Sold December 2021 Back to Archive

A six cylinder rotary steam engine, we believe commercially built - possibly in Germany - and with history going back nearly seventy years, for which we are indebted to the previous owner:

The engine was last in steam in the mid 1950s when it developed a fault with the boiler which was replaced with an off-the-shelf (Mamod?) boiler which proved to be too small and the engine didn't run at all after the new boiler was installed. My family have been connected with the River Tees and it's possible that a tug engineer or or other riverman passed the steam engine on to my father. When the new boiler pipe was silver soldered I remember watching a pilot cutter skipper carrying out the operation on his scullery floor with a gas jet and a pile of coke on an asbestos sheet.

The size of the original boiler can be judged from the radius of the boiler supports which are original. I would guess that the boiler straps are made out of the originals. Sometime after I cleared out my father's garage during 2014... I found the drive wheels.... and these are now fitted.

The burner probably came with the new boiler and I have (a) vague memory of a different way of applying heat to the original boiler but I have yet to remember anything of substance, in my defence it was 65 years ago.

The pictures opposite show the engine in its current condition. A worthwhile, interesting restoration project - the engine itself turns over, it is finely made and appear complete and undamaged.

The aluminium cowl would, with elbow grease, polish back up to a bright finish. The engine itself wants careful dismantling, before cleaning with a brass brush and paraffin before reassembly - more conservation than restoration it categorically does not need shot-blasting and painting!

The boiler is, as the previous owner's father found, far too small for the engine. Size of the original can be judged from cast boiler mounts still in situ - it would be a straightforward job to make up a new spirit-fired pot boiler of suitable size.

We'd be interested to know more about the engine, if anybody has another or knows the manufacturer.