Here
is the companion volume to Ken Cope’s previous works on machine
tools, carriage making machinery and cooperage machinery. Factories
filled with the machinery described in the previous works, from
the smallest drill presses to giant planers, could not have existed
without a reliable and sufficient power source. The steam engine
was that source, from the start of the industrial revolution to
the general availability of electric power distributed from large,
central generating stations in the early 20th century. Smaller size
engines, made for farms and small industries such as cheese factories,
greatly reduced the manpower required and therefore the cost of
the final product to the consumer. The nearly 1000 illustrations
show the development of the steam engine from1800 to 1900 in a great
variety of sizes, styles, and designs. Many designs shown proved
impractical and were soon discarded; other designs such as the Corliss
engine were made by scores of firms for scores of years. Along with
the illustrations is a brief history of the individual maker, chronicling
the various engines that each made.
280
pages. 8-1/2 x 11. Soft cover. $29.95. ISBN 1931626227
