Man harnessed steam to do digging for him back in the days when
that form of power was still being developed for many kinds of
essential activities.
Excavation was the most demanding task faced by labor, in the
field of engineering construction, and steam was applied to this
before it went into any other phase of the building industry.
William S. Otis Patent Excavator No. Ill, 1841. Colored
lithograph by P. S. Duval; S. Rufus Mason, artist.
Working model of a steam pumper engine, 1873, built by Amoskeag
Manufacturing Company of Manchester, New Hampshire, for town of New
Brighton (Staten Island), New York.
William S. Otis–not to be confused with E. G. Otis of elevator
fame–designed a successful ‘steam shovel,’ illustrated
here. Its basic operation functions remain unchanged.
This drawing is dated 1841. It was shown at the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington, D.C., in an exhibit titled ‘Loose
the Mighty Power,’ which closed last January.
Information presented with the exhibit helps tell the story of
the days when steam was utilized in many different kinds of ways to
bring about progress.
The first steam engine in America was an English Newcomen-type
engine, erected in 1755 to drain a copper mine. Jossiah Horn
blower, who came to this country to assemble the engine, remained
as an immigrant, adopting its image for his family crest.
The standard stationary steam engine of the last 19th Century
was a high-pressure horizontal machine with one or two cylinders
that underwent many refinements to improve its efficiency. The
engines were completely functional, yet designed with sculptural
care and beauty.
The ‘Centennial Corliss,’ star attraction at the 1876
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, was the most famous steam
engine of the time. Although huge, it operated almost soundlessly,
driving nearly all the machines in one of the largest exhibit
buildings.
