Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North East England, on the River Tyne. The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for naval use. The first ship to use a Parsons propulsion system was "Turbinia", launched in 1894; the successful demonstration of this vessel led to the creation of the company and the subsequent construction of the engines for the first two turbine-powered destroyers for the Navy, and , launched
Gas turbine locomotive of the Advanced Passenger Train, was turbine-powered. Like the French TGV, later models were electric. This choice was made because British Leyland, the turbine supplier, ceased production of the model used in the APT-E. ALCO-GE built a prototype oil-fired gas turbine-electric locomotive in 1948. After demonstration runs it was acquired by Union Pacific, who were seeking a more powerful alternative to diesel for transcontinental trains. Union Pacific ran a large fleet of turbine-powered freight locomotives starting in the early 1950s. These were widely used on long-haul routes, and were cost-effective despite their poor fuel economy, due to their use of