A model steam engine is a small

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

not built for serious use. Often they are built as an educational toy for children, in which case it is also called a toy steam engine, or for

live steam Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam may be used to operate stationary or moving equipment. A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those th ...

enthusiasts. Between the 18th and early 20th centuries, demonstration models were also in use at universities and engineering schools, frequently designed and built by students as part of their curriculum. Model steam engines have been made in many forms by a number of manufacturers, but building model steam engines from scratch is popular among adult steam enthusiasts, although this generally requires access to a

lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, threading and turning, with tools that are applied to the w ...

and/or

milling machine Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done by varying directions on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of ...

. Those without a lathe can alternatively purchase prefabricated parts.

History

In the late 19th century, manufacturers such as German toy company

Bing Bing most often refers to: * Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer * Microsoft Bing, a web search engine Bing may also refer to: Food and drink * Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread * Bing (soft drink), a UK brand * Bing cherry, a varie ...

introduced the two main types of model/toy steam engines, namely

stationary engines A stationary engine is an engine whose framework does not move. They are used to drive immobile equipment, such as pumps, electric generator, generators, mill (grinding), mills or factory machinery, or cable car (railway), cable cars. The term u ...

with accessories that were supposed to mimic a 19th-century factory, and mobile engines such as

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s and

boats A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

. Later, especially in the early 20th century,

steam roller A steamroller (or steam roller) is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for leveling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine. The leveling/flattening action is achieved throug ...

fire engine A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

traction engine A traction engine is a steam engine, steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any ...

s and

steam wagon A steam wagon (or steam lorry, steam waggon or steamtruck) is a Steam power, steam-powered truck for carrying freight. It was the earliest form of lorry (truck) and came in two basic forms: ''overtype'' and ''undertype'', the distinction being t ...

s began to appear. At the peak of their popularity, around the mid 20th century, there were hundreds of companies making steam toys and models. Today, companies such as Wilesco (Germany),

Mamod Mamod was a toy manufacturer that was based in Britain that specialized in producing live steam Models until closure in 2024. The company was founded in Birmingham in 1937 by Geoffrey Malins. The name "Mamod" is a Portmanteau, combination of " ...

(UK), and Jensen (US) continue to produce model/toy steam engines.

Design features

Toy steam engines will commonly have fewer features (such as

mechanical lubricator An automatic lubricator is a device fitted to a steam engine to supply Lubricant, lubricating oil to the Cylinder (steam locomotive), cylinders and, sometimes, the Plain bearing, bearings and axle box mountings as well. There are various types ...

s or

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

s), and operate at lower pressures, while model steam engines will place more emphasis on similarity to life-sized engines. Manufacturers such as Wilesco sell both simple toy engines for beginners (e.g. the D3) and more intricate model engines that are meant to be used to drive things like workshops or boats. Model steam engines typically use

hexamine fuel tablet A hexamine fuel tablet (or heat tablet, Esbit) is a form of solid fuel in :wikt:tablet, tablet form. The tablets burn smokelessly, have a high energy density, do not liquefy while burning and leave no ashes. Invented in 1936 in Murrhardt, Germa ...

methylated spirit Denatured alcohol, also known as methylated spirits, metho, or meths in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, and as denatured rectified spirit, is ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous, bad-tasting, f ...

s (aka meths or denatured alcohol),

butane Butane () is an alkane with the formula C4H10. Butane exists as two isomers, ''n''-butane with connectivity and iso-butane with the formula . Both isomers are highly flammable, colorless, easily liquefied gases that quickly vaporize at ro ...

gas, or

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

to heat the boiler. Cylinders are either

oscillating Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...

( single-acting or double-acting) or fixed cylinder using slide-valves, piston valves or

poppet valves A poppet valve (also sometimes called mushroom valve) is a valve typically used to control the timing and quantity of petrol (gas) or vapour flow into or out of an engine, but with many other applications. It consists of a hole or open-ended ch ...

(normally double-acting).Hasluck, p. 14 Spring

safety valve A safety valve is a valve that acts as a fail-safe. An example of safety valve is a pressure relief valve (PRV), which automatically releases a substance from a boiler, pressure vessel, or other system, when the pressure or temperature exceeds ...

s and

steam whistle A steam whistle is a device used to produce sound in the form of a whistle using live steam, which creates, projects, and amplifies its sound by acting as a vibrating system. Operation The whistle consists of the following main parts, as s ...

s are other common features of model steam engines. Some stationary engines also have feedwater pumps to replenish boiler water, allowing them to run indefinitely as long as sufficient fuel is available.

Gallery

File:Cyldon 3.jpg, Vintage oscillating-cylinder engine by Cyldon File:Wilesco D24 EL cropped.jpg, Electrically heated Wilesco D24 File:Mamod fire engine fe1.jpg, Mamod fire engine File:Wolfsonian-FIU Museum - IMG 8242.JPG, Model steam engine in the Wolfsonian-FIU museum File:Wilesco-dampfmaschine-D161.jpg, Model steam engine with attached workshop

Notes

References and further reading

* Stan Bray: ''Making Simple Model Steam Engines'', 192 pp, * Tubal Cain: ''Building Simple Model Steam Engines'', 112 pp, * Paul Hasluck: ''The Model Engineer's Handybook: A Practical Manual on Model Steam Engines''
Archive.org e-book
* Bob Gordon: ''Toy Steam Engines'', * Bob Gordon: ''Model Steam Engines'', * :Toy steam engine manufacturers {{Commons category, Model steam engines Steam engines Educational toys Live steam

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

Powered toys Scale modeling Articles containing video clips

History

Design features

Gallery

See also

Notes

References and further reading