Online Catalogue last updated 25th of February 2018
The steam engine, as well as driving factories of the industrial world and powering ships and trains, was also in the public service industries. Clean drinking water and sewage disposal were necessities in the rapidly growing cities of Victorian Britain and the steam engine provided the pumping power required. Gas and electricity supply, land drainage, docks, tunnels , and leisure ships were all public services that relied heavily on steam engines.
Victorian civic pride was evident in the huge beam engines, often elaborately decorated and in fine buildings, that were widely used in pumping stations and sewage works. The smaller authorities employed smaller, and plainer types, but they were all meticulously cared for and maintained. George Watkins has selected representative examples of the various types of engines from his unique collection of fine photographs and has provided fully descriptive captions to make this an essential book for all those interested in steam power - the engineer, model maker, industrial archaeologists and all concerned with the history of technology.
Code No. 009017, ISBN 086190544X