Skip to main content

Steam

(Image not displayed)
Society: ASMEMain Category: Civil, Electric, MechanicalEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1925800 Boylston StreetState: MACountry: USA

The Edger station was the first steam electric plant produced that could tolerate over 1000 psi of pressure. Initially conceived by Mr. Irving Edwin Moultrop, then Assistant Superintendent, Construction Bureau of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston. He guided his company and the electric utility industry on a major step forward into the higher-pressure range of 1,200 psi steam.

Turbinia
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Water TransportationEra: 1890-1899DateCreated: 1897Tyne and Wear Museums ServiceNewcastle upon TyneZip: NE1 4Country: UKWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/water-transportation/-73-turbinia-%281897%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/49f372ec-0fe3-4447-bcc2-30b5b58e7032/73-Turbinia-1897.aspxCreator: Parsons, Charles Algernon, Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company

The Turbinia was the world's first turbine-driven ship. It attracted worldwide attention at the 1897 Spithead Naval Review by traveling more than 34 knots. This remarkable performance accelerated the acceptance of the steam turbine as an alternative to the steam reciprocating engine on ships as well as for central electric light and power stations. Sir Charles A. Parsons (1854-1931) invented (1884), developed, and promoted the steam turbine, as well as the design of the Turbinia. For this, he is considered among the outstanding technological innovators of all time.

YearAdded:
1982
Image Credit: Public Domain (Copyright Expired)Image Caption: TurbiniaEra_date_from: 1897
SS Badger Carferry
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Water TransportationEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1952Lake MichiganLudingtonState: MIZip: 49431Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/water-transportation/-191-ss-badger-carferry-%281952%29Creator: Christy Corporation, Skinner Engine Company

The two 3,500-hp steeple compound Unaflow steam engines powering the S.S. Badger represent one of the last types of reciprocating marine steam engines. Built by the Skinner Engine Company, most Unaflow engines are single expansion. These feature tandem high- and low-pressure cylinders separated by a common head. The Badger's four Foster-Wheeler Type D marine boilers, which supply 470-psig steam to the engines, are among the last coal-fired marine boilers built. 

YearAdded:
1996
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/ssbadger (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: SS Badger CarferryEra_date_from: 1952
Rumely Companies' Agricultural Products
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: AgricultureEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 18531007 Lincolnway La PorteState: INCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/agriculture/-225-rumely-companies--agricultural-products-%281853, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/d44ed4fd-8920-4082-9a6a-b0a7a4f0c99a/225-Rumely-Companies-Agricultural-Products.aspxCreator: Rumely, Meinrad

Beginning with the blacksmith shop of German immigrant Meinrad Rumely (1823-1904), this successive family of firms invented and produced a line of agricultural equipment that played a vital role in the evolution of farming based on the muscle of humans and animals to one based on the power of the steam and ultimately the internal-combustion engine. The M. & J. Rumely Co. became the M. Rumely Co., and then the Advance Rumely Co. The Allis-Chalmers Company acquired the business in 1931.

Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/BulldozerD11 (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Rumely Companies' Agricultural ProductsEra_date_from: 1853
Pratt Institute Power Plant
Society: ASMEMain Category: Electric, MechanicalSub Category: SteamEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1887BrooklynState: NYCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/electric-power-production-steam/-25-pratt-institute-power-plant-%281887%29Creator: Pratt, Charles

Steam and the inexpensive electricity it could produce brought about dramatic technical growth in the United States. Developed during the last century, reliable and efficient steam engines were the forerunners of today's massive generating facilities. A rare survivor of the period, the Pratt facility is the oldest generating plant of its kind in the Northeast and embodies the typical features of engines in a row, open-front marble switchboard, and an observation balcony at street level.

YearAdded:
1977
Image Credit: Public Domain (National Park Service)Image Caption: Pratt Institute Power PlantEra_date_from: 1887
Port Washington Power Plant
Society: ASMEMain Category: Electric, MechanicalSub Category: SteamEra: 1930-1939DateCreated: 1935Wisconsin Electric Power CompanyMilwaukeeState: WIZip: 52303Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/electric-power-production-steam/-51-port-washington-power-plant-%281935%29Creator: Wisconsin Electric Company

The Port Washington Power Plant of the Wisconsin Electric Company was the most thermally efficient steam power plant in the world for many years following its opening in 1935. Its design reflected the cumulative experience of the utility's engineers in burning pulverized coal at the Oneida Street Plant and the Lakeside Station in Milwaukee.

YearAdded:
1980
Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: The dedication of Port Washington Power Plant coincided with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the city in which it is located.Era_date_from: 1935
Philadelphia Municipal Water Supply
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Water Supply & ControlEra: 1800-1829DateCreated: 18012600 Benjamin Franklin PkwyPhiladelphiaState: PAZip: 19130Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Philadelphia-Municipal-Water-Supply/Creator: Graff, Frederick , Latrobe, Benjamin

After an initial difficulty in attracting customers (who were used to getting their water from public pumps and private wells and cisterns), Philadelphia's waterworks soon couldn't keep up with demand. John Davis and Frederick Graff designed a complete remodeling of the system in 1811 so that it could supply the city's growing needs. 

YearAdded:
1974
Image Credit: Public Domain (National Park Service)Image Caption: Philadelphia Municipal Water SupplyEra_date_from: 1801
Lookout Mountain Incline Railway
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Rail TransportationEra: 1890-1899DateCreated: 1895Lookout MountainChattanoogaState: TNZip: 37350Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/rail-transportation---2/-156-lookout-mountain-incline-railway-%281895%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/769218e7-8ab4-486a-8de5-f5e7a4299859/156-Lookout-Mountain-Incline-Railway-1895.aspxCreator: Crass, John , Lookout Mountain Incline Railway Company

At the mountain where the Civil War's Battle Above the Clouds was waged, tourist business has thrived from the building of its first toll road (Whiteside Pike) in 1857 to present day.

YearAdded:
1991
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Duane Tate (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Lookout Mountain Incline RailwayEra_date_from: 1895
Society: ASMEMain Category: Mechanical, RoadSub Category: Road TransportationEra: 1910-1919DateCreated: 1910Lumberman's MuseumPattenState: MEZip: 04765Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/road-and-off-road-transportation/-79-lombard-steam-log-hauler-%281910%29Creator: Lombard, Alvin
This steam crawler-tractor emancipated horses from the killing work of hauling trains of sleds over iced roads in the winter woods of the United States and Canada. Designed, patented (1901), and built by Alvin C. Lombard (1856-1937) of Waterville, Maine, eighty-three "Lombards" were the first practical examples of the often-tried lag or crawler tread that would become the mark of the internal combustion engine-driven agricultural and construction equipment and military tank in current use.
YearAdded:
1982
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/cliff1066,Image Caption: Lombard Steam Log HaulerEra_date_from: 1910
Joshua Hendy Iron Works
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1900-1909DateCreated: 1906401 E Hendy AveSunnyvaleState: CAZip: 94086Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/manufacturing---1/-34-joshua-hendy-iron-works-%281906%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/4c99ebb6-8005-461a-a215-0af2f8eaf17c/34-Joshua-Hendy-Iron-Works.aspxCreator: Hendy, Joshua

This ironworks exemplified the adaptability required for industrial survival in a dynamic technical environment. It was a major western producer of mechanical equipment used in mining (especially large hydraulic machines), ship propulsion, irrigation, power generation, optical telescope mounts, and nuclear research.

YearAdded:
1978
Image Credit: Public DomainImage Caption: Joshua Hendy Iron WorksEra_date_from: 1906
Subscribe to Steam

Innovations

Quincy Mining Company No. 2 Mine Hoist

The largest mine hoist in the world, it serves the two incline skipways of Shaft No. 2, almost 9,300 feet long. The overhead winding drum has a diameter of 30 feet, of which the cylindrical center section is 10 feet long. The two 10-foot long end sections taper down to a 15-foot diameter. Wire…

Read More
Southern Pacific #4294 Cab-in-Front Steam Locomotive

The articulated wheel-base steam locomotive represents the final phase of steam locomotive development in size and power. The cab-in-front feature was widely used by the Southern Pacific Railroad beginning in 1909 to alleviate smoke and heat problems for locomotive personnel en route through…

Read More
The introduction of steam-powered forging hammers by French and British engineers of the 1830s led to the building of this impressive hammer at Creusot that delivered blows to shape and strengthen iron and steel objects before forging. It was for years the most powerful steam hammer in the world.… Read More
Cruquius Pumping Station

This is one of three nearly identical pumping stations that drained the Haarlemmermeer (Haarlem Lake), 1849- 52, then continued to maintain the polder's water table for more than 80 years. The Haarlemmermeer area covers 45,000 acres (about 70 square miles) in a triangular region between the…

Read More
Eddystone Station Unit #1

Operated by the Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO), now known as Exelon Corp., Eddystone Station Unit #1 is a 325 MW pulverized-coal-fired plant that pushed the technology of steam-electric generating plants. When built in 1960, engineers sought to make a more efficient plant using higher…

Read More
Edison 'Jumbo' Engine-Driver Dynamo

This dynamo, connected directly to a high-speed steam engine, was one of six that produced direct current at Thomas A. Edison's electric power station at 257 Pearl Street in New York City. The Pearl Street Station was the prototype for central station power generation. Edison set out in 1878 to…

Read More
Georgetown Steam Hydro Generating Plant

The Georgetown Steam Plant, a surprisingly complete and operable steam power plant after a career of nearly seventy-five years, was built in the early 1900s when Seattle's inexpensive hydroelectric power attracted manufacturers. Much of the power produced at this plant operated the streetcars.…

Read More
This landmark artifact represents the first commercially successful farm tractor in the world powered by an internal-combustion engine. It was invented and built by Charles W. Hart and Charles H. Parr in Charles City, Iowa, as their Model 3, following two prototype versions. Major accomplishments… Read More
Joshua Hendy Iron Works

This ironworks exemplified the adaptability required for industrial survival in a dynamic technical environment. It was a major western producer of mechanical equipment used in mining (especially large hydraulic machines), ship propulsion, irrigation, power generation, optical telescope mounts,…

Read More
This steam crawler-tractor emancipated horses from the killing work of hauling trains of sleds over iced roads in the winter woods of the United States and Canada. Designed, patented (1901), and built by Alvin C. Lombard (1856-1937) of Waterville, Maine, eighty-three "Lombards" were the first… Read More
Lookout Mountain Incline Railway

At the mountain where the Civil War's Battle Above the Clouds was waged, tourist business has thrived from the building of its first toll road (Whiteside Pike) in 1857 to present day.

More than 75,000 tourists a year were visiting the site when the war interceded. Tourism was not…

Read More
Philadelphia Municipal Water Supply

After an initial difficulty in attracting customers (who were used to getting their water from public pumps and private wells and cisterns), Philadelphia's waterworks soon couldn't keep up with demand. John Davis and Frederick Graff designed a complete remodeling of the system in 1811 so that it…

Read More
Port Washington Power Plant

The Port Washington Power Plant of the Wisconsin Electric Company was the most thermally efficient steam power plant in the world for many years following its opening in 1935. Its design reflected the cumulative experience of the utility's engineers in burning pulverized coal at the Oneida…

Read More
Pratt Institute Power Plant

Steam and the inexpensive electricity it could produce brought about dramatic technical growth in the United States. Developed during the last century, reliable and efficient steam engines were the forerunners of today's massive generating facilities. A rare survivor of the period, the Pratt…

Read More
Rumely Companies' Agricultural Products

Beginning with the blacksmith shop of German immigrant Meinrad Rumely (1823-1904), this successive family of firms invented and produced a line of agricultural equipment that played a vital role in the evolution of farming based on the muscle of humans and animals to one based on the power of…

Read More
SS Badger Carferry

The two 3,500-hp steeple compound Unaflow steam engines powering the S.S. Badger represent one of the last types of reciprocating marine steam engines. Built by the Skinner Engine Company, most Unaflow engines are single expansion. These feature tandem high- and low-pressure cylinders separated…

Read More
Turbinia

The Turbinia was the world's first turbine-driven ship. It attracted worldwide attention at the 1897 Spithead Naval Review by traveling more than 34 knots. This remarkable performance accelerated the acceptance of the steam turbine as an alternative to the steam reciprocating engine on ships as…

Read More
(Image not displayed)

The Edger station was the first steam electric plant produced that could tolerate over 1000 psi of pressure. Initially conceived by Mr. Irving Edwin Moultrop, then Assistant Superintendent, Construction Bureau of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston. He guided his company and the…

Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.