A turbine is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical power when combined with a generator. A turbine is a turbomachine with at least one moving part called a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades so that they move and impart rotational energy to the rotor. Early turbine examples are windmills and waterwheels.
A gas turbine, gas turbine engine, or also known by its old name internal combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part and are, in the direction of flow:
Turbinia was the first steam turbine-powered steamship. Built as an experimental vessel in 1894, and easily the fastest ship in the world at that time, Turbinia was demonstrated dramatically at the Spithead Navy Review in 1897 and set the standard for the next generation of steamships, the majority of which would be turbine powered. The vessel is currently located at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, while her original powerplant is located at the Science Museum in London.
A line shaft is a power-driven rotating shaft for power transmission that was used extensively from the Industrial Revolution until the early 20th century. Prior to the widespread use of electric motors small enough to be connected directly to each piece of machinery, line shafting was used to distribute power from a large central power source to machinery throughout a workshop or an industrial complex. The central power source could be a water wheel, turbine, windmill, animal power or a steam engine. Power was distributed from the shaft to the machinery by a system of belts, pulleys and gears known as millwork.
Streetcars in Washington, D.C. transported people across the city and region from 1862 until 1962.
The Yakima Valley Transportation Company was an interurban electric railroad headquartered in Yakima, Washington. It was operator of the city's streetcar system from 1907–1947, and it also provided the local bus service from the 1920s until 1957.
The Fisk Generating Station, also known as Fisk Street Generating Station or Fisk Station is an inactive medium-size, coal-fired electric generating station located at 1111 West Cermak Road in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It was sited near the south branch of the Chicago River to provide access to water for steam and barge traffic for coal, and closed down in 2012.
Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park is a historical site preserving an 1895 alternating current (AC) hydroelectric power station—one of the first in the United States.
London Museum of Water & Steam is an independent museum founded in 1975 as the Kew Bridge Steam Museum. It was rebranded in early 2014 following a major investment project.
Light Vessel Number 83 (LV-83) Swiftsure is a lightship and museum ship owned by Northwest Seaport in Seattle, Washington. Launched in 1904 at Camden, New Jersey and in active service until 1960 after serving on all five of the American west coast's lightship stations, it is the oldest surviving lightship in the United States, the only one still fitted with its original steam engine, and the last lightship with wooden decks. LV-83 was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, and has been undergoing major restoration since 2008.
The Vulcan Street Plant was the first Edison hydroelectric central station. The plant was built on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, and put into operation on September 30, 1882. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Vulcan Street plant is considered to be "the first hydro-electric central station to serve a system of private and commercial customers in North America". It is a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, an IEEE milestone and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
Fredrik Ljungström was a Swedish engineer, technical designer, and industrialist.
Oneida Street Station, also known as the East Wells Power Plant, was a power plant operated by The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company. Constructed from 1898 to 1900, it was designed by architect Herman Esser in neoclassical revival style. The building is located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the Milwaukee River and Wells Street, which was once known as Oneida Street. The company began operating electric street cars in 1890. Their expanding network of streetcar and interurban railway lines were powered by several of their own power plants. As the company generated more power than they used, they sold the excess electricity, and, as Wisconsin Energy Corporation, eventually became the major supplier of power to eastern Wisconsin. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) describes the plant as the "first central power station in the United States to be equipped and successfully operated with pulverized coal."
Willans & Robinson Limited manufacturing engineers of Thames Ditton, Surrey. Later, from 1896, at Victoria Works, Rugby, Warwickshire, England. They were manufacturers of stationary reciprocating steam engines then steam turbines, diesel motors and generators. They also ran their own foundry.
Charles Gordon Curtis was an American engineer, inventor, and patent attorney. He is best known as the developer of the eponymous Curtis steam turbine.
Robert Thomas Sawyer was the inventor of the first successful gas turbine locomotive.
Frederick L. Dornbrook was an American mechanical engineer and inventor, who was chief engineer of the Power Plants of the Wisconsin Electric Power Company, now part of WEC Energy Group. He was especially known as pioneer in the use of pulverized coal, and in 1949 was awarded the ASME Medal.
Glenn Barton Warren was an American mechanical engineer, business executive and inventor, who was vice president and general manager of the turbine division of General Electric. In 1951 he was awarded the ASME Medal.
Alan Howard was an American engineer, General Manager of the Gas Turbine Department at General Electric Co., and inventor. He was known as "one of the world's leading authorities on the development and application of gas turbines," and recipient of the 1964 ASME Medal.
Reginald James Seymour Pigott was a British/American mechanical and consulting engineer, director of the engineering division of Gulf Research & Development Company, a subsidiary of Gulf Oil, and inventor.
