Beam Pumping Engines in Victoria
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The Diffusion of Newcomen Engines, 1706-73: a Reassessment*
1 The Diffusion of Newcomen Engines, 1706-73: A Reassessment* By Harry Kitsikopoulos Abstract The present paper attempts to quantify the diffusion of Newcomen engines in the British economy prior to the commercial application of the first Watt engine. It begins by pointing out omissions and discrepancies between the original Kanefsky database and the secondary literature leading to a number of revisions of the former. The diffusion path is subsequently drawn in terms of adopted horsepower and adjusted for the proportion of the latter being in use throughout the period. This methodology differs from previous studies which quantify diffusion based on the number of steam engines and do not take into account those falling out of use. The results are presented in terms of aggregate, sectoral, and regional patterns of diffusion. Finally, following a long held methodology of the literature on technological diffusion, the paper weighs the number of engines installed by the end of the period in relation to the potential range of adopters. In the end, this method generates a less celebratory assessment regarding the pace of diffusion of Newcomen engines. *The author wishes to thank Alessandro Nuvolari for providing access to the Kanefsky database. Two summer fellowships from the NEH/Folger Institute and Dibner Library (Smithsonian), whose staff was exceptionally helpful (especially Bill Baxter and Ron Brashear), allowed me to draw heavily material from the collection of rare books of the latter. Two graduate students, Lawrence Costa and Michel Dilmanian, proved to be superb research assistants by handling the revisions made by the author to the database, coming up with the graphs, and running the tests involved in the third appendix of the paper as well as writing it. -
A Historical Study of Management-Labor Relations Pertaining to the Dieselization of Railroads in the United States
This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 66—15,063 A D L E R , Jr., Philip, 1930— A HISTORICAL STUDY OF MANAGEMENT-LABOR RELATIONS PERTAINING TO THE DIESELIZATION OF RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1966 Economics, commerce-business University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan A HISTORICAL STUDY OF laiAOSRSLT-IABCB RELATIONS PERTAINING TO THE DISSSIJSATIOE OF RAILROADS IK THE UNITED STATES DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohic State University 2y Philip Adler, Jr., B. 3 B. A. The Ohio State University 1?66 sproved b y : r~Advig? Jy Depai'tment of Business Organisation ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express sincere appreciation to those who have helped in the organization and development of this investigation. It is impossible to list here the names of all who have given so generously of their time and knowledge to make this study possible. I am particularly indebted to my adviser, Dr. Michael Jucius, without whose guidance, patience, and inspiration this study would not have been possible. I would like to thank the members of ny reading committee, Professor Charles B. Hicks, Professor Rate Howell, and Professor Reed M. Powell for their valuable criticisms and suggestions. I also would like to thank the various individuals from the railroad industry for their enthusiastic cooperation throughout the research for this study. The encouragement provided by Mrs. Mildred Chavous of the Graduate School is most deeply appreciated, as is the guidance provided by the editorial staff of the Graduate School. -
The Smelting of Copper
Chapter 4 The Smelting of Copper The first written account of the processes of smelting and refining of copper is to be found in the 12th century.1 On smelting: Copper is engendered in the earth. When a vein of which is found, it is acquired with the greatest labour by digging and breaking. It is a stone of a green colour and most hard, and naturally mixed with lead. This stone, dug up in abundance, is placed upon a pile, and burned after the manner of chalk, nor does it change colour, but yet looses its hardness, so that it can be broken up. Then, being bruised small, it is placed in the furnace; coals and the bellows being applied, it is incessantly forged by day and night. On refining: Of the purification of copper. Take an iron dish of the size you wish, and line it inside and and out with clay strongly beaten and mixed, and it is carefully dried. Then place it before a forge upon the coals, so that when the bellows acts upon it the wind may issue partly within and partly above it, and not below it. And very small coals being placed around it equally, and add over it a heap of coals. When, by blowing a long time, this has become melted, uncover it and cast immediately fine ashes over it, and stir it with a thin and dry piece of wood as if mixing it, and you will directly see the burnt lead adhere to these ashes like a glue. -
Steam As a General Purpose Technology: a Growth Accounting Perspective
Working Paper No. 75/03 Steam as a General Purpose Technology: A Growth Accounting Perspective Nicholas Crafts © Nicholas Crafts Department of Economic History London School of Economics May 2003 Department of Economic History London School of Economics Houghton Street London, WC2A 2AE Tel: +44 (0)20 7955 6399 Fax: +44 (0)20 7955 7730 1. Introduction* In recent years there has been an upsurge of interest among growth economists in General Purpose Technologies (GPTs). A GPT can be defined as "a technology that initially has much scope for improvement and evntually comes to be widely used, to have many uses, and to have many Hicksian and technological complementarities" (Lipsey et al., 1998a, p. 43). Electricity, steam and information and communications technologies (ICT) are generally regarded as being among the most important examples. An interesting aspect of the occasional arrival of new GPTs that dominate macroeconomic outcomes is that they imply that the growth process may be subject to episodes of sharp acceleration and deceleration. The initial impact of a GPT on overall productivity growth is typically minimal and the realization of its eventual potential may take several decades such that the largest growth effects are quite long- delayed, as with electricity in the early twentieth century (David, 1991). Subsequently, as the scope of the technology is finally exhausted, its impact on growth will fade away. If, at that point, a new GPT is yet to be discovered or only in its infancy, a growth slowdown might be observed. A good example of this is taken by the GPT literature to be the hiatus between steam and electricity in the later nineteenth century (Lipsey et al., 1998b), echoing the famous hypothesis first advanced by Phelps-Brown and Handfield-Jones, 1952) to explain the climacteric in British economic growth. -
Lean's Engine Reporter and the Development of The
Trans. Newcomen Soc., 77 (2007), 167–189 View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Research Papers in Economics Lean’s Engine Reporter and the Development of the Cornish Engine: A Reappraisal by Alessandro NUVOLARI and Bart VERSPAGEN THE ORIGINS OF LEAN’S ENGINE REPORTER A Boulton and Watt engine was first installed in Cornwall in 1776 and, from that year, Cornwall progressively became one of the British counties making the most intensive use of steam power.1 In Cornwall, steam engines were mostly employed for draining water from copper and tin mines (smaller engines, called ‘whim engines’ were also employed to draw ore to the surface). In comparison with other counties, Cornwall was characterized by a relative high price for coal which was imported from Wales by sea.2 It is not surprising then that, due to their superior fuel efficiency, Watt engines were immediately regarded as a particularly attractive proposition by Cornish mining entrepreneurs (commonly termed ‘adventurers’ in the local parlance).3 Under a typical agreement between Boulton and Watt and the Cornish mining entre- preneurs, the two partners would provide the drawings and supervise the works of erection of the engine; they would also supply some particularly important components of the engine (such as some of the valves). These expenditures would have been charged to the mine adventurers at cost (i.e. not including any profit for Boulton and Watt). In addition, the mine adventurer had to buy the other components of the engine not directly supplied by the Published by & (c) The Newcomen Society two partners and to build the engine house. -
Generator in a Combined Cycle Power Plant
1 STEAM POWER PLANT 1.1. INTRODUCTION: A Generating station which converts heat energy of coal combustion into electrical energy is known as steam power station. A steam power station basically works on Rankin cycle. Steam is produced in the boiler by utilizing the heat of coal combustion or burning gases or fuel. Fig 1-1: Diagram of a steam power plant 2 Fig 1-2: Block diagram of a steam power plante 1.2. Power plants: Modern-day boilers, such as those in coal-fired power stations, are still fitted with economizers which are descendants of Green's original design. In this context they are often referred to as feed water heaters and heat the condensate from turbines before it is pumped to the boilers. Economizers are commonly used as part of a heat recovery steam generator in a combined cycle power plant. In an HRSG, water passes through an economizer, then a boiler and then a super heater. The economizer also prevents flooding of the boiler with liquid water that is too cold to be boiled given the flow rates and design of the boiler. A common application of economizers in steam power plants is to capture the waster heat from boiler stack gases (flue gas) and transfer it to the boiler feed water. This raises the temperature of the boiler feed water thus lowering the needed energy input, in turn reducing the firing rates to accomplish the rated boiler output. Economizers lower stack temperatures which may cause condensation of acidic combustion gases and serious equipment corrosion damage if care is not taken in their design and material selection 3 Fig 1-3: Block diagram of a steam power plant Elements of steam power plant: 01. -
Age of Steam" Reconsidered
A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Castaldi, Carolina; Nuvolari, Alessandro Working Paper Technological revolution and economic growth: The "age of steam" reconsidered LEM Working Paper Series, No. 2004/11 Provided in Cooperation with: Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies Suggested Citation: Castaldi, Carolina; Nuvolari, Alessandro (2004) : Technological revolution and economic growth: The "age of steam" reconsidered, LEM Working Paper Series, No. 2004/11, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Pisa This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/89286 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. www.econstor.eu Laboratory of Economics and Management Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33 - 56127 PISA (Italy) Tel. -
The President Pump and Its' Cornish Engine House
The PresidentPhoto Pump – Upper and Saucon Its’Township Cornish Record EngineCollection House Mark Connar SIA Annual Conference – Richmond Virginia June 2, 2018 “ The Elevator Speech” • The existing President Engine House and the area surrounding the structure is a 19th century mining industry time capsule. • Protection, preservation, interpretation and recognition of this engine house and its surroundings is of vital importance because: Ø It is the only structure and physical setting remaining of the earliest industrial age enterprise in the Lehigh Valley; Ø The engine house is part of, arguably, the largest single cylinder stationary steam engine ever built anywhere in the world; Ø The engine house is a unique structure which is the only surviving example in the United States. King Arthur’s Castle in Saucon Valley Photos – Connar Collection Made in America – “Largest Stationary Engine in the World” Photos– newspapers.com/SMU Central University Library digital collection (top right)/philadelphiaencycolopedia.org (bottom left) John West and the Perkiomen Copper Mines Photos – Connar Collection/Historical Society of Montgomery County/newspapers.com The West Family of Cambourne Photos – courtesy of John Manley “The President” - General Grant Pump Photo – Ulysses S. Grant, 17th President of the United States, Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-13018DLC The President – View from Mine Pit (West Edge) Photo – Connar, Source Unknown The President – View from Mine Pit (Northwest Edge) Photo – Miller, Lead and Zinc Ores in Pennsylvania Typical Engine House Sectional Photo – Nance, Engine Houses of West Cornwall The President’s Floor Plan Drawing – courtesy of Damian Nance The President Diagram – Scientific American Supplement 1 – August 5, 1876 The President “It is the triumph of the rotative system as applied to a mine pump. -
141210 the Rise of Steam Power
The rise of steam power The following notes have been written at the request of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Transport Division, Glasgow by Philip M Hosken for the use of its members. The content is copyright and no part should be copied in any media or incorporated into any publication without the written permission of the author. The contents are based on research contained in The Oblivion of Trevithick by the author. Section A is a very brief summary of the rise of steam power, something that would be a mighty tome if the full story of the ideas, disappointments, successes and myths were to be recounted. Section B is a brief summary of Trevithick’s contribution to the development of steam power, how he demonstrated it and how a replica of his 1801 road locomotive was built. Those who study early steam should bear in mind that much of the ‘history’ that has come down to us is based upon the dreams of people seen as sorcerers in their time and bears little reality to what was actually achieved. Very few of the engines depicted in drawings actually existed and only one or two made any significant contribution to the harnessing of steam power. It should also be appreciated that many drawings are retro-respective and close examination shows that they would not work. Many of those who sought to utilise the elusive power liberated when water became steam had little idea of the laws of thermodynamics or what they were doing. It was known that steam could be very dangerous but as it was invisible, only existed above the boiling point of water and was not described in the Holy Bible its existence and the activities of those who sought to contain and use it were seen as the work of the Devil. -
Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Pump House HAER No. MD-39
Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Pump House HAER No. MD-39 Chesapeake City Cecil County • Maryland l "''^ IAD, cKt5 REDUCED COPIES OF MEASURED DRAWINGS WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA Historic American Engineering Record National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 20240 HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD men Chesapeake 5 Delaware Canal Pump House m HAER No. MD-39 Location: South side of Chesapeake § Delaware Canal, Chesapeake City, Cecil County, Maryland USGS 7.5 Minute Series - Elkton, Maryland UTM Coordinates: 18.430625.4375400 Dates of Construction: 1851-1854 Engineers/Builders: Samuel V. Merrick, John H. Towne Present Owner: Commander U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District Custom House 2nd § Chestnut Streets Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106 Present Use: Maintained as a museum, open to the public, by the Philadelphia District, U.S. Army » Corps of Engineers. Significance: The two high-pressure, single cylinder beam engines, built by Merrick § Sons of Philadelphia, are the earliest American built stationary steam engines on their original foundations in the United States. The arrangement of the steam engines driving a 39 foot diameter lift wheel that supplied water to the summit level of the Chesapeake § Delaware Canal also is unique. The physical plant, consisting of the steam engines, lift-wheel and the buildings that housed them, is essentially complete (except for the boilers that supplied steam to the engines), and represents an innovative 19th century engineering design. Transmitted by: Eric DeLony, Principal Architect, HAER, 1984. C § D Canal Pump House HAER No. MD-39 Page 2 In Chesapeake City, Maryland stands a unique structure representing 19th-century American civil, mechanical and hydraulic engineering. -
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: SERIES ONE: the Boulton and Watt Archive, Parts 2 and 3
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: SERIES ONE: The Boulton and Watt Archive, Parts 2 and 3 Publisher's Note - Part - 3 Over 3500 drawings covering some 272 separate engines are brought together in this section devoted to original manuscript plans and diagrams. Watt’s original engine was a single-acting device for producing a reciprocating stroke. It had an efficiency four times that of the atmospheric engine and was used extensively for pumping water at reservoirs, by brine works, breweries, distilleries, and in the metal mines of Cornwall. To begin with it played a relatively small part in the coal industry. In the iron industry these early engines were used to raise water to turn the great wheels which operated the bellows, forge hammers, and rolling mills. Even at this first stage of development it had important effects on output. However, Watt was extremely keen to make improvements on his initial invention. His mind had long been busy with the idea of converting the to and fro action into a rotary movement, capable of turning machinery and this was made possible by a number of devices, including the 'sun-and-planet', a patent for which was taken out in 1781. In the following year came the double-acting, rotative engine, in 1784 the parallel motion engine, and in 1788, a device known as the 'governor', which gave the greater regularity and smoothness of working essential in a prime mover for the more delicate and intricate of industrial processes. The introduction of the rotative engine was a momentous event. By 1800 Boulton and Watt had built and put into operation over 500 engines, a large majority being of the 'sun and planet type'. -
PDF of the Mining Milestones
Date Event Detail Source c.1675 Plunger pump Samuel Morland patented (175) a plunger pump capable JTS 7/34 of raising great quantities of water 1689 Blasting Thomas Epsley is said to have introduced blasting with black powder to the Cornish mines – a year later he is Rowe p 9 recorded in the Breage burial register – apparently a victim of his own invention 1698 Savery Thomas Savery patented an engine for raising water by the impellent force of fire. Patent extended by act of Stewart p 18 parliament to run until 1733. At a trial of the engine in 1706 ‘the steam was very strong and tore the engine to pieces’. There are legends of this engine being used at Rowe p 7 Wheal Vor (Breage) but this is doubted by Barton & Stewart 1698 Coal tax Import tax on seaborne coal introduced Stewart p 39 1709 Coalbrookdale Abraham Darby made cast iron in a small blast furnace JTS3 p 25 using coke as the fuel (derived from coal) at Coalbrookdale. This allowed mass production of cast iron – continued casting iron (including making of first iron bridge, first railway engine and AGAs) until 2017 1712 Newcomen engine First documented use for pumping at Dudley Castle Barton p 15 colliery, Staffordshire, 21 inch cylinder. Newcomen never Rolt&Allen p 46 patented his engine but worked within Savery’s wide Stewart p 26 ranging patent. X section drawing. Drawing p48 Stewart Barton p 17 1714 Water driven pumps Coster and Coster patent in 1714 for a pumping system for mines – used an ingenious water driven chain and rag Stewart p 12 engine to drive pumps of ‘mettall cilinders and bored elemes’ 1716 Early engine The first engine in Cornwall was possibly erected at Wheal Stewart p 33 Vor (Breage) and worked for about four years.