My son and I were in the next town over where my parents live so we popped into my dad's shop to say hi. He had an old steam engine that my son has wanted for years. Well yesterday his wish came true.
At 83, my dad is getting up there in age and is looking to shut down his little shoe repair shop. After a bit of catching up, he grabbed the little steam engine and asked my son if he'd want it. Of course what 13 year old boy with a passion for tinkering and all things motor, jumped at the opportunity and it's about all he can talk about now.
From what I can see stamped on the baseplate, this is made by Empire, The MetalWare Corp, in Two Rivers Wisconsin. It is Catalogue No. 43. Nearest I can tell it was manufacutred somewhere in the 50's. It certainly smells like its from the 50s. It has a distinct metalic odor to it. Nothing terrible or disagreeable.
It's in surprisingly good shape and dad never had it running.
Like virtially all of the other ones I've seen on the internet, it's missing the odd ball power cord.
Since we don't have the power cord, I decided to test it by pressurizing the tank with my air compressor. We gave it a few small shots of gun oil on the moving parts and gave it a go. It took a bit, but once the lube spread out it fired right up and chugged along. Pretty neat actually.
We're on the hunt for a power cord and/or a way to check and see if the element still works so we can use it as it was intended.
At 83, my dad is getting up there in age and is looking to shut down his little shoe repair shop. After a bit of catching up, he grabbed the little steam engine and asked my son if he'd want it. Of course what 13 year old boy with a passion for tinkering and all things motor, jumped at the opportunity and it's about all he can talk about now.
From what I can see stamped on the baseplate, this is made by Empire, The MetalWare Corp, in Two Rivers Wisconsin. It is Catalogue No. 43. Nearest I can tell it was manufacutred somewhere in the 50's. It certainly smells like its from the 50s. It has a distinct metalic odor to it. Nothing terrible or disagreeable.
It's in surprisingly good shape and dad never had it running.
Like virtially all of the other ones I've seen on the internet, it's missing the odd ball power cord.
Since we don't have the power cord, I decided to test it by pressurizing the tank with my air compressor. We gave it a few small shots of gun oil on the moving parts and gave it a go. It took a bit, but once the lube spread out it fired right up and chugged along. Pretty neat actually.
We're on the hunt for a power cord and/or a way to check and see if the element still works so we can use it as it was intended.
