THE ORIGIN OF INDUSTRY! Iron Bridge Gorge

It's no big secret that we steampunks have something of a love-hate relationship with the Industrial Revolution.On one hand, it brought a whimpering end to the heyday of art and craftsmanship and forced millions of people into wage slavery, but on the other hand... gears! And other shiny things!

Love it or hate it, the Iron Bridge Gorge is where it all started out. With the right combination of coal and iron ore resources, and some guy who had the idea to work iron with coal instead of wood, the industrial age began with this big bridge here:

Pretty isn't it? Ah, lovely old days, when designers actually bothered with ornament instead of just cost.
Speaking of the past, tomorrow's post is Blists Hill Victorian Town, the massive and epic outdoor museum built to accompany the industrial history of this place!

Epic Old Computers

For the most part, today's computers become obsolete within the span of just a few years. But at the least some of the obsolete ones look pretty cool! And thus, I've arranged this gallery of epic old-school computers.

The Jacquard Loom, invented c. 1801. Not technically a computer, but it used a lot of the same technology as the computers that came after it. 

And what steampunk computer gallery would be complete without a difference engine or two. This here is a modern production of the Analytical Engine, the second of two computing devices invented by Charles Babbage. In 1823, ten years before this one was designed, Babbage designed the Difference Engine, which inspired the popular steampunk novel of the same name.  

My personal favorite, the Mark 1. This showed up in the 1940's, so it's technically past the more typical steampunk era, but it's just way too awesome to leave out of this gallery. Deal with it. 

All right, this one is a TV prop, not a functioning computer, but it still looks pretty cool.  This one is from the set of LOST, based on the styles of computers in the late 20th century.
>: I miss that show.

Once they started being mass produced, computers, like so many other things we live with, have turned into dull gray boxes. The good news is that a dull gray box could also serve as a blank canvas--the internet is filled with epic steampunk computer mods. Modern functionality meets old-school aesthetic. I like the steampunk future. :)

Free Steampunk Ambiance: Industrial Revolution

My first attempt at mixing sound effects, initially done for something to listen to while writing, but you may use it however you want.