The first steam locomotive was built by a cornishman. He was interested in pumping out mines, but not coal mines, as they didn't have coal. The resultant need for efficient use of the imported Welsh coal may have been the driver of the next evolutionary step and then allowed the miniaturisation which led to locomotives.
(The Cornish steam engines also come up a lot due to them doing a lot of improvements that Watt held back with patent shenanigans, and a collaborative approach to their improvements)
Before electricity was a thing the steam engines were also used to pump water which then ran machinery hydraulicly, like cranes. Which piggybacked on improvements in civic water supplies.
(The Cornish steam engines also come up a lot due to them doing a lot of improvements that Watt held back with patent shenanigans, and a collaborative approach to their improvements)
Before electricity was a thing the steam engines were also used to pump water which then ran machinery hydraulicly, like cranes. Which piggybacked on improvements in civic water supplies.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Armstrong,_1st_Baron...
(Same guy had the first house lit by hydroelectric power later)