Stationary engine

[2] These include: Stationary engines had a wide range of applications but they were especially used by small companies and operations, requiring power in limited settings at specific sites.

Smaller units were generally powered by spark-ignition engines, which were cheaper to buy and required less space to install.

However, even in countries with a reliable mains supply, many buildings are still fitted with modern diesel generators for emergency use, such as hospitals and pumping stations.

This network of generators often forms a crucial part of the national electricity system's strategy for coping with periods of high demand.

In these, some form of stationary engine (steam-powered for earlier installations) is used to drive one or more pumps, although electric motors are more conventionally used nowadays.

The vast majority of these were constructed (and in many cases, demolished again) before steam engines were supplanted by internal combustion alternatives.

The Rainhill gradients proved not to be a problem, and in the event, locomotive traction was determined to be a new technology with great potential for further development.

The steeper 1 in 50 grades from Liverpool down to the docks were operated by cable traction for several decades until locomotives improved.

Various kinds of rack railways were developed to overcome the lack of friction of conventional locomotives on steep gradients.

These engines have been restored by private individuals and often are exhibited in operation, powering water pumps, electric generators, hand tools, and the like.