Description:General Section of pumping engine for Les Mines du Nord, Nantes, France.
This single-acting 44 inch engine with an 8 foot stroke was the first Boulton & Watt engine erected in mainland Europe, less than four years after Boulton & Watt had gone into business together. The engine pumped water out of coal mines near Nantes, in Brittany in Northern France. It was ordered by Joseph Jary, the 'Concessionaire du Roi' for the mines, who obtained a Royal decree for Boulton & Watt allowing this engine to be used for trials to prove its superiority to earlier types of steam engine. Special permission had to be obtained from the British government to export the engine, as Britain and France were at war. Jary never paid Boulton & Watt for the engine. Note that the dimensions and captions on this drawing are in French.
This drawing is part of the Archives of Soho collection, which is held by Birmingham City Archives [Ref. MS3147/Portfolio/5/648]