Locomotion - Walking by Steam, Riding by Steam, Flying by Steam, by Robert Seymour, 1830. Satire on the coming of the Age of Steam; the inventions to be expected in the wake of the newfangled steam railroad are, from left to right: a steam walker, a steam carriage , and a steam ornithopter. Since the early 18th century, steam power has been applied to a variety of practical uses. In the 1780's rotative engines began to appear, driving factory machinery such as spinning mules and power looms. Steam engines were the moving force behind the Industrial Revolution and saw widespread commercial use driving machinery in factories, mills and mines; powering pumping stations; and propelling transport appliances such as railway locomotives, ships and road vehicles.