Any Ideas please?

I have recently acquired this lovely engine which has no identifying marks that I can see. The only clue is on the underside of the baseplate which is printed, Bray Developments Co, Penny Farm, Holwell, Nr. Sherborne, Dorset. Tel., Bishops Caundle 335.

Does anyone have any knowledge of this fine engine?

John

Very nice engine! I wonder if the "Bray" reference could be related to Stan Bray, former editor of MEW and author of several model and workshop books.

Looks like somebody lost or mucked up teh "A" frame standard of their Stuart vertical and made the most of what's left. Cutdown box bed and sole plate painted green and a modified cylinder and valve chest too.

I was wondering about that too, hopefully someone will be able to give me more information

I disagree, the box bed has not been modified in any way

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Bill, I’ll photograph it tomorrow

John

The plot thickens ... **LINK**

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-barograph-bray-developments-1776924591

MichaelG.

Yes, the box bed is shallower than my vanilla 10V, and I reckon the cylinder and valve chest may be scratch-made or modded from another casting set, as they look bigger. Must've been a bit 'interesting' assembling that crosshead running in blind slots in the guide rails. Good balance weights on the crank throws - one of the 10V's weakest design features.

Edited By Mick B1 on 17/03/2020 19:57:18

I think I'm getting somewhere now. There is an advert on Evilbay for Bray Developments dated 1969. The ad shows a Barograph fitted into an identical case and cover to mine.

John

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That'd be my guess too.

Yes, that's what my thinking is now. The cut out in the base plate is, I assume where the battery once lived and is now used to hold a piece of absorbent cloth

Whoever built the engine was a Craftsman

John

It does look like a Stuart vertical bed plate as Jason says. The little chrome handrail has been screwed into the holes that would normally be used to bolt the A frame down. Just looks like the lower part of the bed plate has been left off, or maybe machined down?.

Maybe the builder did away with the original valve chest cover because the S would be laid over on its side and replaced it with a piece of plain plate? Or turned it around so the S is concealed on the inside? Although it's in the back of my mind vaguely that the very earliest Stuarts did not have the S cast into the valve cover?

If it is Stuart based then the box bed has been cut down in height and as the flywheel now needs a hole in the base to clear but it could also just have been a bit of flat bar or plate.

Bill Chugg asked me to post this

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From the postage cost and absence of postcode I'd guess a date of later 1960s? First time I saw a postcode was on a Uni application in '68, but they were slower catching outside urban areas. OTOH decimal currency came in in '71. Even just before decimalisation, I'd reckon 7/6 was quite a lot to pay for P&P.