The Newcomen atmospheric pressure engine shown at left in the
Henry Ford Museum at Dearborn, Michigan, is thought to be the
oldest engine in the Wetern hemisphere.
Built in 1760 from a design invented by Thomas Newcomen in
England in 1705, it operated for 30 years continuously, draining
the Cannell coal mine in northwest England.
It is the focal point of the exhibition area which houses the
world’s most comprehensive collection of ‘prime
movers’, and anyone enthused about steam will be delighted to
see the stationary and mobile power on view.
Newcomen is credited as the inventor of the first practical
working steam engine.
