บท 143: It's done!

27th April 1574

Just like I explained to the Governor, the base unit of the steam engine was the only part that was complicated to make, yet that didn't mean that it would operate without all the other required parts!

First, came the boiler. I had to pick one that could produce enough steam to power up the engine and allow it to reach its full efficiency, yet keep it small enough to not make its walls rupture under the pressure. While for now, I had no other way to connect the two halves of the casing together than covering them with a thick layer of cast iron, it left a rather fragile scar on the inner structure of this machine, forcing me to be really careful while using it.

Then came the pipes that would connect everything together. Just like the steam engine itself, they had to be capable of sustaining the huge pressure of the condensed water vapour, while remaining big enough on the inside to allow for its free flow inside the engine itself.