The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum

Steve_S · Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:25 pm Post subject: Bowman M140

A couple of months ago I saw, on eBay, an item described as a box of Meccano bits and pieces including some steam engine parts. There were two pictures:

In the first one a Bowman boiler, firebox and baseplate were pretty clear. In the second there were some glimpses of other bits, which could well be Bowman, and in particular something that looked very much like the twin cylinder engine frame of an M140. Luckily the magic word BOWMAN didn't appear anywhere in the description, so I put in a bid and won it for £12. It would have been worth that just for the boiler and Meccano but I hoped that, if I was lucky, there might be 3/4 of an M140 in that box. I went to collect it from the seller, partly to save postage, but mostly because I couldn't wait to see what I'd got, and it was only about 30 miles away. The seller told me that this box of bits had been in his family for many decades, and that it had never really been disturbed because when he was young he didn't want to mix this tatty stuff with his new Meccano. When I got it home and sorted it all out I found that just about all of the M140 parts were there! The only bits missing were the burner, the water level plug, a small cog which fits onto the crankshaft, and the flat port face from one of the cylinders that had been unsoldered for some reason and lost. The boiler had some bad dents and big solder splashes, and the remains of the pipework were completely mangled.

Now another bit of luck. I obtained a replacement for the missing cog from our friend Odilon (Mooseman)... boat builder and moderator extra-ordinaire... who happened to have a spare one which he very kindly sent to me. Thanks again Odilon! I made, by using a mixture of sawing, filing, drilling and swearing, a new cylinder port face that I'm pretty pleased with. I've also made a water level plug which will do for now. I took the ends off the boiler to straighten out the dents, and replaced the pipes. I've added two short curved exhaust pipes similar to the ones that Bowman fitted to their bigger twin engine, the M122. The opening in the firebox where the burner slides in should have a kind of flap that sticks outwards from the top edge of the opening. The flap is slightly springy and the idea is that it should press down onto the burner and hold it in place while the engine is running. On this firebox the flap has broken off so I need to either re-attach it somehow (the broken off piece was in the box), or make a new one. At the moment I think it would be best to make a new one that I could rivet onto the firebox so that the repair wouldn't really show once it’s painted.

I've steamed it using a Mamod vaporising burner and it goes really well... very smooth, and the twin cylinders and geared down layshaft make it very powerful for its size. I intend to run it as it is for a couple of weeks to make sure everything is OK (and 'cos its fun!), and then strip it down for painting and polishing. Also I'll make a Bowman style burner for it.

MooseMan · Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:51 pm Post subject:

Steve,

You're welcome mate....moosecog, I like that!

Wonderful job you've done!
_________________
Stands the glass half empty,
Or stands the glass half full?
Blast your Buddhist mantra, man,
I'll take another pull.

Mamodman123 · Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:35 pm Post subject:

wow just goes to show that one mans junk is another mans treasure!

Super job Steve cna't believe almost all the bits were there

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You could get a nice flatbase for that

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Wallace · Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 3:11 am Post subject:

Excellent stuff Steve. Nice Job
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Manxman · Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 6:24 am Post subject:

Steve, looks like you've had a lot of fun. Great job so far and look forward to the finished pics.
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tmuir · Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 9:48 am Post subject:

Nice to see another engine returned from the graveyard.
Good job.
Just wish I could get a 'find' like that.

Griffin · Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 11:33 am Post subject:

Nice one, you have done a good job of rebuilding the Bowman.
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Steve_S · Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 9:12 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the positive comments guys! I'll post some more pics when I've done some more to it.

Mamodman123 · Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 9:13 pm Post subject:

Steve_S · Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 10:26 pm Post subject:

OK, I've repaired the broken flap by making a new one and riveting it on. The rivets were two ordinary steel nails that I sawed off about 5mm below the nail head. I drilled appropriately sized holes in the new flap and the firebox, inserted the rivets from the inside of the firebox. then hammered the protruding rivets flat on the outside. I don't think it'll show much once its painted.

I've also made a Bowman style burner which works really well.

I intend to do the necessary painting of the engine next week... I'll post some pics when its done.

SPOKESMAN · Guest

Brilliant - literally!

MooseMan · Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 7:44 am Post subject:

Steve, superb job - that burner's a work of art! What did you use for the body?
_________________
Stands the glass half empty,
Or stands the glass half full?
Blast your Buddhist mantra, man,
I'll take another pull.

Wallace · Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:28 am Post subject:

Great stuff Steve. Well done
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Mamodman123 · Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 11:01 am Post subject:

Jesus! that is amazingly good!

That burner is a stroke of genius!

_________________
Solid Fuel tablets explode

You could get a nice flatbase for that

www.mamodsteam.tk

Sandman · Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 11:50 am Post subject:

Don't want to appear mercenary, but you could make a bob or two if you made some of these burners for sale. I for one would bite you're hand off.

_________________
Ouch! Where's the burn cream

Did someone mention Bowman?