Gorgon's had two engines of 160 horse power each, built by Seaward and Company. It were direct-acting engines, and as such they were a novel construction remarkable for compactness, strength and lightness. It placed the crankshaft directly above the center line of the cylinders and these were connected to the shaft by means of a simple connecting rod. The absence of the usual cast-iron framing, sway-beams, side-rods and crossheads saved upwards of 60 tons in weight. The absence of the sway beams and cross-head also meant that the vibration of the engines was deemed barely perceptible. The space occupied by the machined was little over half that of side-lever engines of the same power.