Description:Reverse side view of the framing for Samuel Whitbread’s engine, London.
The parallel motion was first used on an engine for the London brewer Samuel Whitbread, in 1784. The engine was single-acting, so it was intially designed with a chain connecting the piston rod to the beam. This is shown on the first drawings. However, around November it was decided to fit the parallel motion, which was pencilled in on the earlier drawings, and shown in full on this drawing of the wooden framing for the engine. The engine was made double-acting in 1795, and it can still be seen in the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia.
This drawing is part of the Archives of Soho collection, which is held by Birmingham City Archives [Ref. MS3147/Portfolio/5/4]