Small Beam Engines
Built by Dick Watson in October 2013
The largest beam engine here was made when I wanted to see if the small one produced for a challenge to make models from the late 1920s 00 set could be modified to incorporate Watt’s straight line and sun and planet mechanisms. However, the model soon ended up much larger even with the same cylinder stroke.
One problem is that the number of spaces between the holes in the beam has to be divisible by 4 (in this case 12). This one is not here. then tried two smaller ones, one with an 8-hole beam, and then another with a 4-hole beam. The strokes are reduced to match.
Note that in both the models the connecting rod to the beam is fixed to the planet wheel by a tri-flat rod.
The smallest neeeds two 1” close-holed strips, which I had run out of, so I had to use a longer one. It really needs the new narrow version, but I have not risked getting them in.
It also uses some small brass collars as substitutes for some of the flexible plastic ones which don’t stay on.
The models retains the ‘skeleton’ cylinders of the orignal model so that one can see that the straight line mechanism works.