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A distinguished ole lady

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redhouseluv:
I wondered if anyone had seen one of these before? It's very simple, very old and very heavy (8kg or 17.5 lbs) and I think very beautiful. Once oiled, she turns over as smooth as silk, I had to reassemble the valve assembly as it had come apart in the valve chest and then re-time her

Is there a name for engines of this type with an extended piston rod with forked connecting rod and pivot crosshead?
Why are there 2 holes, one in the cylinder and one in the valve chest - would they both have had oilers in them?
The disc crank has a counterweight forged into it on one side
The main bearings have oilers with 'Lucas patent' written on them, so presumably it's British?

I plugged the 2 holes with bolts temporarily and fired her up with some air, she's leaky, but makes a lovely chuffing noise:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TsmNFsboo7U

Casting Iron:
I have studied the Cretors brand of small steam engines, and your engine seems to fall into the same category, ie: a small fractional horsepower steam engine for powering light loads like a popcorn stiring mechanism, rotating a peanut roaster, or some other similar small load.

I have never seen a steam engine cylinder of any type drilled in the location that you show.
That hole would see pressure, so it would blow back through a standard oiler.

I would call that crosshead mechanism a "tuning fork crosshead", but I don't know the official term for it.
I have seen a lot of old steam engines that had a piston rod that protruded out the top cylinder head, and it was supported via a guide in a similar fashion.
Most American engines I have seen did not have the top of the piston rod supported.

Looks like a well built engine.
It would be interesting to see if it had a brand name, or was a one-off build.

The finial caps on the main bearing bolts are also most interesting, and I have not seen that style used in that location before.

Thanks for the video; interesting to see it run.

Pat J
.

redhouseluv:
Thanks Pat

I just looked up the Creators engines, they look superb, really classy!

As you pointed out the engine wouldn't work with an open oiler under pressure, but I wondered if it would have been the lever type with a shutoff? (see pic, although this one is a bit elaborate!)?

Casting Iron:
The two photos you posted are the only steam engine cylinders I have ever seen drilled somewhere in the center of the bore.
I am not that familiar with the small British steam engines though, other than one that is a green twin oscillator.

I have not seen that on the US-built engines such as Cretors, or the Cretors knock-offs like the Dunbar, or the Kingery.
US steam engines in general seem to be somewhat simplistic compared to some British engines.
The Cretors and similar engines were very functional, and mass produced.
The Cretors engines had a nice style to them, I think.

I believe Dunbar was Cretor's chief mechanic, and he started his own company, and produced a steam engine that looks very close to a Cretors No.01.

I have also seen one Dunbar that had the direct support for the piston rod, but instead of a wishbone connecting rod, it had just a single cantilevered connecting rod.

And a quick search shows the supposed Dunbar engine below, which has the wishbone connecting rod.

I have mainly studied the Cretors engines.

Edit:
The oilers with the valve could always be used to oil an engine when it is not running.
And I seem to recall some oilers that had a lever with piston, so that oil could be forced under pressure into the cylinder.

.

PaulR:
I like the mechanism and the sound!

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