Bullgine (bull engine) was in print in 1845. It was applied to steam engines, from small ones aboard ship, to locomotives. Lighter (Historical Dictionary of American Slang) provides quotations with dates. As Charley notes above, donkey engine covers some of the same type of engines. I don't know of derogatory remarks about them unless they 'bust.'
This was covered in another thread, not too long ago. Stone (Put's Songster) wrote a song about their use in the Gold Rush days (too lazy to look it up at the moment).