The Steam Engine

The next morning, Hollen's forge looked more like a shipyard than a blacksmith shop.

Timber occupied one corner.

Iron castings occupied another.

Drawings covered nearly every available table.

And at the center of it all stood the first prototype steam engine of the Kingdom of Belfast.

Or at least the pieces that would eventually become one.

Actually, the steam engine did not begin as a machine.

It began as dozens of separate parts.

And every single one had to fit together correctly.

Ernest immediately organized the work.

The flywheel team.

The boiler team.

The cylinder team.

The piping team.

The frame team.

Everyone had a job.

Everyone had a deadline.

The first major component completed was the cylinder casting.

Several days earlier, the pattern makers had finished the wooden pattern.

The foundry workers used it to create a sand mold.