The Smethwick Engine is a steam engine made by Boulton and Watt, brought into service in May 1779. Diagram of the Watt Steam Engine in its most basic form showing the improvement of the separate condenser, which was not found on the Newcomen steam engine. ... The firm of Boulton and Watt, a partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt, made steam engines at their Soho Foundry in Smethwick, near Birmingham, England. ... 1779 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Originally, it was one of two engines used to pump water back up to the summit level of the Birmingham Canal Navigation Company's canal at Smethwick, not far from the Soho Foundry where it was made. The other engine, also built by Boulton and Watt, was at the other end of the summit level at Spon Lane. Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) is a network of canals linking Birmingham, England to Wolverhampton and the Black Country. ... The Canal du Midi in Toulouse, France Canals are man-made waterways, usually connecting existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. ... Map sources for Smethwick at grid reference SP0287 Smethwick (pronounced Smethick) is a town adjacent to Birmingham and West Bromwich in England. ... Soho Foundry is a factory created by Matthew Boulton and James Watt at Smethwick, near Birmingham, England, for the manufacture of steam engines. ...

The engines were needed because local water sources were insufficient to supply water to operate the six locks either side of the canal's original summit. The locks could have been avoided if a tunnel had been built, but the ground was too unstable for James Brindley to build a tunnel using the techniques available at the time. Canal locks in England. ... James Brindley. ...

In the 1780s, a cutting was constructed by John Smeaton, enabling three of the six locks on each side to be removed. In the 1820s, Thomas Telford constructed a new canal parallel to the old in a deeper cutting, creating the largest man-made earthworks in the world at the time, spanned by the Galton Bridge. The engine was still needed, despite both these developments, and Thomas Telford constructed the Engine Arm Aqueduct carrying one canal over another so that coal could still be transported along a branch canal to feed the Smethwick Engine. Jump to: navigation, search Events and Trends 1787 United States Constitution 1788 Great Britain established the prison colony of New South Wales in Australia. ... Portrait of John Smeaton, with the Eddystone Lighthouse in the background. ... Jump to: navigation, search Events and Trends Nationalistic independence movements helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821). ... Thomas Telford (August 9, 1757 - September 2, 1834) was born in Westerkirk, Scotland. ... Galton Bridge is a canal bridge in Smethwick, England built by Thomas Telford in 1829. ... Thomas Telford (August 9, 1757 - September 2, 1834) was born in Westerkirk, Scotland. ...

In 1892, a replacement engine was built in a new pumping house next to Brasshouse Lane, as the original Smethwick Engine was considered uneconomic to repair. This new pumping house is now part of the nearby Galton Valley canal museum. Jump to: navigation, search 1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

The Smethwick Engine was then removed to a British Waterways depot where it remained until acquired by Birmingham City Council. British Waterways is a government body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Scottish Executive in the United Kingdom. ... Local Government History Most of Birmingham was historically a part of Warwickshire, though the modern city also includes villages and towns formerly in Staffordshire or Worcestershire. ...

Its original site and foundations can still be seen on Bridge Street North in Smethwick, just north of the junction with Rolfe Street.

It is now at the Thinktank science museum at Millennium Point in Birmingham and is the oldest working engine in the world. Thinktank is a science museum in Birmingham, England. ... Millennium Point is a complex in Birmingham, situated in the developing Eastside of the city centre. ... The city from above Centenary Square. ...

External link

• Model of the Smethwick Engine