Sometimes you have to fold an engine so it fits in the ship.
Back Acting steam engine offered a small profile solution and were in use in the 19th century, but mainly only for marine applications. By 1900 they were mostly extinct.
One interesting feature is the connecting rod ends are nearly the same on a Back Acting Steam engine.
A model of a back acting steam engine running:
Look at the length of the stroke compared to the overall engine length, the small engine profile is what made these engines useful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NqolHScFyY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_st ... ack_acting
A few examples:
USS Onondaga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Onondaga_(1863)
USS Ranger, later USS Rockport and USS Nantucket
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nantucket_(IX-18)
-CB
Back Acting or Return Connecting-rod Steam Engines
- cyberbadger
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Re: Back Acting or Return Connecting-rod Steam Engines
I love these back-acting designs. Such clever arrangements to be as compact as possible