Sold February 2008 Back to Archive

A well-made example of a compound marine engine, built to the Clarkson design and using their castings. A rare engine, although I've seen the drawings before, I'd never seen an engine "in the metal" until this one arrived.

With their heyday in the 1950s and 60s, the Clarkson range covered locomotives and stationary engines - I still have a catalogue my father and I sent off for many years ago with beautiful black and white plates showing the models, from a 3 1/2 inch gauge V2 (one of which is currently awaiting delivery in the workshop) up to a 7 1/4 inch gauge Duchess (which had a huge impact on a 12 year old struggling to build "Tich" at the time). Their designs tended to be authentically proportioned and detailed, the stationary engines in particular.

This engine has been stored away for many years, it turns over freely but has a gently-faded look about it, a mixture of forty year old paint and light grime. Fit and finish of the motion work is good, there are nice details like the copper syphon taken from the low pressure steam chest for the displacement lubricator.

An impressive sized model standing on the sideboard, the Steam Boat Register shows at least one has found it's way into a full-sized hull.

Complete with a set of immensely tatty drawings.

Bore/stroke 2 1/2 + 1 3/4 x 2 inch
Length 15 inches
Height 15 inches
Width 8 inches