History of the steam engine This boat could typically make 7 to 8 miles per hour, and traveled more than during its short length of service. The Fitch steamboat was not a commercial success, as this route was adequately covered by relatively good wagon roads. In 1802 William Symington built a practical steamboat, and in 1807 Robert Fulton used a Watt steam engine to power the first commercially successful steamboat. Oliver Evans in his turn was in favour of "strong steam" which he applied to boat engines and to stationary uses. He was a pioneer of cylindrical boilers; however Evans' boilers did suffer several serious
Combined gas and steam their main (or only) engines, e.g. in COGOG or COGAG mode, such as the s, but currently no naval ship uses this concept. However some modern cruise ships are equipped with COGES. E.g. Celebrity Cruises' "Millennium" and other ships of her class use turbo-electric plants with two General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines and one steam-turbine. BMW is currently researching combined gas and steam for automotive use, using their turbosteamer system. This uses the waste heat of combustion from the exhaust and turns it into steam to produce torque which is input into the crankshaft. Combined gas and steam Combined gas