The Early Engines Database of eighteenth century steam engines has a new permanent home, courtesy of the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA). The database is a record of the steam engines constructed in the United Kingdom up to the end of the year 1800. It records only the first erection of each engine, (although what happened to it later is explained in the comments section if known).

The information held is the result of over 40 years of work by John Kanefsky, drawing together the research and scholarship of many people. The most recent change is the addition of grid references by Mike Gill. 

You can explore the databse here: https://industrial-archaeology.org/EarlyEngines/index.php

The database now includes around 2,950 individual entries including nearly 300 “Possible” or “Unlikely” references which have been included. Anyone who has new or updated information on any individual engine or site (especially relating to the possible and unlikely records) should email John Kanefsky at: kanefskydatabase@gmail.com

The database is free to use provided the source is acknowledged in the form below and any third party copyrights are respected:

“Source: The Early Engines Database, compiled by John Kanefsky, 2026”