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with a fire inside it could be . We were at the Lake Goldsmith Steam Rally , near the small Victorian town of Beaufort and surrounding us was a collection of machinery that defied logic and gave some clear indication to where the term ‘ steam punk ’ had originated . None were pretty , yet they made grown men coo and ahh as if looking at a newborn baby . I didn ’ t understand yet I was starting to appreciate .
We walked amongst machines that hissed , whistled , and chugged , it did indeed feel like these things were living and the way each older man ,
I ’ m led to believe they prefer to be called ‘ engineers ’ fussed about it did feel like they were caring for some sort of beast .
Meandering amongst such creations it became apparent that they had been displayed in a way to explain the progression of development , from rudimentary small pumps to larger tractors that had any number of belts and pullies attached to undertake other forms of labour . Not only did these things crawl across the ground but the performed tasks that just a few years earlier would ’ ve taken man much longer to complete . Was I witnessing a lesson on the history of the industrial revolution ?
The engines became larger , coal burning fires boiled vast amounts of water that in turn converted to steam and under pressure it pushed and pulled giant pistons drove wheels . In the back of my head something felt familiar like I knew what was happening but couldn ’ t explain . In dimly lit sheds , coal dust covered men , themselves relics of another era , tended to machine that were now starting to smell like one of those old school lanterns
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