Table engine

Long return rods connect the crosshead to the crankshaft, on which is fixed the flywheel.

Henry Maudslay patented an improved version of this a few years later, and other makers adopted the configuration.

They continued to be made in a range of sizes, down to very small, with a bore and stroke of only a few inches.

Engines could also be pre-built, then offered for sale from stock, rather than having to be designed and constructed for each site.

This erroneous view was not dispelled until around 1830 and the increasing number of steam locomotives using horizontal cylinders without such wear problems.