Turbinia Turbinia Turbinia was the first steam turbine-powered steamship. Built as an experimental vessel in 1894, and easily the fastest ship in the world at that time, "Turbinia" was demonstrated dramatically at the Spithead Navy Review in 1897 and set the standard for the next generation of steamships, the majority of which would be turbine powered. The vessel is currently located at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, while her original powerplant is located at the London Science Museum. Charles Algernon Parsons invented the modern steam turbine in 1884, and, having foreseen its potential to power ships,
Steam turbine locomotive a turbine fitted in its place, leaving the locomotive otherwise completely unchanged. Tests run were however a failure, as its performance proved to be well below that of a normal 685; the turbine soon broke up, and that signalled the end of the attempt. In 1936 the locomotive was refitted with a normal piston engine. Swedish engineer Fredrik Ljungström designed a number of steam turbine locomotives, some of which were highly successful. His first attempt in 1921 was a rather odd-looking machine. Its three driving axles were located under the tender, and the cab and boiler sat on unpowered wheels.