Anyone recognize this boat engine

[VicS]

I have several photos of this engine which I believe is from a River Thames boat

I'd like to find the current owner and passthe pictures on if possible

 

[No Regrets]

Hard to tell, as its been cut away to show the whole thing working, but looks Italian to me.

 

[VicS]

Hard to tell, as its been cut away to show the whole thing working, but looks Italian to me.

I dont think its cut away. There may have been some outer casing removed. I assume its been overhauled and ready to be refitted to the boat.

I thought it was the engine from the one below as its in the same envelope of pictures but this one has a 2 cylinder simple expansion type of engine.

 

[penfold]

Hard to tell, as its been cut away to show the whole thing working, but looks Italian to me.

It's meant to look like that; it's a steam engine.

 

[Latestarter1]

I dont think its cut away. There may have been some outer casing removed. I assume its been overhauled and ready to be refitted to the boat.

I thought it was the engine from the one below as its in the same envelope of pictures but this one has a 2 cylinder simple expansion type of engine.

Vic,

Forget goofy comments regarding being cut away or having a casing around it, obviously no clue as to how steam engines are lubricated!

Pic of steam launch off Wootten's boatyard is interesting, out of interest what makes you think this launch has a two cylinder simple. Your original pic is of a very fine double compound launch engine with very interesting reversing gear, most river steamers had lever reversing gear.

Could be by Sissons of Gloucester of Plenty & Son Newbury........My vote would be for Plenty as this is a very delicate design.

Would love to know more???.

 

[rosssavage]

It's a twin, double expansion compound steam engine, and it's very pretty!

Every part of that was turned, milled, cut and finished by hand.. Real engineering

The crank is open so the engineer can oil the bearings with his oil can. No lubrication system as such.

Like it

 

[VicS]

Vic,

Forget goofy comments regarding being cut away or having a casing around it, obviously no clue as to how steam engines are lubricated!

Pic of steam launch off Wootten's boatyard is interesting, out of interest what makes you think this launch has a two cylinder simple. Your original pic is of a very fine double compound launch engine with very interesting reversing gear, most river steamers had lever reversing gear.

Could be by Sissons of Gloucester of Plenty & Son Newbury........My vote would be for Plenty as this is a very delicate design.

Would love to know more???.

I know a little bit about the launch in the picture . It's the Pierrette originally built in the 1890s. Found as an abandoned wreck by my fathers boss round about 1950.

Story from "Light Steam Power Magazine" :

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f337/Vic43/Forums 2013/scan0145-1.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f337/Vic43/Forums 2013/scan0146-1.jpg

The pictures were taken when she was finally relaunched from Wootten's in about 1953/4

Mr Hickey at the helm in the first picture with the son, or maybe grandson, aged 90 anyway, of the original builder in the "engineers" seat.

My father fending off in the second picture.

I had always assumed the engine picture ( I have several different shots of it) was the replacement engine for the Pierrette ready to be fitted but clearly does not match the description. It does however match the description of the engine in one of Mr Hickey's other steam boats. I think that would have been the "Elfin" ( more correctly "Elfin II" perhaps) I guess after my father had overhauled it round about the same time.

I have, through this forum, manged to find the current owner, or rather his grandson, of the Pierrette and I am intending to send him the photos I have and the magazine. Just been scanning them in order to keep copies of some for my son.

 

[rosssavage]

Dammit.. Lakesailored again!

 

[No Regrets]

Italians often went for these configurations though, for example VM Diesels (from a later era) had single top ends, which would work from 1-6 cylinders, using different blocks!

Using a common top-end was a cost saver, in a bankrupt country...

Also, look at the engineering, the delicacy. British stuff looked more workmanlike to me!

 

[Poignard]

Story from "Light Steam Power Magazine" :

I remember there was a company in the Isle of Man called Light Steam Power during the 1950s; presumably they published the magazine, which was always an interesting read.

One of their products was a steam engine to be fitted into a car in place of the petrol engine. It had a flash steam generator and it was supposed to be able to raise enough steam for the car to operate in a few minutes.

 

[Poignard]

Real engineering

The crank is open so the engineer can oil the bearings with his oil can. No lubrication system as such.

Like it

I like it too. But it does have a sophisticated lubrication system that you can see on the sides of the cylinder block, with oil pipes leading from it to the bearings.