Steam Engine

When steam engines were first developed, companies were overwhelmed with the amount of power it could generate. Also, before steam engines most work was done by manual labour, so companies knew how useful and cost efficient it would be having steam engines powering their work that was needed to be done.

Once the steam engine was developed, it proved very useful operating as a pump for various mining operations, especially pumping water.[7] This video demonstrates the intial setup and the basic operation of the machine required to extract water from the subterranean levels.[8]

The first known railway locomotive was built in Britain in 1802. Unlike modern steam engines with carriages and passenger compartments this was a one-man machine, as shown above. [9] This advancement allowed people to travel great distances and also transport larger quantities of goods from town to town.

The steam engine was (naturally) adapted to power boats as well. Before steam engines, most boats were powered simply by wind (sailboats). This major advancement allowed for efficient transportation between countries and continents that were disconnected by large bodies of water. The video above depicts an early version of the steamboat technology.[10]

A huge advancement in the agricultural industry occurred when steam engines began to be employed. The steam engine was found to have many uses in farming such as ploughing fields, compressing straw into bales of hay, and many other tasks. The video above illustrates an early style tractor steam engine compressing straw into bales of hay.[11]