The Early Engines Database has a new home
Researchers and others interested in the history of steam power will wish to note that the Early Engines Database of eighteenth century steam engines now has a new permanent home, courtesy of the Association for Industrial Archaeology.
The database has moved to: https://industrial-archaeology.org/EarlyEngines/
Purpose
The Early Engines database is a record of steam engine building (not utilisation) before the end of 1800. It includes any stationary engine known to have started useful work in the British Isles, even if it was very short lived.
It records only the first erection of each engine, although where important detail about later use is known this is explained in the comments section. It does not include the small number of engines that powered boats, or those erected outside the British Isles.
Extent
The database now includes around 2,950 individual entries, including nearly 300 “Possible” or “Unlikely” references which have been included where there is no corroborating information, but it remains easier to discount them for analysis rather than omitting the available details where they may yet be confirmed.
January 2026 version updates
The database has been updated to include a number of changes identified since it was last revised, including the deletion of a few erroneous and duplicated entries, and the addition of some new ones based on recent archive and publication research. Some individual source references and details have also been corrected or improved.
Usage Rights and Attribution
The database is free to use provided the source is acknowledged in the form below, and any third party copyrights are respected.
“Source: The Early Engines Database, compiled by John Kanefsky, 2026”
Reporting Additions and Amendments
Anyone who has new or updated information on any individual engine or site (especially relating to the possible and unlikely records) can inform the database maintainer, John Kanefsky at kanefskydatabase@gmail.com
Research Support
Anyone wishing to interrogate the spreadsheet for research purposes, in totality or in relation to a section concerning a particular area, industry, type of engine, etc should contact John Kanefsky at the above email address.
Full Dataset access
The full dataset in the form of an Excel spreadsheet (revised in parallel with the online database) is available to researchers, subject to the acknowledgement listed above.
John Kanefsky, January 2026
Acknowledgements
With grateful thanks to Bill Barksfield, Andy Brander and Jinyue Zhang, who implemented the move, and Steve Grudgings and David Hardwick for support and encouragement.
