Driving Machines

The collection of driving machines has been developed since the establishment of the museum. The collection consists of original machines and their models. Additionally, it includes models of steam generators, examples of machine components, important structural nodes, auxiliary mechanisms, and devices for mechanical energy distribution. The entire collection, comprising approximately 350 items, is categorized into wind engines, water engines, steam engines (reciprocating steam engines and turbines), and internal combustion engines. Significant exhibits include a collection of gas engines from the 1860s and 1870s. Among domestic driving machines, the Kaplan test turbine is especially important, as it is the first example of this type of engine in the world, along with the Parsons steam turbine, built in 1902 at the First Brno Machine Works. Also documented in the collection are significant domestic constructions, such as a steam engine with a Zvoničkov valve drive from 1908, manufactured by the First Czechoslovak Machine Factory in Prague. The collection of driving machines also includes the largest exhibit in the engineering collection, a steam turbine with a capacity of 200 MW from the Ledvice power plant.