Scientific American Supplement, No. 484, April 11, 1885 | Page 4

of his cylinder by a fire; a
small quantity of water contained in it was vaporized, and then on
removing the fire the steam condensed and the piston was forced down.
This was substantially the Newcomen steam engine, but without the
separate boiler.
Papin died about the year 1710, a disappointed man, about the same
time as Newcomen. Thomas Newcomen, ironmonger and blacksmith,
of Dartmouth, England, had first succeeded in getting his engine to
work. The hard fight to wrest from nature a manageable motive power
and to harness fire for industrial use was continued by this clever
blacksmith, and he succeeded when the more profound but less
constructively skillful philosophers had failed.
The success of the steam method and the fight necessary to perfect it to
the utmost absorbed the energy of most able engineers--Beighton, John
Smeaton--accomplishing much in applying and perfecting it before the
appearance of James Watt upon the scene.
It is interesting to note that in England alone over 2,000 horse power of
Newcomen engines were at work before Watt commenced his series of
magnificent inventions; he commenced experimenting on a Newcomen
engine model in 1759 at Glasgow University, and in 1774 came to
Birmingham, entered into partnership with Boulton, and 1781 we find

his beautiful double acting beam condensing engine in successful work.
From that time until now the steam engine has steadily advanced,
increasing in economy of fuel from 10 lb. of coal per horse power per
hour to about 1¾ lb. per horse power per hour, which is the best result
of to-day's steam engine practice. This result, according to the highest
authorities, is so near to the theoretical result possible from a steam
engine that further improvement cannot now be looked for.
Simultaneously with the development of the steam engine, inventors
continued to struggle with the direct acting combustion or gas engine,
often without any definite understanding of why they should attempt
such apparent impossibilities, but always by their experiments and
repeated failures increasing knowledge, and forming a firm road upon
which those following them traveled to success.
In 1791 John Barber obtained a patent for an engine producing
inflammable gas, mixing it with air, igniting it, and allowing the current
so produced to impinge upon a reaction wheel, producing motion
similar to the well known Aelopile, which I have at work upon the table.
About this time, Murdoch (Jas. Watt's assistant at Birmingham) was
busy introducing coal gas into use for lighting; in 1792 Boulton and
Watt's works were lighted up with coal gas. From this time many gas
engines were proposed, and the more impracticable combustion of
gunpowder received less attention.
In 1794 Thomas Mead obtained a patent for an engine using the
internal combustion of gas; the description is not a clear one, his ideas
seem confused.
In the same year Robert Street obtained a patent for an engine which is
not unlike some now in use. The bottom of a cylinder, containing a
piston, is heated by a fire, a few drops of spirits of turpentine are
introduced and evaporated by the heat, the piston is drawn up, and air
entering mixes with the inflammable vapor. A light is applied at a
touch hole, and the explosion drives up the piston, which, working on a
lever, forces down the piston of a pump for pumping water. Robt.
Street adds to his description a note: "The quantity of spirits of tar or
turpentine to be made use of is always proportional to the confined
space, in general about 10 drops to a cubic foot." This engine is quite a
workable one, although the arrangements described are very crude.
The first gas engine that was actually at work for some years; and was

applied to a variety of purposes, was Samuel Buren's. His patent was
granted in 1823, and in 1826 he built a locomotive carriage with which
he made several experimental runs in London; he also propelled a
vessel with it upon the Thames, and fitted up a large engine for
pumping purposes. A company was formed to introduce his engine, but
it proved too wasteful of fuel, and the company went into voluntary
liquidation. Like almost all engines of this time, the combustion of gas
and air was used to produce a vacuum, the piston being driven by
atmospheric pressure.
Buren's locomotive carriage was thus in action three years before the
great trial in 1829, from which George Stephenson emerged victorious
with his wonderful engine "The Rocket." To those curious in the matter,
I may mention that S. Buren's patents are dated 1823, No. 4,874, and
1826, No. 5,350.
From this time on, a continuous series of gas engine patents appear, 20
engines being patented between 1826 and 1860, which is the next date
worthy of particular mention.
In this