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Leavitt-Riedler Pumping Engine
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Pumping Era: 1890-1899 DateCreated: 1894 Chestnut Hill Pumping Station Boston State: MA Zip: 02167 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/pumping/-2-leavitt-riedler-pumping-engine---%281894%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/434e19f3-4729-4fbe-a7dc-2437ea265f18/2_Leavitt_Riedler_Pumping_Engine_1894.aspx Creator: Leavitt, Erasmus Darwin

This machine is an unusual triple-expansion, three-crank rocker engine, which in its day was a high-capacity unit providing outstanding performance for the Boston Water Works Corporation. Designed by Erasmus Darwin Leavitt, Jr. (1836-1916), Engine No. 3 was installed in 1894 to a high-service pumping facility on the south side of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir in Brighton.

YearAdded:
1973
Image Credit: Public Domain (National Park Service) Image Caption: Leavitt-Riedler Pumping Engine Era_date_from: 1894
Hacienda La Esperanza Sugar Mill Steam Engine
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Steam Era: 1860-1869 DateCreated: 1861 Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico Manatí State: PR Zip: 00617 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/mechanical-power-production-steam/-35-hacienda-la-esperanza-sugar-mill-steam-engine, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/60f1d4d5-215e-4334-8267-a40a7372288a/35_Hacienda_La_Esperanza_Sugar_Mill_Steam_Engine.aspx Creator: Watt, James , Newcomen, Thomas

The La Esperanza sugar mill steam engine is one of the few remaining American links to the pioneer beam engines of the English inventors Thomas Newcomen (1712) and James Watt (1769). The engine was built in 1861 in Cold Spring, New York, by the West Point Foundry. The general arrangement and details, including the Gothic embellishment, are typical of machinery of the period. The straight-line motion of the piston rod is accommodated to the arc of the moving beam end by a parallel motion. Watt regarded this ingenious linkage as the invention of which he was most proud.

YearAdded:
1979
Image Credit: Public Domain (National Park Service) Image Caption: Hacienda La Esperanza Sugar Mill Steam Engine Era_date_from: 1861
Knight Foundry and Machine Shop
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Manufacturing Era: 1870-1879 DateCreated: 1873 13280 Volcano Rd Sutter Creek State: CA Zip: 95685 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/manufacturing---2/-182-knight-foundry-and-machine-shop-%281873%29--- Creator: Knight, Samuel

This is one of the earliest US foundry-machine shops remaining in operation and one of the few water powered. It was founded by Samuel N. Knight (1838-1913) to manufacture machinery for the gold mines of the Mother Lode region. Knight was one of several inventors experimenting with impulse turbines to exploit the area's abundant high-head water power for driving hoists, ore stamps, and other mining machinery.

YearAdded:
1995
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Bobak Ha'Eri (CC BY 3.0) Image Caption: Knight Foundry and Machine Shop Era_date_from: 1873
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical, Electric Sub Category: Water Era: 1920-1929 DateCreated: 1929 Metropolitan Edison Power Co. Muhlenberg State: PA Zip: 19605 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/electric-power-production-water/-57-kaplan-turbine-%281929%29 Creator: Kaplan, Viktor
This Kaplan turbine is one of the first three machines to be put into service in the United States. Named for its Austrian inventor, Viktor Kaplan (1876-1934), the turbine was an outstanding innovation, operating with a high, nearly constant efficiency over a wide load range. The machine was built by S. Morgan Smith Company of York, Pennsylvania.
YearAdded:
1980
Image Credit: Public Domain (United States Arm0 Image Caption: Kaplan Turbine Era_date_from: 1929
Joshua Hendy Iron Works
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Manufacturing Era: 1900-1909 DateCreated: 1906 401 E Hendy Ave Sunnyvale State: CA Zip: 94086 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/manufacturing---1/-34-joshua-hendy-iron-works-%281906%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/4c99ebb6-8005-461a-a215-0af2f8eaf17c/34-Joshua-Hendy-Iron-Works.aspx Creator: Hendy, Joshua

This ironworks exemplified the adaptability required for industrial survival in a dynamic technical environment. It was a major western producer of mechanical equipment used in mining (especially large hydraulic machines), ship propulsion, irrigation, power generation, optical telescope mounts, and nuclear research.

YearAdded:
1978
Image Credit: Public Domain Image Caption: Joshua Hendy Iron Works Era_date_from: 1906
Johnstown Incline
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Rail Transportation Era: 1890-1899 DateCreated: 1891 601-799 Edgehill Dr Johnstown State: PA Zip: 15905 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/rail-transportation---2/-180-johnstown-incline-%281891%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/619cfbc4-d1bb-4a41-bf69-3edae36a39fe/180-Johnstown-Incline-1891.aspx Creator: Diescher, Samuel

This is one of several, similar inclines built in western Pennsylvania during the late 19th century. It was designed by Samuel Diescher (1839-1915) after the great flood of 1889, to provide an efficient means of transportation between Westmont and the Conemaugh Valley. (See also the Monogahela and Duquesne Inclines in Pittsburgh.)

YearAdded:
1994
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Jeremy Tenenbaum (CC BY 2.0) Image Caption: Johnstown Incline Era_date_from: 1891
John Penn & Sons Oscillating Steam Engine
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Water Transportation Era: 1840-1849 DateCreated: 1841 Aboard the paddle steamer Diesbar Dresden State: Saxony Zip: 01069 Country: Germany Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/water-transportation/-245-john-penn---sons-oscillating-steam-engine-%2818 Creator: John Penn & Sons

The oscillating steam engine, built by John Penn & Sons, is located aboard the famed paddle steamer Diesbar.  Diesbar is the second oldest of a fleet of nine paddle steamers in Dresden.  What makes the Diesbar unique is its coal fueled engine and single deck design.  The John Penn and Sons engine that runs the steamer is the oldest operational marine steam engine in the world.  It has been in operation for over 165 years. 

YearAdded:
2008
Image Credit: Photo: Sächsische Dampfschiffahrt Image Caption: John Penn & Sons Oscillating Steam Engine Era_date_from: 1841
Jeep Model MB
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical, Road Sub Category: Road Transportation Era: 1940-1949 DateCreated: 1947 Jeep House Toledo State: OH Zip: Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/road-and-off-road-transportation/-152-jeep-model-mb-%281947%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/4a0140bc-eb23-4e7a-837e-8fa5fe675075/152-Jeep-Model-MB-1947.aspx Creator: Willys-Overland Motors

Although not the first four-wheel-drive vehicle or the first designed for rough, multipurpose field use, the Jeep MB was built as an unusual combination of these and other features of modern vehicle design in the World War II era.

YearAdded:
1991
Image Credit: Public Domain (United States Army) Image Caption: Jeep Model MB Era_date_from: 1947
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical, Road Sub Category: Road Transportation Era: 1950-1959 DateCreated: 1957 Jacobs Manufacturing Company Bloomfield State: CT Zip: 06002 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/road-and-off-road-transportation/-108-jacobs-engine-brake-retarder-%281957%29 Creator: Cummins, Clessie Lyle
The Jake Brake permits large trucks to descend long, steep grades at a controlled speed. It was the first practical mechanism for altering on demand the valve timing on a truck diesel engine, thereby converting the engine to a power absorbing machine. The modified engine can continue to power the truck in normal operation, allowing service brakes to remain cool for emergency situations. Invented by Clessie Lyle Cummins (1886-1968), this device (produced by the Jacobs manufacturing company since 1961) has contributed significantly to highway safety.
YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Sierra Fournier (CC BY-SA 3.0) Image Caption: Jacobs Engine Brake Retarder ("Jake Brake") Era_date_from: 1957
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Manufacturing Era: 1800-1829 DateCreated: 1807 New River Trail State Park Austinville State: VA Zip: 24312 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/manufacturing---1/-63-jackson-ferry-shot-tower-%281807%29 Creator: Jackson, Thomas , Watts, William
This facility was typical of others in the country that made small spherical lead shot for the fowling pieces of frontier settlers. Smelted lead from the nearby Austinville mines was melted at the top of the tower and poured through a sizing sieve to produce small droplets. Surface tension caused the molted lead to assume a spherical shape that solidified during its 150-foot fall. The shot was then collected in a water-filled kettle at the bottom of the shaft. The "drop process" was patented in England in 1769 by William Watts, a craftsman of Bristol, England.
YearAdded:
1981
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Dr00bie (CC BY-SA 3.0) Image Caption: Jackson Ferry Shot Tower Era_date_from: 1807
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Refrigeration Research Museum

This collection includes many examples of advances in mechanical refrigeration for residential and commercial applications, dating from about 1890 to 1960. Such devices dramatically improved food storage safety and convenience and set high standards for mechanical reliability. The RRM collection…

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Reynolds-Corliss Pumping Engine

Installed alongside an Epping Carpenter pump that was later scrapped, this water pump was built by Allis-Chalmers, which for many years had Edwin Reynolds as its chief engineer. Driven by a Corliss steam engine, these large city water pumps were installed in Jacksonville's water supply…

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Rumely Companies' Agricultural Products

Beginning with the blacksmith shop of German immigrant Meinrad Rumely (1823-1904), this successive family of firms invented and produced a line of agricultural equipment that played a vital role in the evolution of farming based on the muscle of humans and animals to one based on the power of…

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Samson Mine Reversible Waterwheel & Man Engine

This silver mine preserves two features of bygone practice. One is the reversible waterwheel of the ore-hoist, which originally was installed in 1565 and currently dates back to 1824. The present wheel is 9 meters in diameter and reaches a depth of 700 meters.

Second, the man engine of…

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Shippingport Nuclear Power Station

The first commercial central electric-generating station in the United States to use nuclear energy was the Shippingport Atomic Power Station of the Department of Energy and the Duquesne Light Company. In a dramatic high-tech display, ground was broken in 1954 during dedication ceremonies by…

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Siegfried Marcus Car

Siegfried Marcus (1833-1898), a remarkable engineer and manufacturer, lived most of his life and died in Vienna, leaving his most important legacy — an experimental automobile resembling today's modern car and the oldest extant automobile known worldwide. Marcus' second car, built circa 1875 (a…

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Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center was renamed in 2009 to the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Notable for: unique electromechanical devices and systems in the longest accelerator in the world

The Stanford two-mile accelerator, the longest in the world,…

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Solar Energy and Energy Conversion Laboratory

This highly diverse facility has pioneered the development of solar energy applications worldwide. The Solar Energy and Energy Conversion Laboratory (SEECL) was unique in developing practical solar energy devices based on established principles of thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid…

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Springfield Armory

George Washington's concern over standardization of rifles for the Continental Army led to the formation of national armory and to his selection of Springfield as its site. Completed in 1794, it was the first national armory in the United States. Like the Robbins and Lawrence Armory, the…

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SS Great Britain

The innovative SS Great Britain, launched in 1843, was the first iron-hulled, screw-propelled ship to cross any ocean and led mercantile history into British domination in the late nineteenth century. Standard practice of naval and merchant ship construction derived from this ship. The…

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SS Jeremiah O'Brien

The SS Jeremiah O'Brien, an emergency cargo vessel of the type EC2-S-C1 better known as Liberty Ships, is one of two operative survivors of 2,751 ships, the largest fleet of single class ever built. The other is the SS John W. Brown, now in Baltimore (not operative at the time of the landmark…

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SS Badger Carferry

The two 3,500-hp steeple compound Unaflow steam engines powering the S.S. Badger represent one of the last types of reciprocating marine steam engines. Built by the Skinner Engine Company, most Unaflow engines are single expansion. These feature tandem high- and low-pressure cylinders separated…

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St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line

The St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line is the oldest surviving interurban-urban passenger rail transportation system in the United States. Originally incorporated as the New Orleans Carrollton Rail Road in 1833, service began in 1835. A variety of motive power had been used including horses,…

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he Automatic Temperature Control System was named as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 2008. Warren S. Johnson came up with the idea for automatic temperature control while teaching at Normal School in Whitewater, Wisconsin in the 1880's. Originally, janitors would have to enter each…

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Tokaido Shinkansen

In 1964, Shinkansen (which means "new trunk line" and is also known as the bullet train) between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka became the world's first high-speed railway system, running at a maximum business speed of over 200 km/h (130-160 mph). 

The nose profile, starting with the original…

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Turbinia

The Turbinia was the world's first turbine-driven ship. It attracted worldwide attention at the 1897 Spithead Naval Review by traveling more than 34 knots. This remarkable performance accelerated the acceptance of the steam turbine as an alternative to the steam reciprocating engine on ships as…

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USS Albacore

The USS Albacore (AGSS-569) represented a radical change in submarine design. The hull was designed with underwater speed as the prime requirement, and it was built with newly developed high-strength steel (HY-80). In addition to these two major innovations, the Albacore served as a…

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USS Cairo Engine and Boilers

The Cairo is the sole survivor of the fleet of river gunboats built by the Union during the Civil War with the object of controlling the lower Mississippi River. Designed by Samuel Pook and built by James B. Eads, it saw limited battle and was sunk on the Yazoo River in 1862 by newly developed…

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Voyager Spacecraft Interplanetary Explorers

The Voyager explorers, which provided scientists and the world with the first detailed pictures of faraway planets, were designed and tested during 1972 to 1977. The two most intelligent machines ever built in the NASA space program, the explorers were launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in 1977…

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Watkins Woolen Mill

The Watkins Woolen Mill is among the best preserved examples of a Midwest woolen mill in nineteenth-century United States. Its machinery for preparing, spinning, and weaving wool reflects the existence of well-established textile industry in the country. It was designed and built by Waltus L.…

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