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[Alyn Foundry]

Now you’re talking guys….

Do you have any more information on this rather unusual engine. I can see it has double acting cylinders, some form of two stroke perhaps?

  Graham.

Edit. No, it’s definitely not a two stroke there’s timing gears on the LHS of the crankshaft.

[Dave Otto]

I found this.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US607580A/en

Dave

[Jo]

That's making it too easy for him Dave 

Jo

[vtsteam]

Should be some interesting vibratory qualities when running..... 

[Dave Otto]

Makes you wonder what they were thinking? Lower center of gravity maybe?

Dave

[Jasonb]

Bit of a throw over from the "Side Rod" steam engines which were a similar layout to get the crankshaft down low so the propshaft was not at too steep an angle.

Looks like a couple of ignitors on the sides of the heads which should keep Graham quiet for a while

[RayW]

How about a Crossley Type H or J? As you know, I started to make a pattern for the body several years ago but  it became a paperweight and I never got any further with it. Always an engine that I admired at rallies.
As an alternative, how about a four cylinder flame ignition Gardner(?) like the one at the Anson museum?

[internal_fire]

Makes you wonder what they were thinking? Lower center of gravity maybe?

I would guess that is the main reason. The crankshaft would be at about the same elevation in any configuration.

I think many (most?) engines of that era used a crosshead approach instead of the modern piston rod pivot inside the piston. Placing the "crosshead" on top lowers the center of mass.

Gene

[Alyn Foundry]

Indeed, to me it shows the evolution process of the IC engine.

Many thanks for the extra information Dave, I sent the pictures to several friends, non of whom had seen anything like it.

In my collection of small power engines I have a very unusual, unknown maker open crank sideshaft engine. The engine is very short in length, in fact everything is short. It has solid flywheels with inset Lead counterbalancing. Definitely designed for high speed running but not evolved to the closed crankcase or vertical configuration. As a throwback, hot tube and inertia governor….

The Wing patent engine is definitely one to be considered very unusual.

   Graham.

[Alyn Foundry]

Look at the flywheel on the Wing engine Jason….

I have 8 left over.

   Graham

[Alyn Foundry]

How about a Crossley Type H or J? As you know, I started to make a pattern for the body several years ago but  it became a paperweight and I never got any further with it. Always an engine that I admired at rallies.
As an alternative, how about a four cylinder flame ignition Gardner(?) like the one at the Anson museum?

Hi Ray.

The Crossley range of engines were definitely very elegant in their design. We would need a little more information to get a replica done though.

As for multiple cylinders I get a little bored after the second one…. 

Here’s a Crossley that my son Alan wanted to have a go at but as he’s currently somewhere over the Pacific rim travelling to Australia for a couple of years, it might have to wait a bit.

   Graham.

[Jasonb]

good job you have eight as it is going to need two of those to make up the required six spokes

They will also make it a very small engine

The Crossley looks interesting, again a bit of steam engine trunk guide in that one.

I also quite like that little Lawton & Parker that Anson got last year, about 2/3rd scale or whatever a 9" flywheel works out at would be a comfy size. Though if you have your way the firewood project may end up with a rotary valve

[Alyn Foundry]

Note to self, visit opticians at ones earliest convenience….

The Crossley in the photo is a very early model Circa 1880’s with “ carrier flame ignition “ nearly a 4’ diameter flywheel and only 2 1/2 HP.

Yes, the Lawton is a very pretty little engine. The rotary valve is apparently tapered too, like the gas taps of the era. I think there’s so few of these engines around today because the engineering quality is exquisite.

   Graham.

[Roger B]

That inverted twin looks quite fun   

[vtsteam]

Some thoughts about the Wing engine.....

The two pistons, rods, connecting bar, all move together as a whole, so that's a considerable mass that's reciprocating to try to balance. The crankshaft is also unusually long for a twin, with the throws external to the main crankcase. Any attempt to put a balance weight in the crankcase will produce sizeable wracking strains on the long crank. Likewise if one cylinder fires and the other doesn't, the strain over a long crank is considerable. The heavy flywheel and firing in unison of two cylinders will also put great demands on the long crank.

Even a tiny flex in that long crank, along with vibration, and uneven firing, will put heavy wracking strains on the connecting bar at top. Not to mention fatiguing the crank. Presumably the pistons are like steam pistons with fixed rods (correct me if I'm wrong) and pass though a stuffing box/spigot. This engine's moving mechanism really needs to run straight and parallel, no matter what the conditions. Much depends on the connecting bar and crankshaft stiffness, particularly during misfires in one cylinder.

I have no doubt it all works, there's a working example extant, but it does cause you to think about the special needs of this engine structurally. Balance weights if present should be located as close as possible to each end crank, and a central bearing would seem a must. The crankshaft had better be tough, the rods, maybe hollow, if feasible, etc. etc. It would be important to just visualize all of what's going on to get a better idea of how feasible it is in a model, and what one could do about its special needs.

I do like thinking about this stuff and picturing it. I'm not up to making something like this, but I do like to imagine what it would be like.