Babcock and Wilcox boilers. 19th-century artwork of a front view of two Babcock and Wilcox boilers (236 square meters of heating surface) during installation. This design of boiler, manufactured by the US company Babcock and Wilcox (founded 1867), is a type of water-tube boiler. Tubes of water (centre) are heated by a furnace (bottom), and steam and water circulate from the tanks (top) that are not heated directly. Modern boilers use this design, rather than the older fire-tube boiler. Artwork from the first volume (1897) of 'La Revue Scientifique et Industrielle' by French chemist and inventor Jules-Louis Breton (1872-1940).