NEWCOMEN ENGINE IN HENRY FORD MUSEUM
The Newcomen atmospheric pressure engine shown at left in the Henry Ford Museum at Dearborn, Michigan, is thought to be the oldest engine in the Wetern hemisphere.
Built in 1760 from a design invented by Thomas Newcomen in England in 1705, it operated for 30 years continuously, draining the Cannell coal mine in northwest England.
It is the focal point of the exhibition area which houses the world's most comprehensive collection of "prime movers", and anyone enthused about steam will be delighted to see the stationary and mobile power on view.
Newcomen is credited as the inventor of the first practical working steam engine.