Stationary Steam Engines

A history of stationary steam engines, a hugely influential industrial method in the Victorian period.

In Victorian times the steam engine was the main source of mechanical power, and thousands were at work driving machinery in factories and pumping stations throughout Britain. Following the development of the electric motor, however, steam power has become virtually extinct in British industry.

Ironically, with their disappearance from commercial use, more engines are available for public viewing than ever before, and some can be seen in operation in the places where they spent their working lives. To most people these engines will seem complex and mysterious.

This book aims to resolve some of the complexities and mysteries surrounding stationary steam engines, for anyone interested in nineteenth-century British industrial development. In simple, easy-to-understand language, this is an outline of their development and how they work.