The other steam engines.

This is the 'everything else' section, the non Nuremburg produced and contemporary steam engines.

Stuart S50/S500
S50 mill engine with S500 boiler and alcohol burner. Thanks to the kind souls on the Chaski live steam list, this one is now running.
Quite a bit more powerful than the Nuremburg models. Under steam, the cylinder packs quite a punch. On my wish list, but probaby no time soon due to the hefty cost, is the triple expansion Stuart engine.

Early Stuart model 6 compound steam engine
No reversing gear, or Stuart emblem on the valve cover, so this is probably an early model 6. Missing a few parts, and the low pressure feed line is missing. Still looking for blueprints...

Burnac Vulcan
Produced shortly after the end of WW2. Vulcans have been seen in two configurations, all brass, and brass/copper mix. This one is a brass/copper mix. There is also some variation in the sight glass covers, some have a Bing style cover. This is one well built model, despite it's somewhat humble design. Tolerances are tight, nothing rattles, and it runs most enthusiastically.

I've heard several stories about Burnac, it's been a bit difficult to pin down it's exact origins. It appears that the engines were made from 1946 to 1949, but otherwise, there isn't a great deal to go on.

One story has it that the steam engine line began when an entrepreneur found a huge supply of unused shell casings at the end of the war that could be had for next to nothing. The boiler tube on this model is a lot thicker than it needs to be, and it's about 40mm in diameter, just about the size of a 40mm Borfors AA shell. No official facts to back that one up, but it makes an interesting story.
Another story has it that Burnac was in the sewing machine business, and built model steam engines as a sideline. Again, no official conformation or facts to back that one up,either - that one came from an ebay seller, and they have been known to have active imaginations from time to time.

Weeden 14.
Looks like a repaint job. Missing sight glass, but otherwise complete.

Franklin Mint Watt Steam Engine
In case anyone was thinking of buying one of these... it's nice, but don't pay a lot for it. Not a live steam model, just a display model. It does have the separate condensing chamber, and William Murdock's planetary gear drive, and the metal parts appear to be brass. Turn the crank, and it more or less goes through the normal cycle.

And for all you editors out there... they misspelled Watt's name on the plate.

Postwar Fleischmann
Marked "Made in Germany US Zone", which makes this engine an interesting bit of postwar economics.

At the end of WW2, the German economy was in the same condition as everything else - total wreckage. In order to get some form of industry back on it's feet, the government in the US zone arranged the 'tin toys for tinned food' program. The toy factories were put back into operation, with the entire production being sent to the US, in return for food supplies. Thus, the people were employed, the factories put back into use, food supplies were insured, and the locals began to regain some semblance of a normal life.

And so we have this example - double action cylinder, with the smoked art deco base that was so popular in the late 1930's. Like a lot of models produced in the immediate postwar period, this one has suffered cracks in the flywheel, indicative of the poor materials available. Pressure gauge marked DC.

A few Wilescos.
D305 fire engine. I couldn't resist this one. Runs or pumps water. D409 showman's engine. Dynamo lights up the LED's around the top. D456 brass/black vertical.

Meccano
The Mamod produced Meccano engine, for powering their erector sets. This example does not appear to have ever been fired.

GAMA
A Czech built GAMA. Box dates this model to 1991. Style is very reminiscent of Fleischmann (perhaps they acquired Fleischmann's tooling?), with a Bing style sight glass. Runs on dry fuel. Never been fired. Everything is there - pressure valve and fill plug are still in the box.

Jean Comby
Identified at last! Thank you, Julius. The maker is Jean. Comby, who made low end to midrange engines in France from 1912 to 1966. Started out with two other companies, WYBO and Panisset. Early examples are labeled "RW-JC-LP". Also made sewing machines
The 'Unis' in the label indicates a union of French toy makers.
Single action slide valve. Has a triangular label, partially flaked off, that reads "J C" and "France"
Somewhat larger, with twin osc. cyls, but the same wild paint job. .
Complete with burner. This one has been shown in a catalog of French toys from the early 20th century, but no maker listed. Whistle handle is probably a replacement, looks like the Marklin repro that's been sold in recent years.
Immaculate example of JC engine, missing flywheel and piston.
Base and vents in pedestal look like the other Comby engines

Two Mamods, steam roller and traction engine.

Recently picked up an example of the elusive Mamod alcohol burner. Later models run on Esbit, which gets real expensive. I'm still on my first gallon of wood alcohol, and I run my engines a lot.

Empire B35.

Haven't fired this one up, as I can't find a cord to fit it. You'd think that wouldn't be hard to find, but it is.

Back to Main