Table Engine

Here is a third engine that I built following Stuart guidelines for their series of models that use interchangeable parts. This one comes with several names too. Elmer Verburg built one and called it a mine engine. In the Stuart catalog it is referred to as a James Coombes engine, possibly because of the original builder or something. The table calling comes from the fact that the cylinder sets of a platform supported by four legs like a table. In the Stuart catalog it states that the original prototype engine had a 10" bore and 24" stroke, and produced 20 hp at 40 rpm. It also stated that it was used at a Bristol colliery for more than 100 years. Wow! How many machines now days last that long? A lot of people feel lucky if their car lasts long enough to get it paid off.

Most of my engines are painted gaudy contrasting colors, because it makes them so photogenic, but I figured ant engine that had spent 100 years working a a coal mine would be black. The color might be right, but it sure makes it hard to photograph so that you can see it properly.

There are at least three more engines in this series that I have not built yet. I have to compare myself with a young man on a big college campus with thousands of girls. There is simply no way that all of them can be pursued, You just have to make do with what ever number you can work into the schedule.

Birk