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 Elegant steam engines |
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Big, bigger... boring? Today I went to a local miniature railway. They have all kinds of trains running there, some of them real steam engines. But mind you, I’m talking miniature! They have steam locomotives from about 1-3 feet long, pulling an adult, and steam locomotives about 4-5 feet long, pulling a train with at least one adult (the engineer) and about 20 children. And I’m not talking about the kind that needs help from an electric generator for heating the water. In steampunk, steam engines tend to be large, huge, gigantic, overtowering cities and putting any human in the shadows, they are not just visible, but overwhelming. They are dirty and disgusting, doing all the heavy work. They are in many cases an industry of their own. In real life, the engines were expensive and big, and soon were replaced by the more compact engines we find in cars and mopeds. Now I thought of these elegant miniature steam engines: why not apply their power into steampunk more often? Of course, you can’t have a factory running on those, what about a steam-moped (like in Wild Wild West) or having a small engine in the kitchen, chopping, cutting and pumping for you? Or just a small one to make working with handcarts easier? Having one to power the washing machine? One to operate a lift in a high-rise building? Get them to power the phonograph instead of turning the handle all the time. When you look around in a modern household, there are plenty of things that operate with just small 1,5 Volt batteries. You don’t power everything at home with a private nuclear power station... why not get an steampunk equivalent of these batteries? Of course, those small engines are not that impressive, but with a whole lot of them, they can be pretty “visible” in an alternative world. Imagine a street filled with such small engines, the organ-player has one, the swift carriers got a streamlined model, the servants go shopping with one, pulling a shopping-cart... It would make a steam-based world more believable: why would you invent a steam engine, and not use it to the max in daily life? An alternative can be a moderate-sized engine that powers the whole house with steam-pipes. But that won’t be too comfortable, because this solution is not portable and the connections to the pipe-system are not that flexible. The power won’t last that long in miniature engines. I don’t imagine you can drive for miles and miles with a miniature engine without refilling coal and water. But for urban life, they might be just right. There can be filling stations in the city, like you can stop your moped at a gas-station. Getting in some coal and water... or just steam. Then it is possible to have an engine running without fire in it (an no fuel or smoke: no dirt, ideal for a gentleman who likes to keep his clothes clean). This kind of engine was used at places where open fire would be dangerous, and for engines that ran on short tracks, such as on shunting-yards, where they were always close to the refilling station. Once filled with steam, such an engine could run for up to 6 hours. Instead of moloch steam engines working with a lot of noise and dirt, an elegant, portable, small, fireless engine can be used. A gadget that can change every steampunk setting. Think of the possibilities!
Just some thoughts...  © Yaghish, 2004 |
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