First Practical Steamboat

In 1801 William Symington developed and designed a new steam engine and was built by John Allan. Lord Dundas being a primary sponsor of the project was honored by the naming of the boat as the Charlotte Dundas after Lord Dundas' daughter. The first sailing was on a canal in Glasgow, Jan. 4, 1803. Symington was never paid for his work on the Charlotte. It wasn't until 1807 when Robert Fulton and Livingston built the first commercial steamboat in New York that the industry truly developed.

Fatal Boiler Explosion

This comes from "The Winfield Courier" Nov. 1885


FATAL BOILER EXPLOSION.

EVANSVILLE, IND., November 19. A terrible boiler explosion occurred at Richland City, Spencer City, Indiana, ten miles west of Rockport, at two o'clock yesterday afternoon, by which two persons were killed and five wounded, one probably fatally. The boiler of a grist mill belonging to S. F. McLaughlin, in exploding, was lifted from its bed and passed through the walls of the mill and then through the store of McLaughlin, killing Mrs. McLaughlin, thence through a blacksmith shop, killing Charles Fisher, who was working at the anvil. The anvil and the body of Fisher were carried some distance, and the shop was demolished. The boiler then passed through a barn sixty feet distant, and was stopped by striking a large oak tree over 300 feet from where it started. McKinney, township trustee, was struck on the head by a brick, but not seriously hurt. Hildebrand, Jones, Bennett, and Fortune were scalded, the first named probably fatally.
End quote

I thought it important to post this news tidbit to show some of the dangers that happen when working with steam.

The Largest Steam Hammer in the World

From Houghtalings Handbook ©1887

The largest steam hammer in the world has been made at Pittsburgh, Penn. It is used for forging steel plates of enormous thickness and size, is ten feet square, and strikes a blow of 200 tons. The anvil block upon which its fearful impact decast upon the foundation it now rests on and it took the molten contents of six cupolas to make the block. When it was cast the Pittsburgh Fire Department sent six steam engines to the scene and kept them there for a week, or until all danger that the fearful mass of molten iron might burst its bonds or by its exploding gases fire the neighborhood, had ended. It took nearly six months for the anvil to cool so that the sand mold might be dug away, and even then workmen could not touch it with their hands.


Further research shows that the largest steam hammer was built in 1891 by Bethlehem Iron Works. I don't know if this is the same one that is mentioned in Houghtalings Handbook but there is at least a 4 year difference between the two.

Power of Steam

In the first part of the 19th century you'll find the steam engines in factories and ships. They also played an important part in the Railroads. Today we think in terms of electricity but throughout much of the 19th century steam power developed and then faded by the end of the century.

Steam first started to be used with a pump. But steam has to be feed. You need to add water to your boilers and you need to add coal or wood to be burned to heat the boilers.

In most cases you'll find that steam was in large part the catalyst for the Industrial Revolution. It was the factories & mills that progressed the most with the use of steam.

Because we overlook it today, those of us who write historical fiction tend to over look this hugh industry and just how differently things worked. Please take time to note what kind of industries were alive and well during the time period you're writing in.

Here's a list of some of the many steam applications that played a part in the 19th century.

Winding engines
Rolling mill engines
steam donkeys
Pumping stations
steamboats, steamships
steam locomotive
traction engine
Steam tractor
Steam engines powered the cable railways & tramways
steam wagon,
steam bus also known as steam carriages
steam tricycle
steam car
steam shovel
steam roller also known as road rollers