The oldest working engine in the world

Is it even possible for a machine from 1779 to still be kicking? The Smethwick Engine is a Watt creation from Boulton and Watt that spent over a century pumping water up the Birmingham Canal. It was required because local water sources were insufficient to supply the locks, and the ground was too unstable for tunnels using the techniques available at the time.

In the 1890s, the original engine was considered uneconomic to repair and a replacement was built in a new pumping house. The Smethwick Engine was later removed for preservation and remained at a depot until it was acquired by Birmingham City Council. Now it resides at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, as the oldest working engine in the world.

Is there something remarkable about a machine that refuses to stop moving even though its job died long ago? You can witness it today at Thinktank. Want to find the original site of its labor? You must travel to Smethwick. The engine house was demolished in 1897, but its original site and foundations can still be seen on Bridge Street North.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons