Sold September 2023 Back to Archive

Regular readers may remember the amusingly conceived if functionally limited steam lawnmower we sold back in 2019. Men have been fascinated by cutting the lawn with steam power for over 100 years, but, given the size and weight of the machines required to do the job, all commercial attempts - as with direct ploughing by traction engine - failed to a greater or lesser extent.

The lawnmower had been built using a boiler and twin cylinder engine produced by Maxitrak for their vertical boiler “Chaloner” locomotive – we suggested at the time that perhaps a better use for its component parts would be for a similar or minimal gauge style machine, leaving cutting grass to Messrs Briggs and Stratton…

And so it was that the challenge was accepted…

One of our long time customers - a man whose engineering vision combined with attention to detail and facility in the workshop we’ve long admired – bought the machine, asking for just the boiler, engine and a few of the transmission components to be sent down to him on a pallet.

The result of his labours is what you see here, an ingeniously-conceived and expertly constructed vertical boiler locomotive, of – to our eyes – pleasing proportions and, unlike the lawnmower which donated the major parts, a free-steaming machine of impressive performance which has proved a delight to drive.

The twin cylinder engine has been rebuilt and valve timing tuned to produce a reliable unit which runs well. The boiler is of silver soldered copper construction, very free-steaming which, for a time, threatened the entire project, the safety valve unable to keep up with the grate, leading to excessive accumulation on steam test.

The existing bush in the boiler didn’t permit of a larger valve (otherwise he’d have fitted one of our Stafford valves which would have solved the problem at a stroke), so a program of experimentation with various different grates, blowers and blast nozzles ensued, none of which effected a reliable solution.

In the end, the design and manufacture of a custom safety valve solved the problem – it’s effective and quiet in operation, a tribute to the designer.

The locomotive chassis is cleverly conceived and robustly constructed along narrow gauge lines (the man has form in such projects and also – if we may say - proven good taste, having ordered one of the very first Staffords we ever built – the legendary “Gentoo” – followed by the first of the six-coupled Feldbahns.

CAD-designed and built largely from laser cut steel plate, with chain drive from engine to all wheels, the pictures opposite show the builder’s attention to detail. It’s one of those machines where, the longer you look, the more you see - “that’s clever” being a comment that came up more than once as we all pored over it in the workshop.

Too many details to list, but we particularly like the hinged front panel permitting of instant access to the engine for oiling round; the beautifully designed ashpan damper arrangement with steel rose joint – silky smooth in operation and including a position which lifts the damper wide, allowing for easy disposal of the fire; the elegant eccentric fitted to one end of the crankshaft, outboard of the frames, to drive the water pump and lubricator; the steel mesh chain guard to protect the driver’s feet and quickly detachable steel stirrups, which pivot in mounting holes in the chassis to accommodate drivers of different height and geometry.

The boiler is fed by injector, mechanical and high pressure electric pumps. Water is stored both in a tank on the locomotive and another, larger one mounted in the tender. There is a low pressure pump which will transfer water from tender to locomotive tank, designed to cut out once the tender tank is down to a quarter full so that some water is kept in reserve should it be needed to replenish the boiler using the high pressure pump. Typical of the builder, its operation is fully documented, along with the specification of its components and circuit diagram, for future maintenance.

The locomotive comes complete with tender and a steel-framed storage bench running on high quality polyurethane tyred castors. There is a loading ramp for transferring the engine and tender into a vehicle, along with purpose built 12 volt electric winch to assist with same. A rolling road was built for testing the locomotive, complete with custom-designed jack running from a 7.2 volt rechargeable battery pack with remote hand control, allowing the engine to be raised to fit the rollers under its wheels.

A thoroughly well sorted locomotive - responsive to the regulator, extraordinarily free-steaming and with a surprising amount of power. We couldn't resist coupling it up to the Baldwin C19 which was on test the same day - an engine weighing in at something over half a ton with its tender and running on plain bearings - which it pulled back and forth along our test track with elan!

Offered with full certification, 12 months warranty, set of firing irons and a starter kit of coal and oil. We would be more than happy to give half a day's instruction on the steaming, running and disposal of the engine to a new owner if required.