Trestle steam engine

This trestle steam engine was built in 1850 in England. It was one of the first vertical steam engines, which were smaller and more powerful than the horizontal ones. The neo-Gothic frame combined the newest technology
with an old-fashioned aesthetic.

The steam engine was the driving force behind industrialisation. It brought about an economic and technological chain reaction: for the first time, energy was available anywhere. Its use in pumping ground water from mine shafts made coal mining more lucrative and increased coal usage. Steam provided the impetus for mechanised production so that goods could be produced more cheaply and in large quantities. The Industrial Revolution had begun.

Today, steam power is still used in steam turbines for producing electricity in power plants.

Inv. No. 6592