn wood, coal, or oil as fuel. Carrying of water, the traction engine weighed and rode on huge metal wheels. Holt's tractors were popular despite their weight and awkward size because they could harvest large fields for one-sixth
Holt Manufacturing Company
16698713
William Wright (engineer) William Wright was an American engineer who contributed to the development of the Corliss steam engine in the mid 19th century. Wright also developed several innovative improvements in steam engine design such as the automatic shutoff steam engine which employed a governor to limit the engine's speed. He also developed and may have built some designs that have not survived the test of time such as the "Annular Steam Engine" also known as the "Oscillating Steam Engine". He owned a series of steam engine manufacturing plants in and around New York City, the largest being "The Wright
William Wright (engineer)
18627888
sent to an exhibition in London, but the idea was never developed. In the late 1870s, he worked on a propulsive steam engine called the "Žiaroruchu" (roughly translated, "out-motion"), to be used for construction work, and explored the possibility of using exhaust from the machine to inflate balloons that could be used to move heavy machinery. For lack of funds, he failed to create a prototype or obtain a patent, however. Klemens was a member of Matice česká and a founding member of Matica slovenská. On the basis of his work determining the epicenter of a small earthquake at Žilina
Jozef Božetech Klemens
8866867
was fitted with a new high pressure steam turbine powerplant. The boilers and engine rooms were located in alternating spaces in a "unit machinery" arrangement. The boilers used forced draft to reach a pressure of . The powerplant could be fired up without pre-heating and proved 20% more economical than that of the "Skoryy"-class ships. This basic machinery was used for most subsequent Soviet steam powered ships. The gun armament comprised two stabilised, enclosed dual purpose mountings located in "A" and "Y" positions. Anti-aircraft artillery comprised four quad mountings with new automatic guns. Anti-submarine weapons comprised two RBU-2500 anti-submarine mortars.
Soviet destroyer Neustrashimy
20150839
Detroit, Michigan where he started his own consulting engineering office. He designed both special machinery such as high-speed steam engine, as well as manufacturing and power plants, and overall design of manufacturing establishments. Smith specifically developed the design of a "high-speed steam engine, with shaft governor, using the inertia principle... put into operation in connection with a Brush dynamo, operating 40 arc lights." As representative of a Michigan electrical lighting company, he installed electrical installation. Among others he supplied the SM Stillman Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio with an electric light plant, and 1,000 lights, making that hotel first in the United
Jesse Merrick Smith
5740478
now is, this is known as displacement. In the 1800s, the first steamboats were developed, using a steam engine to drive a paddle wheel or propeller to move the ship. The steam was produced using wood or coal. Now, most ships have an engine using a slightly refined type of petroleum called bunker fuel. Some ships, such as submarines, use nuclear power to produce the steam. Recreational or educational craft still use wind power, while some smaller craft use internal combustion engines to drive one or more propellers, or in the case of jet boats, an inboard water jet. In
Mode of transport
8934633
The vehicle could reach a maximum speed of . Planned production included also trucks, but the Keystone Match & Machine Co. gave up all automobile projects in 1900, concentrating instead in producing matches and machinery for that purpose. Engineer J. G. Xander, who mainly developed the Keystone Steamer, went to Reading, Pennsylvania where he manufactured steam and gasoline engines, and offered for a short time the Xander automobile, built on custom order. Keystone (steam automobile) The Keystone Steamer was an American automobile manufactured from 1899 until 1900 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The manufacturer was the Keystone Match & Machine Company, founded
Keystone (steam automobile)
14814401
stockholders increased capital and proposed to increase the capacity of the plant in East Water Street. In the beginning, Century manufactured both an electric and a steam-powered runabout. The steam engine was a two-cylinder vertical marine type that was almost five-horsepower. An incline shaft drive to the rear axle was an unusual feature of the Century, which could maintain at 175 psi of steam produced in its water-tube boiler. Instead of the usual chain drive, the Century steamer employed shaft drive and a bevel gear drive, a very modern solution. By May 21, 1901, William Van Wagoner was manager. The
Century Motor Vehicle Company
17876229
were suspended in September, and re-ordered as sloops on 25 April 1847. "Parthian" was renamed "Wasp" while on the stocks on 25 August 1847. They were designed by John Edye and approved by the Surveyor of the Navy's department on 25 August 1847. The completed ships were fitted with a 2-cylinder single-expansion steam engine driving a single screw. Although both ships had their machinery provided by Miller, Ravenhill & Co, "Archer"s was a horizontal geared steam engine rated at 202 nominal horsepower, while "Wasp"s was a vertical oscillating engine rated at 100 nominal horsepower. On trials "Archer" developed , achieving
Archer-class sloop
2374541
an idea long resisted by Watt and earlier steam pioneers because the necessary iron making and metal working technology was lacking. Evans recognized that a high-pressure steam engine would be essential to the development of a steam carriage because they could be built far smaller while providing similar or greater power outputs to low-pressure equivalents. Some experiments with high-pressure steam engines had been made in Europe, most notably an unsuccessful steam tractor developed by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot. However the prevailing fear of early steam engineering was that no boiler could safely contain high-pressure steam. Evans ignored potential drawbacks, and developed radically
Oliver Evans
16325639
forward. The first, in May 1922, was Sentinel's own concept for a light steam railmotor based on their steam waggon boiler and engine. No railmotors were built to this pattern, although a pair of similar 'rail lorries' were later built for export to India. In the same year, Kyrle Willans suggested that a worn-out conventional locomotive, a Manning-Wardle named "Ancoats", could be rebuilt with the boiler and engine of a Sentinel steam waggon in the locomotive's frames, connected by a roller chain drive. This was the first steam locomotive, and the first example of the steam motor for railway use,
Steam motor
5606302
by John Farey in the second volume of his "Treatise on the Steam Engine", 1827) as well as general engineering products including cast iron dockyard cranes. Rothwell, Hick and Rothwell were listed in Baines' directory as supplying steam engines, hydraulic presses, weighing machines, gas light apparatus, mill machinery, sugar mills and constructors of fire proof buildings. In 1824 when the prodigious and forward looking Swiss engineer Johann Georg Bodmer (anglicised to John George Bodmer) developed his patterns and textile machinery near Bolton he made use of the Rothwell, Hick and Rothwell workshops. Here in the late 1820s with the co-operation
Benjamin Hick
20796204
type first invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, is an example of the powerhouse that drove the Industrial Revolution. Originally designed for pumping water out of mines in the UK it was improved by Watt, Smeaton, Maudsley and other engineers of the steam age until it became a very efficient and reliable engine. Apart from mines and water supplies, many thousands were used to drive factory machinery in the 18th and 19th centuries - some four operated in factories in Goulburn - until they were superseded by electric motors in the early 20th century. The Goulburn Waterworks engine is of
Goulburn Pumping Station
7157427
began to manufacture Corliss engines. Among them, the William A. Harris Steam Engine Company, the Worthington Pump and Machinery Company, and Allis-Chalmers. In general, these machines were referred to as Corliss engines regardless of who made them. The Corliss Centennial Engine was an all-inclusive, specially built rotative beam engine that powered virtually all of the exhibits at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 through shafts totaling over a mile in length. Switched on by President Ulysses S. Grant and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, the engine was in public view for the duration of the fair. The engine was
Corliss steam engine
5845749
Line shaft A line shaft is a power driven rotating shaft for power transmission that was used extensively from the Industrial Revolution until the early 20th century. Prior to the widespread use of electric motors small enough to be connected directly to each piece of machinery, line shafting was used to distribute power from a large central power source to machinery throughout a workshop or an industrial complex. The central power source could be a water wheel, turbine, windmill, animal power or a steam engine. Power was distributed from the shaft to the machinery by a system of belts, pulleys
Line shaft
18426935
Patent Steam Cart and Wagon Company developed steam tractors for direct ploughing, but the heavy, wet soil of England meant that these designs were less economical than a team of horses. In the United States, where soil conditions permitted, steam tractors were used to direct-haul plows. Steam-powered agricultural engines remained in use well into the 20th century until reliable internal combustion engines had been developed. Collins (1987) recalled that the impact of the agricultural machinery industry in the 19th century was still limited. He stated : "prior the third quarter of the nineteenth century the impact of machinery in agriculture
Agricultural machinery industry
4783331
improved steam engine whose smooth reciprocating action enable it to drive a variety of rotary machinery. 1790: W. Richardson publishes "The Chemical Principles of the Metallic Arts: designed chiefly for the use of Manufacturers", which is used to help with diseases associated with the metal working industry. 1794: Ralph Heaton patents a steam powered machine for mass-producing button shanks. This is one of the earliest forms of mechanical mass production and steam powered machine tool operation. Around this time William Futrell (a well known Birmingham pugilist) becomes publisher of possibly the first British boxing paper. 1797: Matthew Boulton erects at
Science and invention in Birmingham
8938076
Then, he opened an apothecary store in Salem and developed the potassium bicarbonate (CHKO3) in 1788, but kept it for only one year. From October 1788, Nathan Read quit the last work and began to make a number of improvements of the steam engine. He built the multi-tubular boiler, a new kind of steam boiler. He then made efforts to improve the function of the steam cylinder, and placed it in a horizontal position so the engine could sustain much higher pressure, that is to say, Read invented the high-pressure steam engine, a new kind of steam engine, different from
Nathan Read
13713673
Corliss Steam Engine (Pawnee, Oklahoma) The Corliss Steam Engine on the Pawnee County Fairgrounds in Pawnee, Oklahoma is a Corliss steam engine that was built 1912. It and a twin sister engine were originally built for the Blackwell Zinc Co., of Blackwell, Oklahoma. It powered most of the electricity-powered machinery in the 1000-employee zinc smelter plant until the plant closed in 1973. It was later donated to the Oklahoma Steam Thresher Association, disassembled, and restored in its own building on the Pawnee County Fairgrounds. One source on the web has 6 photos of the engine displayed there. It was listed
Corliss Steam Engine (Pawnee, Oklahoma)
13981798
hand until 1812, when Hampton Gay mill was re-equipped with a modern Fourdrinier machine that made paper mechanically and continuously. In 1863–73 the paper mill was rebuilt with a gasworks, steam engine and other machinery. In 1875 it was destroyed by fire but from 1876 it was restored to production. In 1880 it had both a water wheel powered by the river and a steam engine fed by a Cornish boiler, and could produce about a ton of paper per day. The tenants running the mill were J. and B. New, and when the manor house was divided they became
Hampton Gay
4928053
pair consists of one iron and one wooden wheel. Thus, if any machinery should jam, only a few wooden teeth will be damaged and can then be replaced by the brewery's mechanics instead of needing a complex iron casting. The machinery once powered by the steam engine includes: The steam engine now only powers the mashing equipment, mill and sack hoist. The mashing rakes and cask lift have been removed. It is worth noting that, though this use of traditional machinery provides a beneficial image of the brewery, it is a commercial enterprise and not a museum. The goal of
Hook Norton Brewery
9866467
developed 10,500 ship horsepower (7,800 kW) to drive two screws. Submerged power came from four electric motors each producing . It was also had an diesel engine to be used when steam was being raised, or instead of raising steam. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . It could operate at depths of at for . "K10" was armed with ten torpedo tubes, two deck guns, and a anti-aircraft gun. Its torpedo tubes were four in the bows, four in the midship section firing to the sides, and two were mounted on the
HMS K10
7540219
up a steep hill to the main road from where it could be taken by truck and steam engine to Eskmealas railway station. In 1905, the Eskmeals Granite Company took over the quarry and subsequently reached agreement with the Caddys of Rougholme for the erection of an aerial ropeway that could carry stone from the quarry over Caddy land to the railway sidings at Monkmoors near Eskmeals. This greatly ameliorated the transport problems and enabled extensive quarrying. By 1913 the quarry was well equipped with stone breaking machinery, rotary screens, cubing mill, a steam loco, cranes, compressed air rock drills,
Waberthwaite
16024280
and would still require a pit digging in which to site it. During factory testing, the engine bed would have to be raised on timber baulks to provide this extra height. A typical large stationary engine of this time used a number of lancashire boilers, set in brickwork surrounds. These took a considerable time to build their masonry, let alone install the equipment. The vertical cross-tube boilers used for small portable machinery such as steam cranes had much less steam generation capacity and could only run at full power intermittently. Locomotive boilers though, as used here, had greater capacity and
Semi-portable engine
403774
Friend; or, An Engine to Raise Water by Fire" (1702), in which he claimed that it could pump water out of mines. Thomas Newcomen (1664–1729) perfected the practical steam engine for pumping water, the Newcomen steam engine. Consequently, Thomas Newcomen can be regarded as a forefather of the Industrial Revolution. Abraham Darby I (1678–1717) was the first, and most famous, of three generations of the Darby family who played an important role in the Industrial Revolution. He developed a method of producing high-grade iron in a blast furnace fueled by coke rather than charcoal. This was a major step forward
Scientific Revolution
2864265
steam engines were about 2 horsepower. This was above the need for many small shops. Also, a small steam engine and boiler cost about $7,000 while an old blind horse that could develop 1/2 horsepower cost $20 or less. Machinery to use horses for power cost $300 or less. Many power requirements were less than that of a horse. Shop machines, such as woodworking lathes, were often powered with a one- or two-man crank. Household sewing machines were powered with a foot treadle; however, factory sewing machines were steam-powered from a line shaft. Dogs were sometimes used on machines such
Electrification
9496083
world. The engine and beam were manufactured by the Perran Foundry, Cornwall, in 1836 and brought to the site in 1840 having previously worked at a mine in Cornwall. The beam is now located on the beach in Handsome Bay, Virgin Gorda. The engine was of typical Cornish construction with a cylinder of 40 inches. It was the workhorse of the mine, being used to pump water from the mine, raise the copper ore up the shafts and to power the ore-dressing machinery. A Cornish boiler produced steam to drive the engine. These boilers were the first to use high-pressure
Copper Mine, Virgin Gorda
3332744
Engine room On a ship, the engine room or ER is the propulsion machinery spaces of the vessel. To increase a vessel's safety and chances of surviving damage, the machinery necessary for operations may be segregated into various spaces. The engine room is generally the largest physical compartment of the machinery space. It houses the vessel's prime mover, usually some variations of a heat engine - diesel engine, gas or steam turbine, or some combination of these (such as CODAG; see ). On some ships, the machinery space may comprise more than one engine room, such as forward and aft,
Engine room
6367368
engineer. The company was founded when Hornsby opened a blacksmith's in Grantham, Lincolnshire, in 1815 with Richard Seaman, after joining Seaman's business in 1810. The company became Richard Hornsby & Sons in 1828, when Hornsby bought out his partner's ownership, when Seaman retired. Richard Hornsby & Sons grew into a major manufacturer of agricultural machinery at their Spittle Gate Works. The firm went on to produce steam engines used to drive threshing machines, and other equipment such as traction engines: their portable steam engine was one of their most important products and the market leader. A farm was obtained nearby,
Richard Hornsby & Sons
14782417
The enterprise was provided with fuel (coal) via a siding from the Eden Valley railway line, when the railway closed in 1962 the pottery kiln fell out of use. The beehive kiln remains, as does a blunger for preparing suitable clay. The steam engine used to drive the pottery machinery was restored in the 1990s by Fred Dibnah. Facilities built for visitors including a museum. Pottery making was revived at Wetheriggs, as the only remaining steam-powered pottery in the country. Mary Chappelhow became the master potter at Wetheriggs in 2003: production has since ceased at the site, but she works
Wetheriggs Pottery
3502052
Booster engine A booster engine for steam locomotives is a small two-cylinder steam engine back-gear-connected to the trailing truck axle on the locomotive or, if none, the lead truck on the tender. A rocking idler gear permits it to be put into operation by the engineer. It would drive one axle only and could be non-reversible with one idler gear or reversible with two idler gears. They were used to start a heavy train or maintain low speed under demanding conditions. It could be cut in while moving at speeds under 15 to 20 mph (24 to 32 km/h). Rated
Booster engine
2685360
underwater hits was also improved since there were no coal scuttle doors to spring open and thus compromise watertight integrity. The "Nevada"s were virtually identical except in their propulsion machinery. "Nevada" and her sister were fitted with different engines to compare them 'head-to-head': "Oklahoma" received older vertical triple-expansion engines (she would be the last U.S. capital ship to use reciprocating machinery), while "Nevada" received compound, direct-drive Curtis steam turbines combined with geared cruising turbines. "Oklahoma"'s equipment made her less reliable and more vibration-prone, making her a ship the Navy wished to re-engine. In 1925, the Navy considered conversion to four
Nevada-class battleship
19302805
Renwick Generating Plant Renwick Generating Plant, also known as the Municipal Steam Light Plant, is a historical industrial facility located in Renwick, Iowa, United States. G.L. Long was an engineer who was contracted in 1914 to design a steam-powered electrical light plant. It first distributed energy on March 14, 1915, at 6:00 p.m. The steam engines were replaced by a 75-horsepower, two-cylinder, semi-diesel engine and generating equipment manufactured by Fairbanks-Morse in 1922. A 125-horsepower diesel engine manufactured by Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation was added in 1936. At that time the plant started to supply power to a newly formed
Renwick Generating Plant
12292659
of the museum machinery around the track. The line is only set up to run a single train at any one time. On the last Sunday of the month the train is pulled by a 4-4-2 steam locomotive. On other Sundays the diesel outline engine is used. The grounds have shady trees, picnic tables and wood-fired barbecues for a picnic outing. There is no charge for admission to the grounds except for some special events like the annual rally. Melbourne Steam Traction Engine Club The protection, preservation, conservation and restoration of industrial heritage and related machinery is often overlooked in
Melbourne Steam Traction Engine Club
3401156
of volunteer workers who preserved and restored the forge into its present condition – work that was recognised when he was appointed MBE in 1998. Of particular interest is that the site only ever used waterwheels to power the machinery. All three waterwheels have been restored to working order. Its buildings are used to house a variety of industrial machinery, including a Marshall twin-cylinder engine steam engine. Wortley Top Forge Wortley Top Forge is an historic former finery forge and ironworks originally dating back to the seventeenth century, although evidence suggests iron working took place in the vicinity as early
Wortley Top Forge
19064725
a beam of and an average draft of . She displaced normally and up to at full load. Her propulsion system consisted of one single-expansion steam engine that drove a single screw propeller, with steam supplied by six coal-fired, cylindrical fire-tube boilers. Her engine produced a top speed of from . She could steam for at a speed of . The ship was barque-rigged to supplement the steam engine. She had a crew of 549–551 officers and men. "Venezia" was designed as a broadside ironclad, but other navies had developed the central battery ship while she was under construction, prompting
Italian ironclad Venezia
526141
name is registered by the Miner Company for instruments produced under the Tangley name. In the age of steam, the steam calliope was particularly used on riverboats and in circuses. In both cases, a steam supply was already available for other purposes. Riverboats supplied steam from their propulsion boilers. Circus calliopes were sometimes installed in steam-drive carousels, or supplied with steam from a traction engine. The traction engine could also supply electric power for lighting, and tow the calliope in the circus parade, where it traditionally came last. Other circus calliopes were self-contained, mounted on a carved, painted and gilded
Calliope (music)
15315636
for thousands of years, typically using vertical millstones moving around a central post (edge runner stones or kollergangs in an edge mill) to crush or bruise the seeds or fruit which can then be stamped or pressed to extract the oil. A treadmill, windmill or watermill was later used to drive the milling and pressing machinery, replaced in modern times with steam and later other power sources. In some areas, watermills may be "double" water mills, with machinery for grinding wheat on one side of the watercourse and machinery for extracting oils on the other side. Historical windmills could process
Oil mill
1756843
Stirling patented a second hot air engine, together with his brother James, in 1827. They inverted the design so that the hot ends of the displacers were underneath the machinery and they added a compressed air pump so the air within could be increased in pressure to around 20 atmospheres. The two Stirling brothers were followed shortly after (1828) by Parkinson & Crossley and Arnott in 1829. These precursors, to whom Ericsson should be added, have brought to the world the hot air engine technology and its enormous advantages over the steam engine. Each of them came with his own
Robert Stirling
9304253
boiler component tore, expelling high-pressure steam in his direction. Neither he nor anyone else present was physically injured in any way, and the machinery itself suffered no significant damage. The "Enterprise" had several features which were innovative by contemporary standards. The engine was suspended on leaf springs along with the body of the vehicle, and the axle located with swinging arms as is still done today in the Ford Explorer, with power being transmitted to the axle using chain drive. The rear axle was also used to drive a centrifugal blower fan which was used to force air into the
Walter Hancock
15440545
required for a fleet oiler. The T2 and its variants (see ) however used conventional geared steam turbine propulsion, and with the massive expansion of US shipbuilding, a production bottleneck developed: the limited availability of the precision machinery needed to manufacture reduction gearing. The Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Chester, Pennsylvania worked around this problem by designing a T2 variant which used turbo-electric propulsion; that is, the steam turbine ran a generator, which in turn powered electric drive motors without the need for gearing. Compared to conventional geared turbines turbo-electric systems produced less power for the same size and
Suamico-class oiler
1597816
the outer 16 elements to 4.6%. The pellets were in diameter, with pressurized helium gas in the annular space between the pellets and the element walls. Twenty-one control rods were provided, long, across and thick. The rods could be fully inserted in 1.6 seconds by electric drive. The main machinery room measures long by wide and high. The main control room is immediately aft of the machinery room, from which engineers controlled both the reactor and the steam propulsion plant. A window separates the control room from the machinery room. The control room is visible from the viewing gallery on
NS Savannah