You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
alternatehistory.com
By the 1870s, all the elements were available for widespread use of compressed air as a source of motive power:
Steam engines could easily drive compressors yielding perhaps 100 psig;
Pipe was available in commercial quantities (witness gas and water piping in major cities)
Compressed air to drive pistons or spin turbines was already well known (see Westinghouse's air brakes, for example)
So...let's assume someone gets the bright idea of any number of smaller machines getting driven by the somewhat noisy but effective air motor (silencers on the exhaust wouldn't be hard to come up with): perhaps home central heating, then a creature of natural convection, could be driven by blowers and made more efficient; portable power tools (drills, saws) could come about; you name it. (By the way, I'm postulating that something resembling the modern quick connect would be available rather than flanged or pipe threaded connections required.)
The Pneumatic Era would probably be relatively short-lived: say, from about 1870 to the first decade of the 20th century, when electrification started making more general inroads into homes. But could it / would it have been practical or economically viable?