A little something about all my other engines: Click Here
Engines in this Collection:
(click hyperlink to jump to that engine type)
Approx. Dates Manufacturer and Model Origin
1918-early '20's.........Bing Stationaire Lokomobile Overtype Germany
1926-1936.................Bowman Model E101 England
1937-1941.................Mersey Models 53R Engine England
1961.........................Fleischmann Model 122/3 (Home tab) Germany
1980's..(mod '07).......Wilesco # D36 "Old Smoky" Roller (Modified) Germany
2004.........................Wilesco # D455 Vertical/Upright Boiler Germany
2004.........................PM Research Flame Licker Vacuum Engine USA
2005.........................HOG Mikro-Stirling Engine Germany
2005.........................Boehm Stirling Engine Germany
2005.........................Wiggers Stirling Engine Germany
2005.........................Tiny Oscillator by Don of OR (Machinist Built) USA
2008.........................Lilliput Miniature Horizontal (Machinist Built) England
2008.....
.....Wolfgang Engineering Turbine (Machinist Built) USA
2009....
......Verburg inspired "Baldy" engine (Machinist Built) USA
As compared to typical stationary engines with the engine separate from the boiler/firebox, I "think" an overtype is perhaps more efficient at keeping steam lines short and hence more energy going into the operation of the engine and less into global warming.

I decided I wanted just ONE good example of an engine that originated from Nuremberg (Nurnbert), German, when and where the toy steam art form was at it's peak. This piece has nicely satisfied that need.



Being a restorer myself, I was quite impressed with the quality of the work by whomever undertook it. Restoration of the paint, pinstriping and lithograph base was well done, but it came with a heavy custom turned brass chimney that was completely wrong for this engine. I made up the chimney seen here to the proper tube dimensions and capped it with a brass Mamod stack piece which fit perfectly.
The chimney is obviously NOT correct in this configuration, but until I find the proper finial for the top or better still an original chimney, it will do nicely and is a whole lot closer to the original than what came with the engine.
The sketch in the Bing page shown above gives a good idea of what the original chimney would have looked like. I believe the basket part at the top was done by "metal spinning"...an almost lost art. I shall have to keep looking!!!
When I compare this engine to my 1961 Fleischmann, it is interesting to see the genetic link in a little thing like the outer metal sight glass protector, they are virtually identical yet made about 40 years apart.
Fast forward from Dec. '05 to Oct. '06 and I have finally fired up this shelf queen for the first time since getting it. She took some tweeking of leaky gaskets and the slide valve needed adjustment, but it soon burst to life and ran exceptionally well.
Under the chimney was an originally installed condensate drain tube with a little hook on the end. I envisioned a small bucket hanging on that hook that got lost along the way much as chimneys have a habit of doing.
My wife being a doll collector offered up a little metal bucket that seemed to be custom made for it. The engine now looks whole again and the bucket will hold about 5 minutes worth of chimney condensate before needing a quick emptying.
I've enjoyed watching this engine run for repeated firings now and I can see how a guy could get hooked on collecting Nuremberg engines. They are a departure from the "tank like" toy steam pieces I usually gravitate to, showing I have a touch of right brain admiration for art...well, mechanical "art" at least.
Fortunately this pretty face is also built well and without question now holds down the spot for both most attractive engine and oldest engine in my collection. A grand old dame indeed.
Although fully restored, I think the brothers Bing would approve of their offering being given a new lease on life and would probably be amazed to think their creations live on nearly a century later. Thanks guys, nice piece of work!
Click below to see an instant video via YouTube:

I'm not sure where to start on Bowman Models of Dereham Norfolk, England, without being redundant to several other well established sites with Bowman emphasis.
I was cruising the internet a couple of years ago trying to gather information on other lines of toy steam beyond my initial Jensen and Empire interests. I literally stumbled upon the toy steam website of a fellow in the UK who referred to himself as "The Mooseman" . So I clicked on this guy's website out of curiousity for how toy steam engines and a guy named Mooseman somehow fit together.
Well, I asked a few questions of the Mooseman regards his Bowman engines and one email led to another and over the past few years we've become very good friends and have traded engines between ourselves, procurred engines for one another and shared many restoration ideas.
So, with all that, I refer the reader to the Mooseman's website for a thorough discertation on all things Bowman including Bowman stationary toy steam, locomotives and much of the literature of the day scanned for viewer interest. Another great source for all things Bowman is the Bowman Models group on Yahoo Groups.
I asked Odilon, if he were to recommend only ONE Bowman engine, what would be a good example to represent the line. Odilon complied with a recommendation to find an E101 (wood base) or M101 (metal base), noting that model was the top of the Bowman line. Well, that's exactly what I did.
Bowman E101

If you look at this engine, you will see a 1920's example of the Bowman E101 obtained from Paper 'N Steam Galore, a reputable online and store front dealer in the UK. It was in good shape upon receipt, but I have a character flaw...I'm happiest with a piece if restored to "like new" condition.
So despite the condition being OK as received, I re-did the engine from top to bottom. The fact that it had been previously restored made that decision a bit easier, but I have no regrets, I'm happy with how it turned out.

The photo to the left is a closeup of the 1 pound brass flywheel and gear assembly of the E101 after restoration. I love a brassy engine and they don't get much more brassy than this !
The brass burner tank is visible to the right rear of this picture. The heavy red engine frame must be 1/8" thick steel. No corners were cut in making this baby.

It is an extra bonus when you can find the boxes for these engines, especially the earliest ones that were made of wood with the logo and model branded on the end. I think having such robust boxes helped many of these engines endure 80 years of hard knocks. 








A "few" more pics...can you tell I am delighted with how this turned out?
To the right is the custom alcohol tank and burner designed to slide in under the coal scuttle...it fits and works beautifully.
I made the tank from brass plate bent into a box plus brass tube and a couple of ammo casings for upright burners.
Burner
slides in and is retained by a couple of pieces of picture hanger
hardware soldered to the bottom of the scuttle. Squared off brass
knob is the filler plug vent and also helps to keep tank aligned in
place. Pic below shows tank in place with screws/filler cap slid into the retaining hangers.
I
highly recommend that if the spirit moves you, this sort of modified
engine is well within the scope of what most folks can do and won't
ruin a rare or exceptionally valuable piece. Old Smoky models in
good shape can
often be found on eBay for about $150 USD...plenty have been
made. The Wilesco traction engine is almost the same platform and
would work as well with adjustments.
Results of such modding are the look and function of a much more expensive engine. The fun in getting there?...Priceless!
Here are a couple of videos to wrap things up.
First video shows the engine running with it's designed in gear system...a nice scale pace with the characteristic gear clatter Old Smoky's are known for.
Click below to see an instant video via YouTube:
Second video
shows the engine running about 2X normal speed using direct
belt drive from pulley to left rear wheel while gearing is set to
neutral.
This
piece is about as common as they come, but I still wanted one when I
saw it. Neat vertical design is a bit different from other
engines and it runs with a pleasant thump, thump sound. Flue
gases rise thru the center of the boiler and exit the top of the stack,
sort of novel that the stack actually functions as a stack on this one.
The
steam valve and whistle valve are both plastic and one has already
snapped off requiring replacement. The only saving grace is they
don't get hot, probably a health and safety move now that I think of it
!
This engine called to me every time I visited the website of The Great Toy Steam Co. I watched it over a 2 year period thinking how neat it would be to have one. I finally gave in and bought it and the Wiggers Stirling above at the same time. Warning...their website is very enticing!!
This isn't a conventional steam engine (no water), yet it's not a Stirling engine either. You position the flame of an alcohol burner just outside a port in the side of the cylinder. When you give the flywheel a spin, ka-thump and it sort of sucks the flame into the hole and then simultaneously ejects it while a sliding cover passes back and forth.
The best description I have read for HOW this actually works was in a posting made on my YouTube video below by RamonaSteam...hope he doesn't mind me capturing it here...he just said it well, so why re-invent an explanation:
On the intake stroke, the valve slides open and the engine sucks in the heat from the flame. The sliding valve closes, then the hot air cools rapidly inside the large cylinder with it's cooling fins. This creates a vacuum, which sucks the piston back up to the cylinder head, powering the engine.
Like the Stirlings, I sit amazed watching this thing work. On one hand it is fickle as can be and the flame must be positioned just so to keep working, but if you do it right, you are rewarded with a very neat looking and even neater sounding engine that seems to defy physics.
The flame licker is a product of PM Research here in the U.S. and they make a novel line of Stirling engines as well. As high on the "Gee Whiz" scale as any engine I own.
Click below to see an instant video via YouTube:
The following three Stirling engines are all modern offerings readily available from eBay or other online sources. The following picture was taken while all were operating.

Though there is nothing historically collectible here, these engines demonstrate principals discovered over 100 years ago.
They operate by heating a fixed volume of air that increases in pressure as it get warmer. The warmed air acts on the underside of the piston pushing it to the top of its stroke, the air is then cooled. The cooled air has reduced pressure and allows atmospheric pressure to push the piston back down.
Stirlings have two pistons, the power piston which drives the crankshaft and the displacer piston which moves the gas between hot and cold parts of the engine. This process is repeated rapidly over and over resulting in the motion you see.
The Stirling type are also the easiest engines to fire up, a bit of alcohol and a match and you have action within seconds. NO water is used.
HOG Stirling Engine
I obtained this engine from Station 500 on the internet. This is an internet/eBay business run by a gentleman named Matthias Brenner who gives great pricing and fast, secure shipping worldwide of steam, Stirling and various train offerings. He is located in Germany, also the location of the manufacturer of the HOG engine. I have bought several things from Matthias and been highly satisfied, he is professional all the way and instantly replaced a broken steam valve on my Wilesco D455 when it (plastic) broke in transit.
Although I have watched this engine operate dozens of times, the principal just seems to evade my understanding. You heat this glass tube with another glass tube inside, and in about 5 seconds the inner tube begins to move, which sets the whole thing in motion.
The HOG will operate a good 12 minutes on a filling of alcohol and operates almost silently in a blur of moving parts. This engine is also a favorite with visitors who will hold it in a hand and marvel that all that motion is driven by a tiny flame.
Boehm/Bohm Stirling Engine

If one Stirling engine is good, surely two are better and a twin flywheel to boot. I obtained this piece from Station 500 as well, only I opted for a kit form. I figured I could save a few dollars and figure out by assembly how this Stirling concept works. It is a beautifully made piece of German origin and the parts fit together effortlessly in a single sitting.
Do I understand the concepts of Stirling motion any better now? Not in the least. But then again, I've used the telephone for years and can live with the knowledge I don't know how it works either.


Wiggers packages this engine in a lovely custom fit outer beechwood box that could be considered a jewelry box given the beautifully dovetailed corners, fancy clasp and hinges. BUT, we don't buy the box, it's what's inside that counts. I just love the looks of this engine running or sitting still (even in the box).
The engine was machined by a fellow named Don of Oregon, USA and he
responded to an email I sent him noting the engine was of his own
design and he personally machined it from mostly brass with an aluminum
base...all nicely polished. Don told me he'd been a production
machinist for 30 years, so I guess he knows how move metal around, but
he was also hoping to try out some other designs, so I keep him
bookmarked.
The very top of the brass tank unscrews to fill with about 8 cc of
water, the cap screws on and seals with an O ring. The aluminum
base has an integral alcohol tank machined into it with a removeable
cap to open and add 4-5 cc's of fuel. It is up to steam in
about 90 seconds.







It's not often I stumble upon both a bargain and a top quality piece of machining at the same. Well, it's Feb. 2009 and I have done just that. While cruising eBay I came upon this:
In the seller's words...here's his description:
"This is a special project I've been working on and was rightly named "The Noise Maker, version NM2.51". A brand new item from Wolfgang Engineering.
This is a Steam Turbine Engine capable of reaching speeds of 25,000 rpm's with as little as 35 psi. It will run on 5 psi if you wish. It is most commonly run off of compressed air, but can be run off steam if so desired.
It is mostly constructed from 6061-6 Aluminum and Brass and is brought to a high polish finish. The outside of the brass ring measures 2.5", the base is approximately 3.5" long by 2" wide.
The turbine was designed and built with simplicity in mind and as a conversational piece.
There are a number of pieces to this steam turbine that need to work perfectly in order for it to run well. I do machine some of the parts with CNC machines, such as the turbine blade itself, but most of it is hand built with manual machines.
Each turbine is hand assembled and tested by me. The entire unit is made in house, right here in the
I must add that the turbine is suspended in two ball bearing races, so there is very little friction. I initially gave it a test run using compressed air with about 20 PSI behind it resulting in a very impressive spooling up sound that endears me to any

turbine that sounds like a jet taking off on my benchtop. I kept wondering how high that whine would go, but my small air compresser could only deliver 20 PSI max and not for very long given the high volume this piece takes to sustain operation.

So I decided to give this one the acid test, I hooked it up to a table top dedicated boiler capable of sustained 30 PSI steam output.
Oh my, that brought a smile to my face and I could not resist laughing out loud as it absolutely screamed.
PLEASE...check out the YouTube video that follows just below to enjoy the sound of this baby spooling up. I am absolutely delighted with the aptly named "Noise Maker" turbine and will be watching Wolfgang Engineering for future offerings...this was a winner for sure.
Click below to see an instant video via YouTube:
This engine just grabbed my attention when I saw it on eBay recently. It is a machinist built modification of an Elmer Verburg design he called his "Baldy" engine. I'm sure the ball shaped piston rod and matching rounded cylinder might be the basis for the name!! At just 1 3/4" tall, it's another example of a tiny engine I really like.
I love machinist built engines and even more so when they sell for under $50 USD !!! The workmanship was superb. Maker is a gent named Henning Seidel, who sells these engines on eBay.com under the seller name: Frugal1234 Keep an eye out for his offerings. He also sells a radial engine that uses three Baldy's linked together...very clever.
I mounted the engine on a small marble trophy base I picked up off eBay for just a couple of dollars. The mass of the marble makes a perfect base for small engines which otherwise tend to dance off the table top...I have used these bases on several of my other little engines...highly recommended.

The baldy's piston and connecting rod design lets the whole piston swivel as a single unit eliminating the extra moving part found in a standard engine. Result is a single cylinder engine with only two moving parts.

The engine frame was hand crafted out of 6061-T6 aluminum and assembled using stainless steel screws. The frame houses a 1" brass cylinder (not sure if fins do anything, but they look cool). The ball shaped piston rod is brass with a 1/2" diameter bore and 1/2" stroke. The 1-1/2" brass flywheel spins on a 1/4" steel shaft. 
When I first got this engine I tried it on compressed air and was very disappointed...it seemed so tight it would hardly stay running with 20+ PSI of air pressure and using varied lubricants. I switched it over to steam and what a difference, it ran like a dream and achieved quite high RPM's. I don't know if the steam heat affected expansion and contraction...but this baby likes steam which is fine by me.
Having read this writeup, Henning emailed me suggesting that the tight running condition I experienced on compressed air was very likely due to too much, too thick a coating of oil in the cylinder area. He suggests running it on compressed air with a shot of WD-40 into the cylinder area to get rid of the oil buildup. I have not tried his suggestion yet, but will do so soon and make note of the results here.
I need to get it filmed and post a video of it running under steam...delightful.