trunk engine

American  

noun

1. an engine having a trunk piston or pistons.

2. a double-acting steam engine having a connecting rod passing through a trunk to the piston.

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Etymology

Origin of trunk engine

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

He had invented the trunk engine, and Murdoch had devised the oscillating engine and the ordinary slide-valve, and had made a model locomotive-engine, while Hornblower had introduced the compound engine.

From Project Gutenberg

Q.--What is the kind of direct acting screw engine employed by Messrs. Penn. A.--It is a horizontal trunk engine.

From Project Gutenberg

Q.--Is the trunk engine inferior to the oscillating?

From Project Gutenberg

A.--A very elegant and efficient arrangement of trunk engine suitable for paddle vessels has latterly been employed by Messrs. Rennie, of which all the parts resemble those of Penn's oscillating engine except that the cylinders are stationary instead of being movable; and a round trunk or pipe set upon the piston, and moving steam tight through the cylinder cover, enables the connecting rod which is fixed to the piston to vibrate within it to the requisite extent.

From Project Gutenberg

A.--Yes; and the general arrangement of the valves of double acting air pumps, such as are usual in direct acting screw engines, is that represented in the figure of Penn's trunk engine already described in Chapter I. Each inlet and outlet valve consists of a number of india rubber discs set over a perforated brass plate, and each disc is bound down by a bolt in the middle, which bolt also secures a brass guard set above the disc to prevent it from rising too high.

From Project Gutenberg