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80AD- The better part of six months passed while Braxis toiled over how to make the little steam engine more powerful. Larger or more boilers, more pistons, higher pressure, there were countless variables to consider and he wasn’t really sure which one had the greatest affect on the engine’s...

79AD Prt II- With July drawing to a close, Polonius and The Heron III, steamed into Herculanium, a short distance from Naples. There they were met by one of Hipparchus’ colleagues, a man by the name of Caiaphas, who had been instructed to attend to their needs. Although The Heron III never spent...

I have started a new thread, partially rebooting my TL https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=252104

77AD- Before an engine strong enough to propel his small craft could be constructed, Polonius fist had to know how much pressure the cauldron could handle before rupturing. For this he formulated a simple method for measuring pressure and used it to calibrate a simple piston gauge that was then...

73AD- The Coliseum was an architectural marvel with planned seating for 50,000. Polonius had quickly agreed to use his, or rather Heron’s, work to make Vespasian’s triumph more impressive but failed to consider how he would accomplish this. Elevators, hoisted high above the ground by a steam...

70AD- Polonius finds that while attaching Heron’s engine to a pump or to an Archimedes Screw to move water was relatively easy, maintaining extended operation, as would be required for the amount of water being moved, was more difficult. After constant operation the pistons fail and the engine...

64AD- The first of the Emperor’s mechanical marvels arrive in Rome. Emperor Nero, however, cancels the presentation to handle another affair of estate, forcing the students to wait nearly a week for another opening in his schedule. Rather than waiting in the palace, a leading Patrician suggests...

This is take 2 of my Roman steam timeline. The inclusion of the word “plausible” in the title of my last TL apparently opened me to a firestorm of criticism so it has been removed. I have also changed some of the following to better reflect what was learned in that thread in order to make it...

I only put “plausible” in the title so that people wouldn’t think this was a steam punk TL. I didn’t think it would mean I had to produce archeological evidence of a Roman steam locomotive in order to escape scorn. If I could remove it I would. Again, thank you, but what good is more...

Wow, lots of feedback. Correct me if I am wrong but the general consensus is my TL can not happen the way I am laying it out because a high pressure (20-30psi) steam engine could not have been developed within 15-20 years giving the technology of the time. I did some research (still happy that I...

Thank you for the compliment. What's wrong with the piston pressure guage idea? I am trying not to learn too much about how steam developed in OTL because I it would not have developed that way in Rome.

80AD- Polonius found he had missed court life, enjoying his travels with Titus immensely. He accompanied the Emperor to Pompeii along with Pliny the Elder as part of his humanitarian public relations tours and happily played up his role as the mechanical genius that facilitated the brave Roman...

More technical explanation in this post than story I'm afraid. I wanted to explain some the workings now rather than having to do it later in comments. I'm sure Elfwine won't be happy but it makes sense to me. Upon returning to Alexandria Braxis faced two very real problems; the first being to...

This might be the last post for a day or two as I do some research for next year. I had written up through 148 but after making the affore mentioned changes due to criticism I need to rewrite some things. 79AD Part II- In August, Mt. Vesuvious erupts, instantly inundating Pompeii with...

Thank you for the encouraging comments. I have altered the timeline a bit to accommodate the criticism but I still don't agree that it could not happen the way I am laying it out. Time for more: 79AD- Palonius had only planned on taking his vessel as far as Athens but Hipparchus was offering...

78AD prt II- Hipparchus was considered by many to be one of the wealthiest people in the Empire. He and his family claimed a direct line of descent from Zues himself by way of some of the most renowned personalities in Greek history. His properties, and buisness interests, stretched from one...

Oh! Possitive comments, I like those better :p 78AD- After two months in port, dragging into the year 78, Palonius was again confident in his steam engine, although not sure enough to make the entire trip to Tyrus under its power. The hours of intense heat from the boiler had warped the pipes...

I wanted to clarify that my steam boat is not an advanced steamer, just the piston engine mounted to water wheels. The boat is also not very large, requiring less strain on the engine. In my TL its been nearly 20 year since Heron started working on more advanced engines. Six of those years...

So what if it was a state secret? It was still knowledge of a technology that has been lost. How much easier would it have been to lose a design for an engine when there was no perceived use for the engine in the time it was designed? Heron’s notes: Heron studied, among many other things...

Greek fire was very useful and successful to the Eastern Empire (Byzantine) but its formula has been lost. If Heron’s design existed only as a small prototype or on paper it very easily could have been lost Palonius has been funding these projects with his own money. I am not suggesting anyone...