The "Western" Steam Engine

 In the 1820s when steamboats were common on western waters, most of them were powered by engines built in the cities of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, or Louisville.  There were specifically designed to meet western needs.  The story of that engine is an interesting one...

The first engine in practical use in America was of "low pressure design" and was manufactured and built by the Watt and Bolton Company.  This was the standard industrial steam engine at the time.  Steam accumulated in a vertical cylinder but the steam could only reach a few pounds per square inch.  Condensed steam drove the piston and for all practical purposes this was the steam engine introduced by Robert Fulton on his Clermont.    It was expensive and complicated to build.

The engine that became the standard in the West was of a different design.  Less expensive, less complicated, it required far less working parts than Fulton's.  Oliver Evans was a self-educated farmer and became obsessed with mechanical production and steam power early on in his life.  In early 1802 he was already using a stationary high pressure steam engine in his mill.  

Engines like Evans' were thought impractical and dangerous, and Evans received public ridicule for his ideas and little or no support.  However, in England Robert Trevithick was also helping build the first high-pressure steam engine feasible for general use.  By 1840 their engine could withstand 100 pounds per square inch, without a condenser as the steam drove the piston directly.  

Within the next ten years, Evens tweaked the original engine, making it more compact, easy to make, easy to operate and easy to maintain.  In fact, he wrote a "DYI" manual that told any skilled mechanic how to build and run their own high-pressure steam engine!

Next time...The pros and cons

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Today in Pioneer History: "On September 3, 1783, the American Revolution officially comes to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Paris with representatives of the United States, Great Britain, France and Spain signing the treaty.  The treaty was not ratified until January 14, 1784 when the US officially the United States of America.