Westinghouse Twin Single Acting Steam Engine

[CI]

I was having some offline conversation about twin single-acting steam engines, and the Westinghouse design was mentioned, along with some of the Stuart designs.
Here is some prints I have on the Westinghouse engine.
This engine probably needs pressure relief valves, since a hydraulic lock could damage it due to the piston valve design.

One of these is a compound, and one is not a compound.

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[uuu]

There's a rather nice Saito V4 single acting engine.  Model V4PR.  It has a clever reversing mechanism, with a sleeve around the valve that can be rotated to swap the ports around.  This also acts as a throttle, so you can control speed and direction with a single servo.



Wilf

[CI]

 

[crueby]

Interesting,  don't  think I have  seen  a s8ngle acting compound before.




I have one of those Saito v4 engines, got it in a steam launch kit by Laugh8ng Whale decades ago.

[Michael S.]

I've been considering building this engine for a few days now. I still have some parts left over from my Stuart 10V. I really like this compound engine. Has anyone seen one before? Apparently, the model is from Great Britain. What diameter is the HP cylinder?

Michael

[CI]

Compound vertical tandem.
Very nice !

I have seen some photos, I think in a railway power/cable station, where they either added a second cylinder at 90 degrees, or perhaps added a tandem cylinder to an existing single-cylinder engine, to both create more power, and get the efficiency of a compound engine.
The intent was to somewhat maintain the same engine footprint, but increase power output.
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[Jasonb]

Not seen that one before but I would say the HP is likely to be about 1/2" at the most.

Funny enough this one wa sjust posted og FB, also looks to be based on Stuart castings

[vtsteam]

One of a pair I have...

[crueby]

One of a pair I have...

What was the original  use for them?

[vtsteam]

Don't know for mine, Chris. But typically, electric generation.

[CI]

I have records from the family lumber company from 1904.
Apparently the lumber mill did not have electricity, and so most work would have had to happen during the daylight hours.
I found a quote for a Westinghouse light plant.
Not sure if they installed it or not, but this would have given them a bit of light in the engine rooms and various sheds.
The lumber was kiln-dried, using large steam boilers, and so steam was available to operate a light plant.

I did a double take when I saw the line item "stable".
At first glance, I tend to assume that they had diesel powered lift trucks back in 1904, but those did not exist.
Each board was apparently hand-stacked, loaded on carts, and pulled around by either horses or mules.
Rough work back then for sure.

16 candlepower per bulb.
Better than nothing I guess.
Fire hazards were a big problem in a lumber mill, and so you an imagine candles, lanterns, and such could be hazardous.

Us old folks probably remember the carbon paper that was used in typewriters, so you could type one letter, and make one or more copies.
You can tell that this is a carbon copy.

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[vtsteam]

$350 then would be about $13K today. Generators of that capacity are definitely cheaper now. But not wiring.