The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum

rangerssteamtoys

I have never seen any large scale oscillating steam engines. I know that there are many problems with scaling up oscilators (wear,weight, ect.) Someone must have done it though

What are your thoughts......
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metalhead100 · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:23 am Post subject:

Im sure they have been made...

The bigger you made it the slower it would turn due to mass and arm of motion on the wobble...ect.

Imagine the forces of a large cylinder wobbling like that....with a massive flywheel ...

Ahhh but the Torque !!!!!!!

And if the bolt ever failed.....LOOK out that thing would mangle something up quick.

Just my .02

Jim
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Keith S · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:48 am Post subject:

I think I heard that some donkey engines used for logging had oscillating cylinders, also some early paddlewheeler ship engines I believe had oscillating cylnders.
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WeedenSteam · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:43 am Post subject:

Murdock built oscillating ship engines, there is not much that I can find about them, little bit here:
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/energyhall/page79.asp
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kk · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 7:03 am Post subject:

There have been some locomotives:

http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/odcuri.Html

You have to scroll down to the bottom of the page.
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logoman · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 7:54 am Post subject:

scaled up?
the way I see it the models are scaled down

Most early paddle steamers used single and double oscillating engines - some are still in service.

Roly Williams · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:55 am Post subject:

Here's a photo of a smallish example, located at the Crofton pumping station site. Not the best of photos I must admit, but it shows the general idea. The cylinder is supported and pivoted on both sides. The valve ports are located inside the pivots.

http://rolysphotos.fotopic.net/p4208780.html
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Keith S · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 3:28 pm Post subject:

It seems to me that the responsible thing to do would be to use a mamod locomotive as a base for a scale model of one of those Dewey logging locomotives.
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WeedenSteam · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:14 pm Post subject:

Mark-One · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 3:59 pm Post subject:

I know they aren't *too* big, but Creators had an oscillating popcorn wagon engine.
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bessytractor · Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:43 pm Post subject:

back in the day when I was a Thames lock keeper, I made friends with a chap and his wife who had a steam boat. It wasn't any old steam boat though. It was a smallish wooden motor cruiser of considerable vintage (1920s I believe). When they bought the boat they removed the engine (the original owner wanted to keep it) and the bloke put a V-twin double acting oscillating engine in under the floor, he cast the cylinders himself, in cast iron, so they are to all intents and purposes self lubricating.

He built the engine, then he built a coal fired flash steam boiler that sits in the corner of the wheelhouse and takes very little space at all, this being important on a boat you can go on holiday in. All this is coupled to one of the biggest propellers I have seen attached to a 30 foot boat.

The result of all this was it was dead quiet, pretty fast, and STEAM!!! The engine takes no space at all due to it being an oscillator! The thing about this boat is you can actually go on extended cruises on it, whereas most steam boats on the Thames are just day trippers.

I still see it about and I often say hi.
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Graham-Jilly · Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:59 pm Post subject:

would love to see pictures of that boat

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bessytractor · Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:10 pm Post subject:

sadly I never got photos of it.

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