An old engraving of a large Cornish beam engine used in mining in the 1800s. It is from a Victorian mechanical engineering book of the 1880s. Here it powers the pumps that kept excess water out of the mineshaft (right). This type of steam engine was developed in Cornwall, England, UK. It uses steam at a higher pressure than the earlier atmospheric ones designed by Thomas Newcomen and then James Watt. The engines were also used for winching materials into and out of the mine. Many of these efficient engines (using an external condenser) were erected by the firm of Boulton and Watt in Cornwall.
An old engraving of a large Cornish beam engine used in mining in the 1800s. It is from a Victorian mechanical engineering book of the 1880s. Here it is powering the pumps that kept excess water out of the mineshaft (right). A Cornish engine is a type of steam engine developed in Cornwall, England, UK. It is a beam engine that uses steam at a higher pressure than the earlier atmospheric beam engines designed by Thomas Newcomen and then James Watt. The engines were also used for winching materials into and out of the mine, and for powering on-site ore stamping machinery extracting tin, copper and other metals. Coal powered pumps were vital to the mining industry. The cost of fuel for pumping was a significant part of mining costs. Many of the more efficient Watt engines (using an external condenser) were erected by the firm of Boulton and Watt in Cornwall.
Size: 2140px × 6142px
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1800s, 19th, beam, black, boulton, british, century, cornish, cornwall, design, early, engine, engineering, england, english, engraving, flood, ground, historical, history, hundreds, illustration, industrial, industry, machine, machinery, mechanical, mineshaft, mining, newcomen, nineteenth, power, prevent, prevention, pump, pumping, revolution, shaft, steam, tin, underground, victorian, water, watt, white, work, worker
