Minnie Traction engine Designed by L.C.Mason

Me & Misses

                                

Trojan Engine "Scratch built"

Following completion of a small marine steam engine "Trojan Engine" I decided to tackle a larger project. If I had started a bit sooner, the engine << across could be underway now but for the size of machines needed to attempt this.

Having visited various shows and model engineers Exhibitions, I decided to buy the Construction book for building the popular 1" scale 'Minnie' traction engine.

<< Shrewsbury Easter Weekend end 24/25th Aug 08

The two photos below show recent progress.  This was with help from ebay for the construction book and also the 9 sheets of drawings, and the wheels were also bought as part finished.   

Only mock-up below, as the flywheel and pinion gear being on the wrong side. Someone mentioned this to me as I use this shot for an avatar on another popular traction engine site 'traction talk'. 

People find great pleasure in telling you so, but I did it my self at a show recently at Banbury. I noticed a lovely model only the strakes were like mine as delivered from ebay, so I spotted it immediately. However, the owner was none too pleased when I suggested he needed to swap the wheels around. He was lucky, mine were handed the same for both wheels.

As for mine , I had to remove 70 rivets, turn them round and rivet them back on. (Not all ebay bargains are a bargain).  However, saved a year of cutting out spokes and drilling.  Just requires more painting now.

Photo2/12/09 Photo 24/2/09

Boiler stays not completed yet but steady progress.

 Rear shot, really pleased with the tender a lot of hard work and a few broken drills. 

Gears bought from HPC, machined to thickness gears approx £80. 

Initial workshop experience limited, but keen to learn and research has enabled me to get it this far.

My son has offered to finish it when I'm old and grey.  He is the small one pictured next to the lovely example of a 6" scale model above.

A number of people have commented about the Trojan engine on youtube. I plan to scan the drawings in again from old model engineers book and attach them to this site so others can take up the challenge.

I made this stationary engine  in under 1 year including the boiler.  

Special thanks to the misses for putting up with me and all the kids standing in a wet and rainy field sinking in mud while I was talking to a fellow modeller about their engine.

 

• Traction_1     Drawings Page <>
• Traction_2    Next Page <> 
• Traction_3    Next Page <>              
• Machines   Machines I use. 
• Diary Page.  

• Welland_2008 /09 Steam Rally Best show of  last year and agin this year!!!. We camped again friday saturday so photo's from last 2 years like popular advert "compare-the-welland".
• Diary  Progress Diary
• Trojan Engine Drawings free.