Herbert Morton with the Newcomen Engine, Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, England, 1929
THF121311 / Herbert Morton with the Newcomen Engine, Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, England, 1929
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Artifact Overview
In 1929, Henry Ford acquired the oldest known surviving steam engine. It lay in ruin near Ashton-under-Lyne, England. Ford charged Herbert Morton, an employee working in England, to gather what remained of the original engine and transport it to Dearborn, Michigan. This photograph shows Morton on the engine's site with a later boiler that was not retained by Henry Ford.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Photographic print
Subject Date
July 1929
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
P.188.3333
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Material
Paper (Fiber product)
Linen (Material)
Technique
Gelatin silver process
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 7.5 in
Width: 11 in
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This is the oldest known surviving steam engine in the world. Named for its inventor Thomas Newcomen, the engine converted chemical energy in the fuel into useful mechanical work. Its early history is not known, but it was used to pump water out of the Cannel mine in the Lancashire coalfields of England in about 1765. The engine was presented to Henry Ford in 1929.