The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum

talluncle31 · Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:23 pm Post subject: Any idea who made this?

I bought this engine on ebay a couple of years ago. It is gauge 0, has double acting oscillating cylinders and is reversible. The boiler is a combination of pot, Smithies and fire tube. It lights up as a pot boiler but once the engine starts running the exhaust blast draws the fire around the Smithies water tubes and also through the fire tubes.

I have shown it to some very well informed people but no one has any idea who made it. It appears to be a commercial product. If it was home built then it is a fine job, for the superstructure seems to have been formed with press tools. That's the reversing lever just showing a third of the way down the rear edge of the sidetank. The regulator is similarly positioned on the other side.

Any leads will be most welcome.

Murray Wilson

bessytractor · Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:37 pm Post subject:

its a lovely loco, but I've never seen anything like it before. Any identification marks on it?
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talluncle31 · Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:45 pm Post subject:

There are absolutely no identifying marks of any kind. Not even traces of a railway name or number, though it looks like the colour was Midland red. I did not mention that it has a chicken feeder fuel system in the bunker. It is a very handsome loco and a sweet runner. It came from a dealer in Spain for what I thought a most reasonable "buy it now" price, and I had never thought any "buy it now" reasonable before!

Murray Wilson

johnreid · Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 10:07 pm Post subject:

I think I saw one like that once but do not know the make, real nice Loco though, I like that a lot.
O?
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steam4ian · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:59 am Post subject:

G'day Murray

That is a most elegant loco, the proportions are excellent.
I like the way the side plates are swept over the wheels.

I suspect it is home built due to both the craftsmanship and way certain things are handled like the cylinder gland arrangement and Smithies boiler.

When I say "home" I am meaning not a toy factory production run rather than that it was knocked together in a garden shed.

If it is a commercial production the most likely contender is Bassett and Louke. It could also have been a limited production for one of the top stores like Harrods back in the 1920s (Toys for the sons of gentlemen).

Pour over the "Loco of the Month" site for clues. Don't accept any offers from Marc, he has enough locos already.

Regards
Ian
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talluncle31 · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:47 am Post subject:

I already solicited Marc's opinion. He's an old friend and knows I don't part with anything, except maybe in trade for something I'd really rather have.

I'm familiar enough myself with most of the pre WW2 makes to recognise them. This really is a mystery engine and yes I think the conclusion must be that it was probably amateur built.

M W

Keith S · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:51 am Post subject:

Well, home built, I would agree, but not "amateur"... that guy knew what he was doing. I don't know much about the collectible toy thing, but I would guess amateur-built because the level of sophistication is so high. I mean, if it's not a valuable collectible, still look at what you've got, in-cab regulator and reverser, complex boiler, double acting cylinders, it looks good, runs well, it certainly has a lot more going for it than most "toy" engines!
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Roly Williams · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 6:57 am Post subject:

That's a really cool engine. I'd say, if it's not somebody like Bassett Lowke, then it's probably scratch built. The boiler arrangement sounds interesting. How does that work?
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Roly Williams

"The weather is always weird somewhere" (Gregg Easterbrook)

Titan · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 11:40 am Post subject:

Very very nice loco. I wonder if someone built it completely from scratch, whether there are some comercial parts that were bought - maybe it was built from drawings or a series published in a Magazine - maybe an early edition of 'model engineering' perhaps.
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steam4ian · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:59 pm Post subject:

G'day Murray

talluncle31 · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:28 pm Post subject:

A few answers and comments.

As to how the boiler works, in the photo below you can see the vent holes on top of the side tank for the pot boiler part of the heating. The boiler is sized like a Smithies, so smaller than the casing you see and once the exhaust blast starts the fire is drawn along between the boiler and the casing towards the chimney. As there are also fire tubes some of the fire is pulled through those too by the draught.

Re Marc Horovitz featuring the engine, I think he still has enough of his own to go at for a while yet.

On my use of the word amateur, I simply meant someone who did not build professionally. Many of the finest engines, particularly in the larger scales, have been built by amateurs.

Murray Wilson

Roly Williams · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:37 pm Post subject:

Hmmm - interesting

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Roly Williams

"The weather is always weird somewhere" (Gregg Easterbrook)

Keith S · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:44 pm Post subject:

I was just manipulating the word "amateur" to express my appreciation... that is a very nice engine. The boiler is most unusual. Does the smakebox open so we can see a picture of the ends of the firetubes? I've never heard of anything like that before. Love to see a video of it running, too.
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Roly Williams · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:53 pm Post subject:

johnreid · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:45 pm Post subject:

O, 32mm?
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