Whitbread Engine
| Whitbread Engine | |
|---|---|
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Boulton & Watt steam engine decommissioned in 1887, at the Powerhouse Museum
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| Origins | |
| Type | Watt, rotative beam |
| Designer | James Watt |
| Maker | Boulton and Watt |
| Date | 1785 |
| Country of origin | England |
| Former operator | Whitbread, London, England |
| Purpose | Driving brewery machinery |
| Measurements | |
| Cylinders | 1 |
| Bore | 0.64 metres (25 in) |
| Stroke | 1.8 metres (6 ft) |
| Flywheel diameter | 4.27 metres (10 ft) |
| Preservation | |
| Location |
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia 33°52′40″S 151°11′58″E / 33.877898°S 151.199573°ECoordinates: 33°52′40″S 151°11′58″E / 33.877898°S 151.199573°E |
| URL | www |
The Whitbread Engine preserved in the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, built in 1785, is one of the first rotative steam engines ever built, and is the oldest surviving. A rotative engine is a type of beam engine where the reciprocating motion of the beam is converted to rotary motion, producing a continuous power source suitable for driving machinery.
This engine was designed by the mechanical engineer James Watt, manufactured for the firm Boulton and Watt and originally installed in the Whitbread brewery in London, England. On decommissioning in 1887 it was sent to Australia's Powerhouse Museum (then known as the Technological, Industrial and Sanitary Museum) and has since been restored to full working order.
The engine was ordered by Samuel Whitbread in 1784 to replace a horse wheel at the Chiswell Street premises of his London brewery. It was installed in 1785, the second steam engine to be installed in a brewery, and enabled Whitbread to become the largest brewer in Britain. The horse wheel was retained for many years, serving as a backup in case the steam engine broke down. The drive gear of the engine, still evident today, was connected to a series of wooden line shafts which drove machinery within the brewery. Connected machinery included rollers to crush malt; an Archimedes' screw, that lifted the crushed malt into a hopper; a hoist, for lifting items into the building; a three-piston pump, for pumping beer; and a stirrer within a vat. There was also a reciprocating pump connected to the engine's beam, used to pump water from a well to a tank on the roof of the brewery.
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Wikipedia