> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.birminghameastside.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# VIDEO: Smethwick Engine lands at ThinkTank after a restoration project
- URL: https://www.birminghameastside.co.uk/video-smethwick-engine-lands-at-thinktank-after-a-restoration-project/
- Published: 2018-11-12T09:27:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-14T10:04:43.000Z
- Author: Manuel Del Solar Fernandez
- Tags: News, Video, What's on, #Migrated-1786701253228, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-14 09:54

**The world's oldest working steam engine is once again running on steam, after a local restoration project.**

The Smethwick Engine was designed by **James Watt** in Birmingham, and first put into service on the Birmingham-Wolverhampton Canal in 1779, saving water by pumping it back up the canal locks.

![The Smethwick Engine](https://storage.ghost.io/c/63/9b/639bf577-7ed7-44fe-8d64-ac66eaeee42e/content/images/2026/08/capture-3-1.jpg)

The Smethwick Engine

**Ian Colley**

, a heritage engineer with ThinkTank, said: 

> "This steam engine made a significant difference because it's the blueprint to all modern steam engines that came after it,  
>  
> (James Watt's) use of a separate outside condenser allowed the engine to work faster and be more efficient, so it could do more work for less coal use firing the boiler. It became a serious proposition then, for powering up small factories, mills, throughout the land, which really started the industrial revolution."

The engine's creation was a result of the partnership between James Watt and Birmingham industrialist **Matthew Boulton**.

The firm of Boulton & Watt held a leading role in the industrial revolution, first in the Midlands and then across the world.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/63/9b/639bf577-7ed7-44fe-8d64-ac66eaeee42e/content/images/2026/08/capture-2.jpg)

The newly restored engine was on full steaming display at **ThinkTank** 3-4 November.

The display of the restored engine is the first step in preparations for the bicentenary of Watt's death, to be celebrated in 2019 across the country.

**Birmingham Museums Trust** and the[ **Lunar Society** ](https://www.lunarsociety.org.uk/?ref=birminghameastside.co.uk)are organising prominent museum events to honour Watt and his legacy.