Talk:Beam engine

message: A few comments, if I may:
*a beam engine is not necessarily stationary;
*the piston rod does connect to a connecting rod (by definition!) but this rod is not the one which directly drives the crank (also see next point);
*beam engines did not necessarily have a crank or flywheel;
*the Newcomen engine was a beam engine.
*James Watt was indeed responsible for significant development of the steam engine - I have not seen this position questioned (I'm not saying it has not been).
Sbz5809 14:53, 20 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Also, the beam engine was first put into wide, heavy use in Cornwall, where the technology was pioneered by the likes of Richard Trevithick, and Harvey's of Hayle. Cornwall was so influencial of the beam engine that the house it was installed in, simply "Cornish engine house", became part of a logo (usually a sticker) applied to items with the distinction of being made in Cornwall. A complete list of the uses of a beam engine should include; winding on a mineshaft (raising ore and raising and lowering miners), pumping using a wooden pumping beam down a dedicated pumping shaft, pumping using flat rods, lowering and raising miners on a "man engine", raising and lowering skips on an inclined railway, turning ore crushing stamps, and pumping while operating an inclined railway (using an old winding engine to run a flat rod beam pump, a use which was adopted during the conversion of many metal mines to china clay mines). To clarify, James Watt was an early pioneer, Richard Trevithick was a later Pioneer, whom James Watt frowned upon for using the "dangerous" high pressure steam. --Badharlick 02:35, 19 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Furthermore, a beam engine is not necessarily driven by steam – the present illustration shows a water-powered engine!  Gosh this article does need some work... -- EdJogg 00:57, 28 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd even question (although I don't have proof) about steam-powered being the most common ones. In the application I've come across them (mine pumping) water power was generally preferable wherever possible because there was no cost in fuel, although my knowledge is fairly limited to NW England. Riedquat 18:23, 21 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Talk

message: Seems appropriate to have a separate section on these...
;Bucket-powered...
The Wanlockhead Beam Engine would certainly fit any definition for "beam engine" that we can come up with, unless we restrict the article to those powered by steam.
* http://www.leadminingmuseum.co.uk/beamenginepage.htm -- provides some useful description
* http://www.leadminingmuseum.co.uk/images/Beam_Engine_How_it_works.jpg -- is a useful diagram explaining how it works
The same site states that a waterwheel-powered pump was known as a bab gin.
;Waterwheel-powered
Other investigations google searches have revealed another extant (?) engine, this time in Manchester. 
*Watkins Mount Sion Bleachworks, Radcliffe Beam Pump
*thread showing more recent pictures
This uses a waterwheel as the power source, driving the beam via a crank, the other end of the beam being connected to a pump (or two). Although described as a 'beam pump', the only difference between this and steam-powered pumps, in principle, is the power source.
Incidentally, beam pump redirects to Pumpjack; and that article describes the motion as a walking beam which is redirected back here (so we'd better describe what a walking beam is!)
EdJogg (talk) 02:21, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Water-powered engines 

message: Is the Wanlockhead pumping engine the best picture to have at the top of the article? Although it could be argued that it is, technically, a beam engine, it's not what most people think of as one. --Roly (talk) 17:56, 4 August 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Wanlockhead pumping engine