Boulton and Watt rotative beam engine

Steam engine, double-acting beam type, cast iron / wrought iron, made by Boulton and Watt, Birmingham, England, 1785, used at Whitbread's Brewery, London, England, 1785-1887. Seen at Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Beam
• engine
• steam
• Watt

[ijerry1]

It was saved from the scrapheap by a request from one of the founders of the Powerhouse museum. Over its working life, it was continually modified, so that few parts now date from 1785, but it has retained the same basic form and function.

[thra5herxb12s]

Awesome. To anyone who gets the chance,check out Crossness,the largest rotative beam engines in the world. Its building is more like a Cathedral than an engine house..

[ijerry1]

@railrdr523 So far, you're the first to notice. It was a limitation of the camera I had at the time. And I wanted to be able to see the full cycle a few times.

[JimTLonW6]

Very interesting video, I didn't know this engine had survived. How did it get to Sydney?

When it was set up in London it was a major sight for the gentry to see; even King George III went along to have a look at it.

Interesting to see that its working life in London was 102 years!