The International Steam Pages


International Stationary Steam Engines

Rob Dickinson's 2010...
Temples of Steam Blog

Surviving Road Engines
(updated 24th February 2024)

Real Steam in West Bengal 2006

Dakhondaing
A Burmese Rice Mill
and its Village.
Released
26th March 2013
The Historic Sugar
Mills of Java

(10th December 2016)
Videos of the Historic Sugar Mills of Java
(17th March 2023)

Africa

Central African Republic
(8th Dec 07)

Congo (DR)
(1st Oct 16)

Ethiopia
(17th Dec 19)

Ghana
(28th Dec 13)

Madagascar
(15th Mar 12)

Mauritius
(20th Oct 19)

Mayotte
(13th Jan 15)

Mocambique
(21st Jan 08)

Nigeria
(18th Dec 23)

Réunion
(23rd Feb 12)

São Tomé
(17th Mar 09)

Senegal
(20th Dec 16)

Sierra Leone
(5th Apr 12)

Sudan
(20th Mar 11)

Tanzania
(12th Jun 11)

Uganda
(25th Aug 11)

 Zimbabwe
(1st Oct 16)
   

Americas

Antigua
(17th Nov 13)

Argentina
(3rd Sep 13)

Barbados
(21st Mar 18)

Belize
(16th Oct 18)

Bermuda
(14th Nov 08)

Bolivia
(21st Mar 17)

Brazil
(23rd Oct 19)

Canada
(2nd Oct 20)

Colombia
(21st Dec 11)

Costa Rica
(13th Mar 10)

Cuba
(18th Nov 23)

Dominica
(17th Nov 13)

French Guiana
(30th Oct 14)

Guadeloupe
(21st Aug 14)

Guatemala
(25th Jan 04)

Guyana
(19th Nov 14)

Haiti
(20th Oct 18)

Jamaica
(18th Jun 14)

Martinique
(28th Aug 14)

Mexico
(13th Aug 20)

Nevis
(12th Aug 12)

Paraguay
(3rd Aug 12)

Peru
(8th Mar 14)

Puerto Rico
(29th Apr 20)

South Georgia
(14th Oct 07)

Surinam
(11th Nov 14)

Trinidad
(6th Mar 17)

Uruguay
(14th Sep 20)

USA
(10th Nov 20)

US Virgin Islands
(22th Oct 19)

 

Asia

China
(29th Jul 19)

India
(18th Sep 14)

Indonesia
(17th Mar 23)

Lebanon
(4th May 16)

Malaysia
(20th Dec 16)

Myanmar
(12th Dec 10)

Philippines
(22nd Mar 13)

Russia
(14th Aug 14)

Sri Lanka
(12th Jun 11)

Thailand
(10th Apr 18)

Turkey
(18th May 16)

Vietnam
(10th Feb 05)

     

Australasia

Australia
(4th Dec 13)

Fiji
(10th May 02)
New Zealand
(11th Nov 19)

Europe

Azores
(9th Oct 14)

Belgium
(21st Oct 13)
Czech Republic
(25th Aug 06)

Estonia
(6th Oct 18)

Germany
(16th Jun 12)

Hungary
(30th Sep 13)

Italy
(25th Oct 19)

Kosovo
(2nd Apr 07)

Latvia
(6th Oct 18)

Lithuania
(6th Oct 18)

Madeira
(10th May 22)

Netherlands
(25th Oct 19)

Norway
(11th Jul 08)

Poland
(8th Jun 12)

Portugal
(8th Nov 22)

Russia
(14th Aug 14)

Spain
(7th Oct 18)

Ukraine
(14th Aug 14)

 

Other

Fire Engines
(30th May 18)

Paddle Steamers
(5th Jun 23)

Steam Ships
(31st Oct 19)

Floating Cranes
(4st Jan 2019)

Tea Factories
(9th Oct 14)

Steam Road Engines
(24th Feb 24)

 

Rocket science it certainly is not, but for those of us with a sense of history and an understanding of the meaning of the term 'appropriate technology', then there are still excellent opportunities to get out and about and learn all about what we call in the UK, 'the industrial revolution'. "Dark satanic mills" are still out there in abundance in the 21st century if you know where to look. Get off your collective arses and go out and enjoy it while you can. I can promise you that you will not be disappointed and the chances of finding your trip blighted by the typical package tourist (or terrorist for that matter) are zero.

The following countries have significant real, working stationary steam engines in some quantity. Compared to the more visible and well known steam locomotives, the numbers of machines are much larger overall:

India (Rice Mills, Sugar Mills, Steel Foundries), Indonesia (Sugar Mills), Myanmar (Rice Mills), Thailand (Rice Mills)


Are you a stationary steam engine beginner?

http://tripatlas.com/Steam_Engine (link dead by October 2014) has an excellent introduction to the subject, including this diagram:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stationary_steam_engine has a number of useful links

There are some links to basic information and history in this page http://texasaircomfort.com/harnessing-the-power-of-heat-with-steam-engines.(Link dead by May 2023)

I have lost track of the origins of the image below, it is all over the web... Please claim ownership and I will gratefully acknowledge, the best origin I have found so far is http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steam_engine_in_action.gif


If you (like me) are new to the world of Industrial Archaeology then you may find these links useful:

The Association for Industrial Archaeology: http://www.industrial-archaeology.org.uk/ 

I.A.Recordings Industrial Archaeology: http://www.iarecordings.org/otheria.html#Steam

The following Yahoo newsgroups service the stationary steam engine community:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Stationary_Steam_Engines/ (potentially a very useful group with nearly 200 members...)

James Hefner's Surviving World Steam project has now gone off line, but his Steam Lizard Yahoo news group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steam_lizards is still active. James writes:

"I am keeping the databases current, and have added over 150 new entries; though that is still not enough for a decent update. The "Steam Lizard" (reciprocating steam pump) Photo Gallery is still available under a new name; it is: http://www.steampump.org/ 

The steam situation worldwide has become grim in the past decade, roughly 1500 of the 38000 steam machines documented in the project have been scrapped since the project was started in the 1990s. (All of the steamships depicted on the case for the Surviving World Steamship CD have been scrapped!) Many more steamships have been sunk as targets or artificial reefs. But, as your website shows, there is still much to be discovered and enjoyed worldwide; as many as 10,000 of the steam machines documented in my project may still be active.

Thank you to everyone who has helped with photographs and information over the past 15 years."

James recommends this site which has a plethora of links to stationary steam power, of course much of it preserved - http://www.stationarysteamengines.co.uk/ (site infected with malware by 25th October 2016, added belatedly, 13th June 2003).


Rob  and Yuehong Dickinson

Email: webmaster@internationalsteam.co.uk