1 inch scale freelance traction engine

A 1 inch scale freelance traction engine, scratch-built using an early Stuart 10H engine, with a copper water tube boiler - we imagine originally intended to be either charcoal or spirit-fired - fed by mechanical pump.

Of nice proportions, we're rather taken with this one. Built in an earlier, pre-internet time when parts and material were more difficult to come by, the builder has used a good deal of ingenuity to produce a plausible looking design.

We liked the flanged pipe unions and the way a prototypical regulator assembly has been grafted onto the Stuart valve chest.

The engine runs well on air in one direction, not in the other - the eccentric needs resetting.

Given its age we have made no attempt to test the boiler - we suspect this one deserves a well-earned retirement to a place where it can be admired by future generations!