Will, I think that is a little overstated. If you think of the vast amount of resources, compared to the small population, at that time there was no reason to believe there is any kind of problem.
I think truthfully what is more amazing is how the technology grew. If you study something like the development of old tractors, there are a number of weird odd configurations that seem to make no sense, compared to what works today. In our modern day of fast communication, the weeding out happens much faster. Having grown up around Ford tractors, and then trying to drive a John Deere from the same time period, I can't imagine why anyone would have ever bought one. But it took a long time for word to get around. Truthfully, there is not a lot of technology in steam engines. Once they figured out to lay it down on it's side, there really wasn't a lot more to figure out.
As a little side note: In high school, a group of us were trying to develop a way to run a steam engine in a vacuum. Since water boils at a much lower temperature, we figured we could take advantage of the high expansion rate without applying as much heat. We didn't get real far, because after it blew up twice, we were forced to quit.
I think truthfully what is more amazing is how the technology grew. If you study something like the development of old tractors, there are a number of weird odd configurations that seem to make no sense, compared to what works today. In our modern day of fast communication, the weeding out happens much faster. Having grown up around Ford tractors, and then trying to drive a John Deere from the same time period, I can't imagine why anyone would have ever bought one. But it took a long time for word to get around. Truthfully, there is not a lot of technology in steam engines. Once they figured out to lay it down on it's side, there really wasn't a lot more to figure out.
As a little side note: In high school, a group of us were trying to develop a way to run a steam engine in a vacuum. Since water boils at a much lower temperature, we figured we could take advantage of the high expansion rate without applying as much heat. We didn't get real far, because after it blew up twice, we were forced to quit.
