Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Halo on December 05, 2006, 09:07:43 PM
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Of all the possible addictions, maybe one of the most pleasant is an affinity for the sound of a small hard-working steam engine, chugging along without much fuss, chugity chugity chugity chugity ...
Years ago our county fair had an exhibit that consisted of a small square of ground about 20 yards by 20 yards full of little stationary steam engines chugging away. Such a busy little sound. They weren't hooked up to anything, though obviously they could have been.
Just the sound of 20 or so happy (ooops, no anthropomorphizing here) little chuggers. Walk around and between them, such a neat exhibit.
Naturally I've never seen it since. Haven't been back to the fair much and when I was, the engines weren't.
Been scouting the internet but none of the sites seem to be quite what that exhibit was. These were working little dudes, not models.
So while I continue wandering around looking for small stationary steam engines, any of you have any experience with or fondness for them? I would think maybe some of you survivalist ranchers might still have one or two doing chores for you.
My ultimate weird goal is maybe to buy one of the smallest stationary steam engines that is safe, easy to operate, mostly maintenance free, and with a hypnotic little chug chug that reminds everyone of the engine that could, put it out in the garden, and run it occasionally for ambience.
Mind you I'm in the usual U.S. suburb on 1/4 acre so this engine has to be enchanting for the neighbors too. The engines I remember sounded might be in the special category called hit and miss, making them more charmingly eccentric.
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I don't know about Virginia Halo, but in Texas you have to have a licence to operate one. I hear the tests to get the licence is pretty tough. Good luck on your search. I love small usefull machinery. If it's mechanical it immediately attracts me.
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Wow, I've never heard that before Mark.
Halo, I watch RFD-TV quite a bit and they have several shows on old steam.
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I remember running across some steam engines when I was searching for a school project but I'm not sure if they actually worked or not, as I recall they were $150+ as well. I'll search some and see if I can get them for you.
The dredger (http://www.brunell.com/product.asp?numPageStartPosition=1&strPageHistory=cat&strKeywords=&strSearchCriteria=&PT_ID=69&P_ID=135&btnProduct=More+Details) engine includes a boiler, not sure how it heats or anything. http://www.brunell.com/default.asp Prices can be changed to USD at the top if you didn't see it there.
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Originally posted by rpm
Wow, I've never heard that before Mark.
Halo, I watch RFD-TV quite a bit and they have several shows on old steam.
I havn't done any research on getting a licence, I couldn't afford to mess with one anyway, but an aquaintance of mine was into the steam engines. He was the one telling me about that when I mentioned something about wanting to mess around with one. I had in mind a steam powered boat, something with a regular propellor instead of paddle wheels.
I guess I should have delved deeper into that before posting what I did.
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i knew a guy in Blacksburg VA that was trying to build on out of glass (there is a Corning plant in Blacksburg)...never found out how that worked out, but it would have been a ton cooler than a lava lamp
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I went through a month where I sketched better and better steam engines as I learned more of the genius tricks that some seriously smart people came up with. I'll eventually build one out of PVC & wood just to be different.
I've done some experiments, using pressurized air makes testing them easy without having to work up a head of steam. That's also the trick for running a "steam" engine built out of the above materials. :D
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Originally posted by Debonair
i knew a guy in Blacksburg VA that was trying to build on out of glass (there is a Corning plant in Blacksburg)...never found out how that worked out, but it would have been a ton cooler than a lava lamp
I once saw a midnight showing of Raiders of the Lost Ark at the Lyric. A buddy of mine volunteers there.
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Originally posted by Neubob
I once saw a midnight showing of Raiders of the Lost Ark at the Lyric. A buddy of mine volunteers there.
I once saw a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in Phoenix.
Later on in life, I wrote a song about it and became great.
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Ok Byebye, touche, but I bet you didn't see it because your friend Chris, whom you known since the 8th grade, worked at the theater when he wasn't working on his PHD at Virginia Tech.
Write a song about that!
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Originally posted by Neubob
Ok Byebye, touche, but I bet you didn't see it because your friend Chris, whom you known since the 8th grade, worked at the theater when he wasn't working on his PHD at Virginia Tech.
Write a song about that!
How can I write a song about a post that does not make sense?
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Originally posted by ByeBye
How can I write a song about a post that does not make sense?
If you were great, that would not be a problem.
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Originally posted by Neubob
If you were great, that would not be a problem.
being great is a problem.
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Originally posted by ByeBye
being great is a problem.
Serial thread hijacking, apparently, is not.
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Originally posted by Neubob
Serial thread hijacking, apparently, is not.
Kind of like making comments about Raiders of the Lost Ark in a thread about steam engines?
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Originally posted by ByeBye
Kind of like making comments about Raiders of the Lost Ark in a thread about steam engines?
I made a comment that was directly related to debonair's mention of V-Tech, and, as a single comment, could have been largely ignored in favor of the main subject matter.
Your carrying on the sub-thread gave it viability. Now, it's out of my control.
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Originally posted by Neubob
I made a comment that was directly related to debonair's mention of V-Tech, and, as a single comment, could have been largely ignored in favor of the main subject matter.
Your carrying on the sub-thread gave it viability. Now, it's out of my control.
You made an off-topic comment in response to a comment directly related to the subject of the thread. You are the person responsible for taking the thread off topic.
My response in this thread was directly caused by your off topic post. You are at fault. I am GRATE!
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Originally posted by ByeBye
You made an off-topic comment in response to a comment directly related to the subject of the thread. You are the person responsible for taking the thread off topic.
My response in this thread was directly caused by your off topic post. You are at fault. I am GRATE!
How can you be 'grate' if all you did was carry on a digression? If you had started the digression, or rectified it, you may be eligible for the status of 'okay'. As it stands, you merely followed the lead of somebody who is not 'grate', by his own admission, and are now allowing the momentum carry you forward.
I submit that you are not 'grate', merely, 'so-so'.
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my grateness speaks for itself. Kno explanation is required.
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Before the great O-Club purge, there was at least one thread about some guy who manufactured useful small steam engines. I can't find that exact web page, but here are a few other steam engine model sites that might be interesting...
http://www.neatstuff.net/wilesco-steam.html
http://www.ministeam.com/acatalog/shop.html
http://secure.meccanoshop.co.uk/index.html?http%3A//secure.meccanoshop.co.uk/Steam_Powered_Models.html&CatalogBody
http://www.modelshopdirect.com/acatalog/Steam_powered_models.html
http://homepage.idx.com.au/stuarts/List01.htm
You might find some linky there.
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QUICK GET THE BUCKETS THE THREAD IS SINKING!!!! :O
I had some steam engines from my late grandfather but they have gotten lost in moving :cry
I really loved those things..... I was saving up for an entire miniture shop steam engine (with little drills grinders lathes and other shop thingys ) all going.... My mom said no right after I got enough money. :(
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I had one very small, - maybe 6x6 inches, and a hammer to connect to the flywheel. Wish I knew where it is now.
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Check out the RC steam powered vehicles on crabfu.
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They are fasinating little things. Too bad so many threads have to be hijacked.
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Everybody please remain in your seats and remain calm.
http://www.crabfu.com/steamtoys/rc_steamipede/
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A company called Mamod has been making steam powered models for ages in the UK, not sure if you can get them internationally.
My Grandad is a very skilled engineer and has made amongst other things:
A coal fired steam boat pleasure craft.
Coal fired steam 3 1/2" narrow guage steam engine.
Coal Fired steam 5" Narrow guage steam engine.
Work in progress RC Steam powered boat.
The first three he built the engines from scratch with lumps of metal and a lathe. I think I have steam, coal and engine oil in my blood and also love the sound and sheer design genius of these things.
Pic of a standalone Mamod engine follows. A few people hook them up to meccano kits. I've seem an incredible roundabout powered by one of these.
(http://www.thetrainmanshop.co.uk/photos/Mamod_SE2_Engine4.jpg)
Gatso
the meccano is link is in the post from egle above. Seems they sell Mamod stuff direct.
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Thanks, guys, those links and insights are helpful. The steamipede is certainly one of the more unsual applications.
I'm still looking for little worker stationary steam engines rather than models, although eventually a model might be the best option for me.
Dunno why I didn't get more details years ago when I saw them. Guess I thought they would always be around. Never assume, right?
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(http://www.thetrainmanshop.co.uk/photos/Mamod_SE2_Engine4.jpg)
looks very similar to mine.
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I had this link gathering dust in my favorites
they have steam engines that can do work actually
http://www.stuartmodels.com/
edit: here is another one i dug up
http://www.tinypower.com/store2.php
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I hope this isn't too far afield, but if you like small steam engines you might appreciate this small radial engine
http://www.rcshowcase.com/images/engines/rcs/rcsradial.wmv
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There is a an old factory in pittsburg that makes toy steam engines. They've been doing it for generations, can't remember the name.
Jensen steam engine, that's the ticket.
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Not exactly what you are looking for Halo, but here's something I find extremely cool. :)
Model steam engines... http://www.sci.fi/~animato/steam/
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Thanks, guys, all fun sites ... just love to hear those steam engines ... and, yes, the radial too.