The Net Advance of Physics RETRO:
STEAM TECHNOLOGY in the Long Nineteenth Century, 1790-1920

Please note: Most material in Net Advance Retro antedates 1920. It may be obsolete or incorrect.

WARNING:
Experimental projects described in old scientific papers are frequently unsafe. This is especially true of projects described as "suitable for amateurs" or "suitable for children"; such projects are rarely suitable for children or amateurs in the Twenty-first Century.

• General:
  • Steam Engines [EngineeringDegree.Net] Extremely useful homepage.
  • Steam Engineering Tutorials [Spirax Sarco, 2012] For information more current than most of what follows.
  • Steam Engine [Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911 Edition]

• General: CURIOSA:
  • The Huge Hunter, or the Steam Man of the Prairies by Edward S. Ellis [New York: Beadle's Half Dime Library, 1868] The first "Edisonade", soon to be followed by the endless adventures of Frank Reade and his Steam Man/Horse/Team/Tally-Ho ...
  • La Maison à Vapeur by Jules Verne [Paris: Hetzel, 1880] Known in English as Steam House or The End of Nana Sahib or The Demon of Cawnpore and Tigers & Traitors.
  • The Boy Engineers: What They Did and How They Did It (A Book for Boys) by the Rev. J. Lukin [New York: Putnam, undated, before 1883] "'... ad machinas fabricandas pertinent. Oh, hang it,' said I, 'we shall never get to the end of the letter, Jim. I don't think 'tis bad grammar exactly, so far; but I am in a hurry to come to the point, and for the life of me I can't find out the Latin for workshop, or fowlhouse, or padlock.'"
  • A Wonderful Discovery in The Book of Job: Behemoth and Leviathan Found to Refer to The Stationary and Self-Propelling Steam Engines of Our Days by Samuel O. Trudell [Philadelphia: Avil, 1890]
  • The Steam Engine Fulfilling Prophecy, Being a Review of Certain Mysterious Passages of Scripture, and Then Offering Ten Propositions to Prove That It Was The Steam Engine, As We Now Have It, That the Inspired Writers Saw by Mark Fennell, Stationary Engineer [Cleveland, Ohio: Williams, 1891] "All steam-engineers are not saints, any more than any other class of men are. That is no evidence whatever that the steam-engine has not come by divine appointment."
  • Break O' Day Tales: The Steam Interlude by Frank West Rollins [Boston: Joseph Knight, 1894] Water mysteriously stops boiling; civilisation collapses.
  • Steve and the Steam Engine: A Novel for Children by Sara Ware Bassett [Boston: Little, Brown, 1921]

• General: PRIMARY SOURCES
  • The Abortion of the Young Steam-Engineer's Guide by Oliver Evans [Philadelphia: Fry & Kammerer, 1805] A suitably bizarre title for a work by the embittered inventor of the Oruktor Amphibolos.
  • A Treatise on Navigation by Steam, comprising a History of the Steam Engine and an essay towards a system of the Naval Tactics Peculiar to Steam Navigation as applicable both to Commerce and Maritime Warfare by Capt. John Ross [London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green, 1828]
  • On Steam Engines and Their Use, Primarily at Sea by Joh. Henr. Kreüger [Stockholm: Norstedt, 1833] In Swedish.
  • An Essay on the Nature and Application of Steam, with an Historical Notice of the Rise and Progressive Improvement of the Steam-Engine by M. A. Alderson [London: Sherwood, Gilbert, & Piper, 1834]
  • The Steam Engine Familiarly Explained and Illustrated; Its Applications to Navigation and Railways, with Plain Maxims for Railway Speculators by the Rev. Dionysius Lardner and James Renwick [Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1836]
  • A new theory of the steam engine : and the mode of calculation by means of it, of the effective power &c. of every kind of steam engine, stationary or locomotive by the Chevalier Guyonneau de Pambour [London: John Weale 1838]
  • Treatise on the Steam Engine by James Renwick [New York: Carvill, 1839]
  • The Steam Engine; being a popular description of the construction and action of that engine; with a sketch of its history, and of the laws of heat and pneumatics by Hugo Reid [Edinburgh: Wm. Tait, 1840]
  • Popular lectures on science and art; delivered in the principal cities and towns of the United States by Rev. Dionysius Lardner [New York: Greeley and McElrath, 1846] Look up "steam" in index.
  • The High-Pressure Steam Engine by Ernst Alban [London: John Weale, 1848]
  • Treatise on the Steam Engine by James Renwick [New York: Geo. Carvill, 1848]
  • The Steam-Engine by Robert Scott Burn [London: H. Ingram, 1854]
  • Lessons and Practical Notes on Steam, the Steam Engine, Propellers, &c., &c., for Young Marine Engineers, Students, and Others by W. H. King [New York: Van Nostrand, 1861]
  • A catechism of the steam engine in its various applications to mines, mills, steam navigation, railways, and agriculture. With practical instructions for the manufacture and management of engines of every class by John Bourne [New York: Appleton, 1864] This book exists in many versions and editions of various dates; there is also a supplement.
  • The Working Engineer's Practical Guide to the Management of the Steam Engine and Boiler, with Rules and Instructions for Valve Setting to Secure a Full Development of the Motive Power by Joseph Hopkinson [London: John Weale, 1866]
  • Steam and the Locomotive Engine by Henry Evers [New York: Putnam's, 1873]
  • Handbook of the steam-engine. Containing all the rules required for the right construction and management of engines of every class, with the easy arithmetical solution of those rules. by John Bourne [New York: Appleton, 1874]
  • A Paper on Cylinder Condensation, Steam Jackets, Compound Engines, and Superheated Steam, read before the Society of Arts at the Mass. Inst. of Tech. by Geo. Basil Dixwell [Boston: Franklin, 1875]
  • Les Merveilles de la Locomotion by E. Deharme [Paris: Hachette, 1878]
  • The Relative Proportions of the Steam-Engine by Wm. D. Marks [Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1879]
  • Text-Book on the Steam Engine by T. M. Goodeve [London: Crosby, Lockwood, 1880]
  • The Steam Engine by Sir George Charles Vincent Holmes [London: Longmans, Green, 1888]
  • Stationary Steam Engines; especially as adapted to Electric Lighting Purposes by Robert H. Thurston [New York: John Wiley, 1888]
  • Steam-engine design, for the use of mechanical engineers, students, and draughtsmen by Jay M. Whitham [New York: John Wiley, 1889]
  • Stationary Steam Engines, Simple and Compound by Robert H. Thurston [New York: John Wiley, 1890]
  • The Steam Engine and the Indicator: Their Origin and Progressive Development by Wm. Barnet Le Van [Philadelphia: H. C. Baird, 1892]
  • Modern steam engines: an elementary treatise upon the steam engine, written in plain language; for use in the workshop as well as in the drawing office. Giving full explanations of the construction of modern steam engines; including diagrams showing their actual operation by Joshua Rose [Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird, 1893]
  • Model engine construction, with practical instructions to artificers and amateurs by J. Alexander [London: Whittaker, 1894]
  • Berechnung der Leistung und des Dampfverbrauches der Eincylinder-Dampfmaschinen by Josef Pechan [Berlin: Springer, 1896]
  • Report of the committee appointed on the 31st March, 1896, to consider and report to the Council upon the subject of the definition of a standard or standards of thermal efficiency for steam-engines [London: Institution of Civil Engineers, 1898]
  • Résumé du cours de machines à vapeur et locomotives by J. Hirsch [Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1898]
  • Small engines and boilers: a manual of concise and specific directions for the construction of small steam engines and boilers of modern types, for amateurs and others interested in such work by Egbert P. Watson [New York: Van Nostrand, 1899]
  • Hints on Steam-Engine Design and Construction, with Practical Suggestions for the Guidance of Junior Engineers and Students by Charles Hurst [London: Chas. Griffin, 1901]
  • A Handbook on the Steam Engine by Hermann Haeder [London: Crosby, Lockwood, 1902]
  • New Catechism of the Steam Engine, with Chapters on Gas, Oil and Hot Air Engines by N. Hawkins [New York: Theo. Audel, 1902]
  • The Steam Engine and Gas and Oil Engines: A Book for the Use of Students Who Have Time to Make Experiments and Calculations by John Perry [London: Macmillan, 1902]
  • Design of a High-Speed Steam Engine by J. F. Klein [New York: Van Nostrand, 1903]
  • Theorie und Practische Berechnung der Heißdampfmaschinen by Josef Hrabák [Berlin: Springer, 1904]
  • Notes on Heat and Steam by Charles H. Benjamin [Cleveland, Ohio: C. H. Holmes, 1905]
  • A Course of Instruction in Engine and Boiler Design, Arranged for Students of the Senior Class, Purdue University by J. D. Hoffman [Lafayette, Indiana: Burt-Terry-Wilson, 1906]
  • Knocks and kinks; causes, detection, and cure for many of the commonest of these troubles of the engineman; plain directions for prevention and remedy by Hubert Edwin Collins [New York: Hill, 1908]
  • Power and Power Transmission by E. W. Kerr [New York: John Wiley, 1908]
  • The Modern Steam Engine by John Richardson [New York: Van Nostrand, 1908]
  • The Steam Engine: A Practical Guide to the Construction, Operation, and Care of Steam Engines, Steam Turbines, and Their Accessories by Walter B. Snow and Walter S. Leland [Chicago: American School of Correspondence, 1908]
  • Steam Boilers, Engines and Turbines by Sydney F. Walker [New York: Van Nostrand, 1908]
  • The Steam Engine: A Concise Treatise for Students and Engineers by Charles H. Benjamin [Brattleboro, Vermont: Technical Press, 1909]
  • Practical Stationary Engineering in Form of Questions and Answers by A. C. West [Boston: privately published, 1909]
  • Heat and Steam [Data Tables] from the journal Machinery [New York: Industrial, 1910]
  • Notes on Engine Design by Franklin DeR. Furman [Hoboken, N. J.: privately published, 1911]
  • The Steam Engine and Turbine: A Text-Book for Engineering Colleges by Robert C. H. Heck [New York: Van Nostrand, 1911]
  • An elementary manual of the steam engine; containing also a chapter on the theory, construction and operation of internal combustion engines for the operating engineer by Ernest V. Lallier [New York: Van Nostrand, 1913]
  • The Mechanism of Steam Engines by W. H. James and Myron Dole [New York: John Wiley, 1914]
  • Elements of Heat-Power Engineering by C. F. Hirshfeld and Wm. N. Barnard [New York: John Wiley, 1915]
  • Steam Engines: A Thorough and Practical Presentation by Llewellyn V. Ludy [Chicago: American Technical Society, 1917]
  • The Boys' Book of Engine Building by A. Frederick Collins [Boston: Small, Maynard, 1918]
  • Steam Engines by E. M. Shealy [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1919]
  • Design and Construction of Heat Engines by Wm. E. Ninde [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1920]

• General: HISTORY:
  • Historical and descriptive anecdotes of steam-engines, and of their inventors and improvers by Robert Stuart [London: Wightman and Cramp, 1829]
  • An Essay on the Nature and Application of Steam, with an Historical Notice of the Rise and Progressive Improvement of the Steam-Engine by M. A. Alderson [London: Sherwood, Gilbert, & Piper,, 1834]
  • The Steam Engine, Its Origin and Gradual Improvement from the Time of Hero to the Present Day; as adapted to manufactures, locomotion, and navigation by P. R. Hodge [New York: Appleton, 1840]
  • Lives of Boulton and Watt by Samuel Smiles [Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1865]
  • Life of Richard Trevithick by his son Francis Trevithick [London: E. & F. N. Spon, 1872] Volume I --- Volume II
  • A History of the Growth of the Steam Engine by Robert H. Thurston [London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1895]
  • Das 200-Jährige Jubiläum der Dampfmaschine, 1706-1906 by Kurt Hering [Leipzig: Teubner, 1907]
  • Engineering Reminiscences by Chas. T. Porter [New York: John Wiley, 1908]
  • Steam in Captivity from The Age of Invention by Holland Thompson [New Haven: Yale, 1921]
  • Capital and Steam Power 1750-1800 by John Lord [London: P. S. King, 1923]

• Type: COMPOUND:
  • Compound Engines by A. Mallet [New York: Van Nostrand, 1874]
  • A Paper on Cylinder Condensation, Steam Jackets, Compound Engines, and Superheated Steam, read before the Society of Arts at the Mass. Inst. of Tech. by Geo. Basil Dixwell [Boston: Franklin, 1875]
  • A Treatise on the Compound Steam Engine by John Turnbull, Jr., and S. W. Robinson [New York: Van Nostrand, 1883]
  • Stationary Steam Engines, Simple and Compound by Robert H. Thurston [New York: John Wiley, 1890]
  • Triple and quadruple expansion engines and boilers and their management, with fifty-six illustrations by A. Ritchie Leask [London: Tower, 1892]
  • Compound Corliss Engines by James Tribe [Milwaukee: privately published, 1903]
  • The Compound Engine by F. R. Low [New York: Hill, 1906]

• Type: CORLISS:
  • The Corliss Engine and its Management by John T. Henthorn and Charles D. Thurber [London: E. and F. N. Spon, 1894]
  • Compound Corliss Engines by James Tribe [Milwaukee: privately published, 1903]

• Type: TURBINE:
  • The Steam Engine: A Practical Guide to the Construction, Operation, and Care of Steam Engines, Steam Turbines, and Their Accessories by Walter B. Snow and Walter S. Leland [Chicago: American School of Correspondence, 1908]
  • Steam Boilers, Engines and Turbines by Sydney F. Walker [New York: Van Nostrand, 1908]
  • Steam Turbine Engines by Calvin F. Swingle [Chicago: F. J. Drake, 1910]
  • The Steam Engine and Turbine: A Text-Book for Engineering Colleges by Robert C. H. Heck [New York: Van Nostrand, 1911]
  • Thermodynamics of the Steam Turbine by Cecil H. Peabody [New York: John Wiley, 1911]
  • Steam Turbines by Walter S. Leland [Chicago: American Technical Society, 1917]

• Aspects: BOILERS:
  • The modern practice of boiler engineering, containing observations on the construction of steam boilers; and upon furnances used for smoke prevention, with a chapter on explosions by Robert Armstrong [London: E. and F. N. Spon, 1856]
  • The Working Engineer's Practical Guide to the Management of the Steam Engine and Boiler, with Rules and Instructions for Valve Setting to Secure a Full Development of the Motive Power by Joseph Hopkinson [London: John Weale, 1866]
  • Tables and Diagrams Relating to Non-Condensing Engines & Boilers by W. P. Trowbridge [New York: John Wiley, 1872]
  • Triple and quadruple expansion engines and boilers and their management, with fifty-six illustrations by A. Ritchie Leask [London: Tower, 1892]
  • Small engines and boilers: a manual of concise and specific directions for the construction of small steam engines and boilers of modern types, for amateurs and others interested in such work by Egbert P. Watson [New York: Van Nostrand, 1899]
  • Engine Tests and Boiler Efficiencies by J. Buchetti [New York: Henley, 1903]
  • A Course of Instruction in Engine and Boiler Design, Arranged for Students of the Senior Class, Purdue University by J. D. Hoffman [Lafayette, Indiana: Burt-Terry-Wilson, 1906]
  • Steam Boilers, Engines and Turbines by Sydney F. Walker [New York: Van Nostrand, 1908]
  • Boiler Accessories: A Complete and Authoritative Treatise on the Various Accessories of the Boiler Room and Engine Room Essential to Economical Operation, Together with Practical Instruction in their Use by Walter S. Leland [Chicago: American School of Correspondence, 1909]
  • Steam-Boilers by Cecil H. Peabody and Edward F. Miller [New York: John Wiley, 1912]

• Aspects: CONDENSER and JACKET:
  • A Paper on Cylinder Condensation, Steam Jackets, Compound Engines, and Superheated Steam, read before the Society of Arts at the Mass. Inst. of Tech. by Geo. Basil Dixwell [Boston: Franklin, 1875]
  • The Steam Jacket by Wm. Fletcher [London: Whittaker, 1895]
  • Condensers: A series of Lectures and Articles upon the Subject reprinted from the columns of "Power" [a trade journal] [New York: Power, 1901]
  • Practical Laws and Data on the Condensation of Steam in Covered and Bare Pipes by Charles P. Paulding [New York: Van Nostrand, 1904]

• Aspects: INDICATORS:
  • A Treatise on the Richards Steam-Engine Indicator by Chas. T. Porter [New York: Van Nostrand, 1883]
  • The Steam-Engine Indicator and Its Use by Wm. Barnet Le Van [New York: Van Nostrand, 1884]
  • Indicator Practice and Steam-Engine Economy by Frank F. Hemenway [New York: John Wiley, 1886]
  • The Steam Engine and the Indicator: Their Origin and Progressive Development by Wm. Barnet Le Van [Philadelphia: H. C. Baird, 1892]
  • Practical Application of the Indicator by Lewis M. Ellison [Chicago: privately published, 1894]
  • The Steam Engine Indicator and Its Appliances by Wm. Houghtaling [Bridgeport, Conn.: American Industrial, 1899]
  • The Star Improved Steam Engine Indicator by Geo. H. Barrus [Boston: Star Brass Mfg., 1903]
  • Valve Gears and Indicators by Walter S. Leland and Carl S. Dow [Chicago: American School of Correspondence, 1908]
  • Twenty Years with the Indicator by Thos. Pray, Jr. [Boston: American Stream Gauge & Valve Mfg., 1909]
  • The Steam Engine Indicator by F. R. Low [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1910]
  • Marine Engine Indicating by C. S. Linch [Boston: American Steam Gauge & Valve Mfg., 1919]

• Aspects: VALVES:
  • The Working Engineer's Practical Guide to the Management of the Steam Engine and Boiler, with Rules and Instructions for Valve Setting to Secure a Full Development of the Motive Power by Joseph Hopkinson [London: John Weale, 1866]
  • Treatise on Valve-Gears, with Special Consideration of the Link-Motions of Locomotive Engines by Gustav Zeuner [London: E & F. N. Spon, 1884]
  • Valve-Gears for Steam-Engines by Cecil H. Peabody [New York: John Wiley, 1894]
  • The practical application of the slide valve and link motion to stationary, portable, locomotive, and marine engines by Wm. Stuart Auchincloss [New York: Van Nostrand, 1897]
  • The Slide-Valve and Its Functions by Julius Begtrup [New York: Van Nostrand, 1902]
  • Technische Untersuchungsmethoden zur Betriebskontrolle, insbesondere zur Kontrolle des Dampfbetriebes by Julius Brand [Berlin: Springer, 1904]
  • Valves and Valve Gear Mechanisms by W. E. Dalby [London: Edward Arnold, 1906]
  • Valve Setting: Simple Methods by Hubert Edwin Collins [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1908]
  • Valve Gears and Indicators by Walter S. Leland and Carl S. Dow [Chicago: American School of Correspondence, 1908]
  • Valve Gears by H. W. Spangler [New York: John Wiley, 1910]
  • Valve Gears by Charles H. Fessenden [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1915]

• Re: AGRICULTURE:
  • Steam Plowing by D. D. Williamson [New York: McDonald & Dillont, 1873]

• Re: THERMODYNAMICS:
  • A new theory of the steam engine : and the mode of calculation by means of it, of the effective power &c. of every kind of steam engine, stationary or locomotive by the Chevalier Guyonneau de Pambour [London: John Weale 1838]
  • The Steam Engine; being a popular description of the construction and action of that engine; with a sketch of its history, and of the laws of heat and pneumatics by Hugo Reid [Edinburgh: Wm. Tait, 1840]
  • Treatise on the Mechanical Theory of Heat and Its Applications to the Steam-Engine &c. by R. S. McCulloch [New York: Van Nostrand, 1876]
  • Elementary treatise on heat in relation to steam and the steam-engine by George Shann [London: Macmillan, 1877]
  • Thermodynamics, Heat Motors, and Refrigerating Machines by DeVolson Wood [New York: John Wiley, 1889]
  • The Steam Engine Considered as a Thermodynamic Machine by James Henry Cotterill [London: E. & F. N. Spon, 1890]
  • On the Conversion of Heat into Work by Wm. Anderson [London: Whittaker, 1893]
  • Thermodynamics of reversible cycles in gases and saturated vapors: Full Synopsis of a Ten Weeks' Undergraduate Course of Lectures by M. I. Pupin [New York: John Wiley, 1894]
  • The Arithmetic of the Steam Engine by E. Sherman Gould [New York: Van Nostrand, 1897]
  • Thermodynamics of Heat Engines by Sidney A. Reeve [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1903]
  • Practical Laws and Data on the Condensation of Steam in Covered and Bare Pipes by Charles P. Paulding [New York: Van Nostrand, 1904]
  • Notes on Heat and Steam by Charles H. Benjamin [Cleveland, Ohio: C. H. Holmes, 1905]
  • The Steam-Engine and Other Heat-Motors by W. H. P. Creighton [New York: John Wiley, 1907]
  • Thermodynamics of the Steam-Engine and Other Heat-Engines by Cecil H. Peabody [New York: John Wiley, 1907]
  • Tables of the Properties of Steam and Other Vapors, and Temperature-Entropy Table by Cecil H. Peabody [New York: John Wiley, 1909]
  • The Steam-Engine and Other Heat-Engines by Sir James Alfred Ewing [Cambridge, 1910]
  • Thermodynamics of the Steam Turbine by Cecil H. Peabody [New York: John Wiley, 1911]
  • Computations for Marine Engines by Cecil H. Peabody [New York: John Wiley, 1913]
  • The Theory of Heat Engines by Wm. Inchley [London: Longmans, Green, 1913]
  • Elements of Heat-Power Engineering by C. F. Hirshfeld and Wm. N. Barnard [New York: John Wiley, 1915]
  • Notes and Examples on the Theory of Heat & Heat Engines by John Case [Cambridge: Heffer, 1922]

• Modern Media:
  • Watt Steam Engine Demo [Massive Engines, Discovery Channel] With links to other related videos about steam engines and the Industrial Revolution.
  • Steamboating: Links to Steamboating Websites by the Int'l Steamboat Society
  • Steam and Gasoline Engines by Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr. [Photographs of antique engines, most from the 1920s and '30s.]
  • New England Wireless and Steam Museum With numerous links to other websites.
  • Machine-History.Com
  • International Steamboat Society
  • Home Model Engine Machinist Homepage.

THE NET ADVANCE OF PHYSICS --- Retro