IFLScience

Did Someone Really Invent The Steam Engine In 1551, Then Only Use It To Spin Kebabs?

But sometimes, his inventions took on a more playful bent. Not for nothing was the classical Arabic term for mechanics and engineering “Ilm al-Hiyal” (the “science of tricks”); in a 1551 treatise by ...
IFLScience

Hero's Aeolipile: The Ancient Greek "Steam Engine" Used For An Unknown Purpose

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...

Rockland museum receives a 4-ton compound engine

A piece of Maine maritime history has been relocated to Rockland after being on display for nearly four decades. The Sail, ...
OPB

Get on board with the volunteers keeping steam locomotives alive in Portland

On Saturday, May 13, visitors to the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Southeast Portland can take a ride on an 111-year-old steam locomotive. Nowadays, most trains are electric or diesel-powered, but ...
Singularity Hub

Even as the Fusion Era Comes Into View—We’re Still in the Steam Age

Steam locomotives clattering along railway tracks. Paddle steamers churning down the Murray. Dreadnought battleships powered by steam engines. Many of us think the age of steam has ended. But while ...
The Morning Journal

LaGrange Engine Club Engine Show aims to preserve history

The 53rd annual LaGrange Engine Club Engine Show took place Sept. 20-22 at the Lorain County Fairgrounds in Wellington. The popular event this year highlighted Pennsylvania-built steam engines, J. I.
Alaska Public Media

Alaska's last steam engine retired in the '50s. These volunteers aim to get it back on track.

Engine 557 sits on rails in front of its home shop in Wasilla. The 557 Restoration Company fired up the old steam locomotive Nov. 8, 2025, for the first time since the 1950s. The last steam locomotive ...