The Steam Engine

The Steam Engine, an invention that's over 2000 years old, is now presented in Lego.  I've produced a cut-away version revealing the piston and valve, and arranged them so that they align, showing how the steam is diverted as the piston reaches the end of its stroke.

I've color coded the pipework, with orange indicating the gas supply, blue for water, yellow for pressurized steam and white for used steam.  Green was traditionally used for the water supply, but I couldn't use it due to color palette limitations.  I chose to use gas as a fuel supply rather than coal as it was more aesthetically pleasing to put in more structured pipe work, and easier to draw than randomly placed pieces of coal.

The model contains 426 bricks and is designed to move, allowing you to rotate the flywheel and see the movement of the piston and valve.  And to be safe, there's even a safety valve on top of the boiler.

I wanted to capture the sheer brilliance of the inventors and those that have improved the design over the years, showing its ingenuity and strength, captured in one compact model.

Enjoy!