Searching for old specific model steam engines

This maybe a odd question. Or, the wrong place to ask, but here goes.

Back in the 60's and 70's my Grandfather built, or part built, three model steam engines. When he died the family lost track of them. (Some stories there it seems).

So, how would I go about finding where they are now?

Full disclosure: I am not modeller and really do not know what I am talking about. I can repeat back what I have been told, and we have very few photos from the period. I have contacted the nearest modellers Societies with no luck.

Andrew G

Sounds like the proverbial needle in a haystack! Do you have any details of them, maybe even photo's. Assuming they were built to commercially available plans of the day then you would need something tangible your grandfather did by making a modification that makes them recognisably different to any other of the same design or knowledge of him marking them in a specific place or maybe details of a boiler serial number from a test. Unless you can identify a trail from when they were moved on from the family ownership I think you have a mammoth task ahead but I wish you luck. There is a small chance if you have pictures, location and rough date when they were passed on you may get lucky. If you do I suggest you buy a lottery ticket!

All the best,

Paul.

Was he a member of a Model Engineering Club?

Did he have freinds who had lathes?

What was his name and where did he live?

Did he ever write an article or a letter to The Model Engineer.?

Sounds like you need to do some research on himto start with.

regards Martin

regarding Lottery ticket, don't bother buying one, if you have the luck to find the engines you will probably find a winning ticket. Seriously best of luck with your search, if all you do is find out more about your Grandad you are already to the credit.

You never know. It can be an amazingly small world and model engineering is a smaller world within it.

You could post pics of grandpa's engines and grandpa himself in the era, along with a name and approximate location on this and various other model engine sites etc and ask people to pass it along to others from the same era who may remember grandpa.

Many thanks for the replies!

I'm told there where three engines. I don't believe Granddad was a member of a club. I'll see what I can unearth of further details.

What have been told is this:

Engine 1: named "Maisie". Had a "split boiler". Was an Atlantic class 4-4-2, 3.5" gauge. And was swapped for a horse in Chessington!

Engine 2: named "WD" or "Wardie"? Was a 2-8-0, 2.5" gauge. Was gifted to a child in Chessington.

Engine 3: named 'Royal Scot' (or Flying Scotsman?). Incomplete. 12" wheels. 7.25" gauge 4-6-2. No boiler. Had a tender, chassis, and smokebox. Sold in 1971.

Andrew,

No1 - I would say Maisie was a pretty common design for people to build "back in the day" and there must be quite a few of them around, ours was quite a small club back in the 70's and there were at least three Maisie's among our members back then! Given the one you seek would have needed a new boiler or at least a significant repair which is quite invasive I would think if it was done it would have been at least repainted and very likely to look significantly different now. So finding this one may be the most difficult.

No2 - I don't know what design that may have been but it sounds a little more obscure and if so give there are probably fewer of them around, that may be easier to track down than No1.

No3 - Back in the 70's 7 1/4" gauge was less popular than the smaller gauges and even today 7 1/4" is less popular than 5" - needs more space for a track, fewer clubs have tracks of that gauge, probably still true today. Something the size of a 7 1/4 Royal Scot is not an inconsiderable "lump" to move around. Out of the three this one may be the easiest to track down and given the size of the boiler it would have required would not be something that was built in the average back garden with a 2 pint paraffin blow-lamp! So as a starting point this one may be the one to concentrate on first. A general letter of explanation reproduced to all the organisation's with 7 1/4" tracks might generate a response, maybe also to the 7 1/4" Society? Something this size is less likely to have ended up stuffed and mounted on someone's desk, coffee table or bookshelf!

Good luck with your quest, certainly be interesting to hear how you get on. If you have any photo's of any of them that may help.

Best regards,

Paul.

My guess would be that no.2 is an Austere Ada, a WD 2-8-0 in 2.5" gauge, serialised by LBSC during WWII.

Brian G