View source for Beam engine

{{Short description|Early configuration of the steam engine utilising a rocking beam to connect major components.}}

[[File:Watt7783.png|thumb|A [[Watt steam engine|Watt engine]]: showing entry of steam and water]]

A '''beam engine''' is a type of [[steam engine]] where a pivoted overhead [[Beam (structure)|beam]] is used to apply the force from a vertical [[piston]] to a vertical [[connecting rod]]. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by [[Thomas Newcomen]] around 1705 to remove water from mines in [[Cornwall]]. The efficiency of the engines was improved by engineers including [[James Watt]], who added a separate [[Condenser (heat transfer)|condenser]]; [[Jonathan Hornblower]] and [[Arthur Woolf]], who [[Compound steam engine|compounded the cylinders]]; and [[William McNaught (Glasgow)|William McNaught]], who devised a method of compounding an existing engine.  Beam engines were first used to pump water out of mines or into canals but could be used to pump water to supplement the flow for a waterwheel powering a [[watermill|mill]].

[[File:Uk-crofton-pumping-station-beam-gallery.jpg|thumb|The cast-iron beam of the 1812 [[Boulton & Watt]] engine at [[Crofton Pumping Station]] &ndash; the oldest working, in situ example in the world]]
[[File:Cruquius-gemaal-achter.jpg|thumb|Back of [[Museum De Cruquius]] near [[Amsterdam]], an old pumping station used to pump dry the [[Haarlemmermeer]]. It shows the beams of the pumping engine and the 9 meter drop in water level from the [[Spaarne]] river. The beam engine is the largest ever constructed, and was in use till 1933.]]
[[File:Wanlockhead Beam Engine.jpg|thumb|The remains of a water-powered beam engine at [[Wanlockhead]]]]
The '''rotative beam engine''' is a later design of beam engine where the connecting rod drives a [[flywheel]] by means of a [[Crank (mechanism)|crank]] (or, historically, by means of a [[sun and planet gear]]). These beam engines could be used to directly power the [[line shaft|line-shafting]] in a [[cotton mill|mill]]. They also could be used to power [[steam ship]]s.

==History==
The first beam engines were water-powered and used to pump water from mines. A preserved example may be seen at the Straitsteps Lead Mine in [[Wanlockhead beam engine|Wanlockhead]] in [[Scotland]].

Beam engines were extensively used to power [[pump]]s on the English [[canal]] system when it was expanded by means of [[canal lock|locks]] early in the [[Industrial Revolution]], and also to drain water from [[Mining|mines]] in the same period, and as [[winding engine]]s.

The first steam-related beam engine was developed by [[Thomas Newcomen]]. This was not, strictly speaking, steam powered, as the steam introduced below the piston was condensed to create a partial vacuum thus allowing atmospheric pressure to push down the piston. It was therefore called an Atmospheric Engine. The [[Newcomen atmospheric engine]] was adopted by many mines in [[Cornwall]] and elsewhere, but it was relatively inefficient and consumed a large quantity of fuel. The engine was improved by [[John Smeaton]] but [[James Watt]] resolved the main inefficiencies of the Newcomen engine in his [[Watt steam engine]] by the addition of a separate condenser, thus allowing the cylinder to remain hot. Technically this was still an atmospheric engine until (under subsequent patents) he enclosed the upper part of the cylinder, introducing steam to also push the piston down. This made it a true steam engine{{Dubious|date=September 2024|reason=nothing requires a steam engine to be double-acting to be a "true steam engine".}} and arguably confirms him as the inventor of the steam engine. He also patented the [[centrifugal governor]] and the [[parallel motion]]. the latter allowed the replacement of chains round an arch head and thus allowed its use as a rotative engine.

His patents remained in place until the start of the 19th Century and some say that this held back development. However, in reality development had been ongoing by others and at the end of the patent period there was an explosion of new ideas and improvements. Watt's beam engines were used commercially in much larger numbers and many continued to run for 100 years or more.

Watt held patents on key aspects of his engine's design, but his rotative engine was equally restricted by [[James Pickard]]'s patent of the simple crank. The beam engine went on to be considerably improved and enlarged in the tin- and copper-rich areas of south west England, which enabled the draining of the deep mines that existed there. Consequently, the [[Cornish engine|Cornish beam engines]] became world-famous, as they remain among the most massive beam engines ever constructed.

Because of the number of patents on various parts of the engines and the consequences of patent infringements, examples exist of Beam Engines with no makers name on any of the parts ([http://www.hollycombe.co.uk/estate Hollycombe Steam Collection]).

==Rotative beam engines==
[[File:Thomas Horn Beam Engine.JPG|thumb|A small rotative beam engine, built in 1870 by Thomas Horn to a design by [[James Watt]].  The [[Crank (mechanism)|crank]] is visible at the front, the [[flywheel]] part-hidden by the engine. (Originally installed in a waterworks in [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]], now operational and preserved at the [[Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway]].)]]

[[File:Macchina vapore Horn Museo scienza e tecnologia Milano.jpg|thumb|Beam machine by Thomas Horn [[Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci"]], Milan.]]

In a rotative beam engine, the piston is mounted vertically, and the [[piston rod]] drives the beam as before. A [[connecting rod]] from the other end of the beam, rather than driving a pump rod, now drives a flywheel.

Early Watt engines used Watt's patent [[sun and planet gear]], rather than a simple crank, as use of the latter was protected by a patent owned by [[James Pickard]]. Once the patent had expired, the simple crank was employed universally. Once rotary motion had been achieved a drive belt could be attached beside the flywheel. This transmitted the power to other drive shafts and from these other belts could then be attached to power a variety of static machinery e.g. threshing, grinding or milling machines.

=== Marine beam engines ===
The first steam-powered ships used variants of the rotative beam engine. These [[marine steam engine]]s – known as side-lever, [[grasshopper beam engine|grasshopper]], crosshead, or 'walking beam', among others – all varied from the original land-based machines by locating the beam or beams in different positions to take up less room on board ship.

==Compounding==
[[Compound engine|Compounding]] involves two or more cylinders; low-pressure steam from the first, high-pressure, cylinder is passed to the second cylinder where it expands further and provides more drive. This is the compound effect; the waste steam from this can produce further work if it is then passed into a condenser in the normal way. The first experiment with compounding was conducted by [[Jonathan Hornblower]], who took out a patent in 1781. His first engine was installed at Tincroft Mine, Cornwall. It had two cylinders – one {{convert|21|in|m|adj=on}} diameter with {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=on}} stroke and one {{convert|27|in|m|adj=on}} diameter with {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=on}} stroke – placed alongside each other at one end of the beam. The early engines showed little performance gain: the steam pressure was too low, interconnecting pipes were of small diameter and the condenser ineffective.{{sfnp|Hills|1989|p=147}}

At this time the laws of [[thermodynamics]] were not adequately understood, particularly the concept of [[absolute zero]]. Engineers such as [[Arthur Woolf]] were trying to tackle an engineering problem with an imperfect understanding of the physics. In particular, their [[valve gear]] was cutting-in at the wrong position in the stroke, not allowing for expansive working in the cylinder. Successful Woolf compound engines were produced in 1814, for the [[Wheal Abraham]] copper mine and the [[Wheal Vor]] tin mine.{{sfnp|Hills|1989|p=153}}<!-- Here, the cut-off problem had been solved but the engines were compromised by being single-acting: both cylinders driving the same shaft. This action was improved by Galloways of Manchester, whose horizontal side-by-side compound arrangement was patented in 1873.--><!--could do with a diagram for these last two sentences -- I cannot imagine how one did and one didn't work-->

==McNaught engines==
[[William McNaught (Glasgow)|William McNaught]] patented a compound beam engine in 1845. On a beam engine of the standard [[Boulton & Watt]] design he placed a high-pressure cylinder, on the opposite side of the beam to the existing single cylinder, where the water pump was normally fitted. This had two important effects: it massively reduced the pressure on the beam, and the connecting steam pipe, being long, acted as an expansive receiver – the element missing in the Woolf design.{{sfnp|Hills|1989|p=157}} This modification could be made retrospectively, and engines so modified were said to be "McNaughted". The advantages of a compound engine were not significant at pressures under {{Convert|60|psi}}, but showed at over {{Convert|100|psi|abbr=on}}.{{Citation needed|date=July 2017}}

==Preserved beam engines==
[[File:Engineerium beam engine baseplate.jpg|thumb|Baseplate and mahogany lagging, beam engine, [[British Engineerium]], [[Brighton]]]]
* [[Abbey Pumping Station]] ([[Leicester]], England) - houses four Woolf compound rotative beam engines built by [[Gimson and Company]], Leicester.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abbeypumpingstation.org |title=Abbey Pumping Station |publisher=Abbey Pumping Station |date=2020-03-09 |accessdate=2022-04-14}}</ref>
* [[Bolton Steam Museum]] ([[Bolton]], England) – includes several rotative beam engines originally used to drive mills
* [[Claymills Pumping Station]] ([[Burton upon Trent]], England) - four Woolf compound, rotative, beam pumping engines; five Lancashire boilers; over thirty auxiliary engines on the site, including the oldest working steam driven dynamo in the country.
* [[Coldharbour Mill]] ([[Uffculme]], Devon) - 1867 [[Peter Brotherhood|Kittoe and Brotherhood]] beam engine plus Pollit & Wigzell 300&nbsp;hp cross compound engine. In steam most Bank Holidays driving the rope race, together with other smaller machines. 
* [[Coultershaw Beam Pump]] ([[West Sussex]], England) – preserved water-powered beam engine from 1782.
* [[Crofton Pumping Station]] ([[Great Bedwyn]], England) – two engines, including the oldest working 'Cornish' engine, in its original location, in the world (1812).
* [[Crossness Pumping Station]] ([[Abbey Wood]], England) – set of four rotative beam engines: the largest surviving working examples.
* [[Dalton Old Pump House]] ([[County Durham]], England) - a statically-preserved pair of Cornish non-rotative engines, dating from 1879.
* [[Dogdyke Engine]] ([[Tattershall]], England) – drainage engine and [[scoop wheel]], steamed summer weekends.
* Dundee Boulton and Watt engine (1801) from Douglasfield Bleachworks, now on display in [[Verdant Works]]<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.dundeeheritagetrust.co.uk/story/1801-steam-engine/#| title=Servicing an 1801 Steam Engine| publisher=Dundee Heritage Trust| accessdate=7 February 2025}}</ref>
* [[Eastney Beam Engine House]] ([[Portsmouth]], England) – contains two rotative beam engines for sewage-pumping, dating from 1887.
* [[Elsecar Heritage Centre]] ([[Elsecar]], England) – the only surviving Newcomen engine (in the world) to have remained in its original location (1795).
* [[Garlogie Beam Engine]] (Aberdeenshire) - [[Boulton and Watt]] engine, with  beam from 1805.
* Goulburn Waterworks ([[Goulburn]], Australia) - Appleby Bros Beam Engine (1883) 120&nbsp;hp in working order still in the original pump house building.
* [[Grazebrook beam engine]]- A large pumping Boulton & Watt designed with a {{convert|42|in|m|adj=on}} bore on static display on the Dartmouth roundabout on the [[A38(M)]] in [[Birmingham]], England.
* [[Hollycombe Steam Collection]] ([[Liphook]], England) - A small (approx 5 horse power) working rotative bean engine dating from approx 1850, used to power farm machinery, with a water wheel attached to supplement the power.
* [[Levant Mine and Beam Engine]] ([[Trewellard]], England) – a working beam engine on a [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] property in West Cornwall, England
* [[Markfield Beam Engine]] ([[Tottenham]], England) – a compound, rotative engine.
* Middleton Top Engine House, [[Middleton-by-Wirksworth]], [[Derbyshire]].  The twin beam engine (built in 1829) is the world’s oldest working reciprocating winding engine still in its original engine house.<ref>https://www.wondersofthepeak.org.uk/facts/middleton-top-engine-house. Retrieved 13 August 2023.</ref><ref>https://www.steamheritage.co.uk/museums-and-attractions/entry/middleton-top-engine-house. Retrieved 13 August 2023.</ref>
* [[Museum De Cruquius]] ([[Cruquius, Netherlands|Cruquius]], The Netherlands) – the eight-beamed engine at [[Cruquius (town)|Cruquius]] is thought to be the largest steam engine ever built
* [[Newcomen Memorial Engine]] ([[Dartmouth, Devon|Dartmouth]], England) - dating from about 1725. Hydraulic mechanism added for demonstration purposes.
* [[Nottingham Industrial Museum]] ([[Nottingham]], England) - The Steam Gallery contains an impressive Basford Beam Engine, one of a pair of engines built in 1858 by [[R&W Hawthorn]] in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]]. It was installed at Basford Pumping Station to lift water {{Convert|110|ft|abbr=on}} from the sandstone below to supply fresh water to the City of Nottingham. The engine was replaced in 1965 and was removed to the purpose-built Steam Gallery where it was first fired in 1975.
* [[Pinchbeck Engine]] ([[Spalding, Lincolnshire|Spalding]], England) – statically preserved 'A'-frame engine.
* [[Poldark Mine]] ([[Trenear]], England) - Harvey's of [[Hayle]] Cornish Beam Engine from Bunny Tin Mine and later Greensplat China Clay Pit dating from about 1850. Hydraulic mechanism added for demonstration purposes. Last to have worked commercially in Cornwall to December 1959, moved to Poldark in 1972.<ref>The Making of Wendron  B A Fyfield-Shayler 1979</ref>
* [[Ryhope Engines Museum]] ([[Ryhope]], England) – twin rotative beam engines; built 1868.
* [[Smethwick Engine]] ([[Smethwick]], England) – oldest working steam engine in the world (1779).
* [[Stretham Old Engine]] ([[Stretham]], England) – Statically preserved engine and scoop wheel.
* [[Strumpshaw Steam Museum]] ([[Strumpshaw]], England) - Features a now Compressed Air powered former beam engine from Addington. 
* [[Tees Cottage Pumping Station]] ([[Darlington]], England) -  a working  [[Rotative beam engine|rotative]], two-cylinder [[Woolf compound engine]], designed by Glenfield and Kennedy of Kilmarnock and built by Teasdale Bros, under T&C [[Charles Hawksley|Hawksley]], Civil Engineers, London.
* The Boulton and Watt rotative beam engine (sun and planet type) at the [[National Museum of Scotland]] (1786).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Boulton_and_Watt|title=Boulton and Watt - Graces Guide|website=www.gracesguide.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/opendays/newsArticle.aspx?newsid=132|title = News}}</ref> Occasional working by pneumatics
* The Caprington Colliery Newcomen engine at the [[National Museum of Scotland]]. Occasional working on pneumatics.
* [[The Henry Ford]] Museum (Dearborn, Michigan, US) - ''[[Fairbottom Bobs]]'', a Newcomen engine of the 1760s.
* [[London Museum of Water & Steam]] ([[Brentford]], England) – five 'Cornish' engines (in original location) of which four are operational, together with two operational rotative beam engines (in museum), including the largest working 'Cornish' engine in the world with a {{Convert|90|in|4=0|adj=on}} Cylinder.
* [[Museum of Transport & Technology|Western Springs Water Works]] ([[Auckland]], New Zealand) – 1877 double Woolf compound engine. In original location, restored in working order with Transport and Technology Museum built around it. The restoration of the Pumphouse and original Engineers cottage was awarded with the 2009 Award of Merit from UNESCO's Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation programme.

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=23em}}
* [[Boulton & Watt]]
* [[Cataract (beam engine)]]
* [[Cornish engine]]
* [[Gimson and Company]]
* [[Man engine]]
* [[Marine steam engine]]
* [[Mining in Cornwall]]
* [[Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum]]
* [[Pumpjack]]
* [[Six-column beam engine]]
* [[Stationary engine]]
* [[Arthur Woolf]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{Book-Hills-Power from Steam}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
*{{Cite book
  |title=The Beam Engine
  |last=Crowley  |first=T.E.
  |year=1982
  |publisher=Senecio Publishing
  |isbn=0-906831-02-4
  }}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|beam engine}}
{{Commons category|Beam engines}}
* [http://www.animatedengines.com/watt.html Animation] of a Watt beam engine.
* [http://www.cornishlight.co.uk/levant.htm The oldest surviving mine engine] in [[Cornwall]].
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4eYNUnqRpI Archive footage] of the engines at [[Addington, London|Addington]] Pumping Station in July 1973, a year prior to decommissioning.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXTmqKmGxdM Working model beam engine]

{{Steam engine configurations}}

[[Category:Beam engines| ]]
[[Category:Steam engines]]
[[Category:History of the steam engine]]

[[de:Balancier#Dampfmaschine]] <!-- Do not remove. A direct link through Wikidata is not applicable because a comparable article does not yet exist in the German Wikipedia. -->