Court Lodge MK1 Model Steam Engine

[@txlabmansteamtoysmore4980]

Thanks for the history lesson Alan. Also, it was very nice of you to give a shout out to Roly and his excellent website. Another enjoyable video from Retro Steam Tech. Cheers! 🤠

[@RetroSteamTech]

Thanks Charlie. Roly's website was where I found all the info on these amazing engines so only fair to give him some credit. Cheers, Alan.

[@CraigLYoung]

Thanks for sharing!

[@backyardmechanic921]

Lovely engine and in good condition too. It would be easy to make one in that style.

[@RetroSteamTech]

I think so. As it was to be made by school pupils the design had to be fairly simple. That being said it's still good engineering, the crankshaft runs in a brass bush which is pressed into the aluminium base casting. It also has an oiling hole for the shaft.

[@TheKnacklersWorkshop]

Hello Alan, That really is a nice engine... I was not aware of the Court Lodge engines... an interesting story... Take care. Paul,,

[@RetroSteamTech]

Hi Paul. Court Lodge was a secondary school in Horley, Surrey. In 1989 it merged with another secondary school to become Oakwood School. I love to find engines with known history and I think the Albury Manor and Court Lodge engines are particularly interesting because they were nearly all made by different people. Cheers, Alan.

[@Xynudu]

Interesting Alan. Came up nicely. Can you explain how that burner works ? Does it just burn the metho vapour at each cut ? How high does the flame go ? Looks simple. I'd be interested to see a short video on the design and flame pattern sometime. Cheers Rob

[@RetroSteamTech]

Hi Rob. Yes it was in pretty good condition, just needed a clean. The Luton Bowman burners with the cross cuts were fairly unique to those engines, other Bowman engines had round meths tanks and the slot in the burner tube was longitudinal. It's a fairly simple design, the burner tube has a wick inside it which extends into the tank. They work ok but as there is no vertical wick tube to move the flame away from the meths tank they do tend to get very hot. I think Geoffrey Weller copied the Luton Bowman design as it is quite simple to make. Cheers, Alan.

[@RetroSteamTech]

Sorry Rob, I forgot to explain the burn. As the slots are so close together you tend to get one long thin flame the length of the tube. The flame can be quite high, between 1 and 2 inches. Cheers, Alan.

[@Xynudu]

@@RetroSteamTech OK thanks for that info Alan. I wondered how it would work, but couldn't see a wick. I might try and make one at some stage. Looks pretty doable. Cheers Rob