Books - Steam Engine History

Product Description:
As the inventor of the separate-condenser steam engine -that Promethean symbol of technological innovation and industrial progress -James Watt has become synonymous with the spirit of invention, while his last name has long been immortalized as the very measurement of power. But contrary to popular belief, Watt did not single-handedly bring about the steam revolution. His "perfect engine" was as much a product of late-nineteenth-century Britain as it was of the inventor´s imagination.
As one of the greatest technological developments in human history, the steam engine was a major progenitor of the Industrial Revolution, but it was also symptomatic of its many problems. Armed with a patent on the separate-condenser principle and many influential political connections, Watt and his business partner Matthew Boulton fought to maintain a twenty-five-year monopoly on steam power that stifled innovation and ruthlessly crushed competition. After tinkering with boiling kettles and struggling with leaky cylinders for years without success, Watt would eventually amass a fortune and hold sway over an industry. But, as Ben Marsden shows, he owed his astonishing rise as much to espionage and political maneuvering as to his own creativity and determination.
This is a tale of science and technology in tandem, of factory show-spaces and international espionage, of bankruptcy and brain drains, lobbying and legislation, and patents and pirates. It reveals how James Watt -warts and all -became an icon fit for an age of industry and invention.



Customer Review: umm...Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.:
Watt did not invent the light bulb. Watt did not invent the steam engine either. He improved it and helped spread its applicability to industry. He was an important member of the Lunar Society with his partner, Matthew Boulton, as well as Erasmus Darwin, John Whitehurst, James Small, etc. Another good book to get is Jenny Uglow's The Lunar Men (?), which is about this circle of interesting guys.

Customer Review: A lively historical coverage of how the engine evolved:
James Watt's name has become well known as the inventor of the light bulb; but it was the steam engine which also earned him fame - and which did not come about due to his single-handed genius. The development, function and role of the 'perfect engine' during his times in England is revealed in Ben Marsden's Watt's Perfect Engine: Steam And The Age Of Invention, a lively historical coverage of how the engine evolved and reflected not only the promise, but the problems of the Industrial Revolution. A fine, wide-ranging history.


Customer Review: [Very] sharp elbows:
Four men were responsible for starting the Industrial Revolution. Newcomen, Trevithick, Stevenson and Watt. Yet today, we measure power in Watts, not Trevithicks or anything else. Of the four, James Watt is the best remembered. How did this come about? Was he perhaps the greatest of them? Marsden takes us back two centuries to answer this.

From Marsden's narrative, Newcomen seems the more perceptive inventor, compared to Watt. Yet we see how Watt had a driving passion for business that led to great success. Quite possibly, some of his methods may attract ire nowadays. But Henry Ford and other industrialists would no doubt have found much in Watt to be understandable and commendable.

Marsden suggests that Watt's tenacious enforcing of his patents may have stifled development of improvements to the steam engine. Perhaps. But even so, consider this. Any such impediment would have the advantage to Britain in other fields of invention. For it would show that patents were highly enforceable. A strong patent environment may have contributed to Britain's industrial lead, that lasted a century. So even if Watt's methods led to a tactical slowdown, strategically it bolstered Britain. Keep in mind that prior to the Industrial Revolution, throughout most of previous history, there was no such thing as patent protection. So innovations were often kept secret, if this was practical. Keeping progress glacially slow.

Product Description:
This is the first comprehensive history of the steam engine in fifty years. It follows the development of reciprocating steam engines, from their earliest forms to the beginning of the twentieth century when they were replaced by steam turbines.



Customer Review: The Power of Steam (Richard Hills):
One of the few relatively recent works in the field of stationary steam engines. In addition to his work at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry which has resulted in this becoming a 'World Class' Museum Richard Hills has found time to contribute a major written work, the meticulous way in which he has researched this book is impressive, while detailed enough to be of interest to the 'expert' (and including an extremely substantial and authoritative bibliography) he has presented what might be considered a fairly 'dry' subject in such a way that the non enthusiast can both learn and enjoy. Photographs and drawing of now lost examples make this a valuable volume for anyone interested in the development of steam power from it's early beginnings as an interesting phenomena for the inquiring mind, through to its essential part of todays world, providing power everywhere. One of very few modern books on the subject (which tend to be re-hashes of recognisable older works) it is very difficult to fault and a must for anyone with an interest in steam or industrial history

Product Description:
Model engineering was popularized by pioneering steam enthusiasts, and rapidly grew into an exciting worldwide hobby for amateur engineers. This book describes how model steam engines work, outlines the development of the machine tools used to build the models, and investigates the seven different categories of model engines, which include models built to support patent applications, and those built purely for pleasure.

The author, himself a model steam locomotive driver, also delves into the possible pitfalls and practicalities of scale model engineering. Generously illustrated, this is guaranteed to interest any aspiring engineer, as well as collectors of steam engines.

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Product Description:
Over 100 rare illustrations depict more than 70 antique fire engines with steam-powered pumps—from the very first one, built in 1829, up to the end of the 19th century. The copyright-free illustrations include pictures of Braithwaite’s "Comet," built for the King of Prussia in 1832; the Manhattan No. 8 of New York City, built by Lee & Larned; the Hurricane No. 13 of Philadelpia, by Chapman; the Northern Liberty, No. 8, of Boston, constructed by Jucket & Freeman; and many more. The text for each engine provides detailed information on cost, construction, water capacity, and other data.




Customer Review: Outstanding Reference Source:
Outstanding source of photographs, lithographs, and precise detailed mechanical line drawings of these old machines.

Originally printed in 1896, the written commentary is in the rich, highly descriptive style of the era, conveying nearly as much information as the images themselves.

Highly recommended to both model makers and fire apparatus buffs.

History of the American Steam Fire-Engine (Dover Books on Transportation)

Product Description:
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: metals. They may also be contrived to be serviceable for sundry other pleasant uses, as for the moving of sails in a chimney-corner, the motion of which sails may be applied to the turning of a spit, or the like." Kircher gives an engraving (" Mundus Subterraneus ") showing the last-named application of the seolipile ; and Ercker n ("Aula Subterranea," 1672) gives a picture illustrating their application to the production of a blast in smelting ores. They seem to have been frequently used, and in all parts of Europe, during the seventeenth century, for blowing fires in houses, as well as in the practical work of the various trades, and for improving the draft of chimneys. The latter application is revived very frequently by the modern inventor. Section II. — The Period Of Application—WorcesTer, Papin, And Savery. We next meet with the first instance in which the expansive force of steam is supposed to have actually been applied to do important and useful work. In 1663, Edward Somerset, second Marquis of Worces-4 ter, published a curious collection of descriptions of his inventions, couched in obscure and singular language, and called " A Century of the Names and Scantlings of Inventions by me already Practised." One of these inventions is an apparatus for raising water by steam. The description was not accompanied by a drawing, but the sketch here given (Fig. 7) is thought probably to resemble one of his earlier contrivances very closely. Steam is generated in the boiler , and thence is led into the vessel e, already nearly filled with water, and fitted up like the apparatus of De Caus. It drives the water in a jet out through the pipe/. The vessel e is then shut oif from the boiler a, is again filled through the pipe h, and the operal iun is repeated. Stuart thi...



Customer Review: Caveat emptor:
First, let me state this review is of the Kessinger Publishing edition only, and addresses just the quality of the publication, not the content.

Carefully read the Editorial Reviews: Book Description - "(W)e have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control." Then change the wording to "We have chosen to create a facsimile of this title even though it definitely has significant imperfections including several missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues which we couldn't be bothered correcting." They have also chosen to reproduce the original as a 4.25" x 6.5" image on 6" x 9" page, leaving significant white space to distract the reader.

Compare this to the Oxford University Press reprint of William Paley's Natural Philosophy, where the editors, Eddy and Knight, note that "only a few (copies) are now extant. We looked at several of these." The book has been reset in a clear readable typeface, balanced on the page.

In this day and age of computers, scanners, OCR, and high grade graphics programs, there is no excuse for such poor quality production. You could expect it from a $9.95 Dover reprint (don't get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against inexpensive Dover reprints. I own many and consider them good values), but not for an edition retailing at $38.95.

Product Description:
Steam engines — beauties with fire in their bellies, evoke nostalgic journeys down the memory track! The book showcases some of the ‘beauties’ which are ‘out’ but not over as yet. One of the most comprehensive books on the subject, it captures some special moments with these wonderful works of art. These beauties of yesteryears are now staging a comeback, mainly for heritage and tourism purposes. The return is global in character with India playing a pivotal role. Formation of the Indian Steam Railway Society and the recent efforts towards carving an international organisation are pointers towards the increasing interest in steam locomotives. This is an attempt to portray the glamorous and the happening side of steam locomotives.

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Product Description:
"Next Stop Honolulu" is the story of the Oahu Railway & Land Company, a narrow-gauge railroad that served the island and its residents for nearly 60 years. It enabled (and was made possible by) the sugar and pineapple industries that were the economic engine of Hawaii in the early days. The train also made Honolulu accessible to and from the rest of the Island for passengers and freight.

In addition to taking raw sugar to the docks and pineapples to the canneries, it hauled garbage to the dump, South Seas guano fertilizer to plantations, coral concrete to construction sites, landfill to lagoons, oil and gasoline and on and on. During and prior to each war it hauled shore guns to batteries, ammunition to bases and depots and ships, and soldiers and sailors to the downtown bars and brothels. It had 4 heavy Mikado locomotives (sisters to those still on the Durango line in Colorado) and a host of other steam locomotives.

The Oahu Railway was one of the most sophisticated narrow-gauge lines in the country, featuring automatic block signals, a double tracked mainline, and helper engine service on the steep grade to Wahiawa.

"Next Stop Honolulu" is a definitive history of the Oahu Railway, but is also a lens through which to view and understand the history of Hawaii across an era that took the Islands from a sleepy whaling port to a key part of the US, poised for statehood. It contains a rich selection of photographs, drawings, and newspaper clips that tell the story in the words of the day.

This book will delight those with an interest in Hawaiian history, as well as rail fans and modelers.



Customer Review: The Oahu railway : packed with vintage photos, maps, charts, history:
If you're a rail buff you'll already know most rail books focus on the mainland railways and give little recognition to Hawaii: to fill the gap choose NEXT STOP HONOLULU: THE STORY OF THE OAHU RAILWAYS & LAND COMPANY. You can't get any more comprehensive than NEXT STOP HONOLULU, which traces the growth of the Oahu Railway from its roots when a New Englander fell off a rented horse and was stranded in Hawaii to its establishment as an opportunity for the sugar cane industry to become a profitable crop on Oahu. It comes packed with vintage photos, color illustration, maps, charts, reproductions, and history tracing almost sixty years of OR&L achievements. A truly outstanding, definitive achievement.



Customer Review: Right Up There With Gerald Best!:
Comprehensive, profusely illustrated history of one of the less well-known railways in the U.S. I lived on Oahu from 1947 to 1968 and knew the OR&L only from the occasional line of pineapple cars crossing Nimitz Highway from the harbor to the canneries. A few mispellings of Hawaiian words, but otherwise it's a treasure.

Customer Review: Next Stop Honolulu:
'Next Stop Honolulu' is obviously a wonderful book for railroad aficionados. For me, although the book's principal subject is interesting (the explanation of how steam locomotives work on page 66 was the first one I've ever actually found understandable), it is the general facts about Hawaii and its history and local lore that are fascinating. This is a very interesting book, with lots of delightful illustrations, beautifully reproduced, which include old newspaper articles, photographs, maps, etc. For someone who hasn't read much about Hawaii since Michener, this was an engrossing read about the railway company that linked the sugar plantations in Oahu, but with lots of additional colorful detail. Anyone who likes Hawaii or railroad history would love this book.

Product Description:
George Watkins had a passion for photographing stationary steam engines. This collection of his work features images and descriptions of stationary steam engines, photographed in East Anglia and adjacent counties.