This is the first oscillator I built, another engine designed by Elmer Verburg. The plans were published in Live Steam magazine in August of 1981.
In the course of building the other engines, I also managed to build a few small oscillating cylinder engines. These engines are very simple, the valving is controlled by the cylinder oscillating. There are two holes in the frame, one for intake and one for exhaust. There is a corresponding hole in the cylinder. When the cylinder rocks to uncover the intake hole, steam enters the cylinder. At the other end of the stroke, the hole now uncovers the exhast hole, so the piston pushes the steam out of the cylinder.
This is the first oscillator I built, another engine designed by Elmer Verburg. The plans were published in Live Steam magazine in August of 1981.
He called it "Tiny", and for obvious reasons: It has a 3/16" bore and stroke, a 5/8" dia flywheel, and all of 7 parts. The spring retaining pin is a common pin which I cut with nippers. One of the hardest parts of the project was drilling the hole in the cylinder pivot. For scale, thats a US Quarter in the photo next to "Tiny".
Tiny is a single acting oscillator. That is, that the steam only acts on one side of the piston. Because of this, the exhaust stroke has to be done via the momentum built up in the flywheel. Due to the low mass of the flywheel, Tiny doesn't run at low rpms. It either runs fast or it doesn't run at all. When 5 psi of steam is applied to the engine, it runs like a hummingbird, everything is a blur and it makes a nice humming sound.
This is really the second version of "Tiny" I built. The first one disappeared at a antique engine show. It was very discouraging. But, I liked it enough, and its a pretty simple engine, so I built a second. I keep an eye on it now, often I'll carry it around in my pocket when I leave my display.
Another Verburg design, he called it the "Horizontal Boat Engine". This horizontal oscillator is very loosely based on a prototype boat engine. It really got my attention when the plans were published in the April 1990 issue of Modeltec. The right angle drive off the flywheel was definitely an attention getter. Because it was based on a boat engine, I call it "Boater", and attached a small propellor I bought at a local hobby shop.
I was still living at my parents at the time, and had the long Thanksgiving weekend off from work. Elmer called for the parts to be made from brass, aluminum, or steel. I decided to build it all out of brass. I dug around the scrap bin for the appropriate sizes of brass, and went to work. If it weren't for the fact that my local Boston Gear distributor didn't have the right gears in stock, it would have been finished over that long weekend.
Boater is a double acting oscillator, there are ports on both sides of the piston. It has a 7/16" bore and a 5/8" stroke, and the flywheel is 1-1/2" diameter. It runs very well, I've had it running on under 5 PSI of air.
In one sense, this is the first steam engine I built. Its actually the first one I started, but not the first I finished.
"Dickins" is a locomotive built to run on O gauge Lionel track. It is powered by two oscillating cylinders, one on each side. It was designed by Dr. James R. Senft, and was serialized in Live Steam magazine in February-April 1976.
My father thought this might be a good project for my older brother and I to learn on. Back when I was a pre-teenager, we started building three, one for each of us. My brother and I had to build the parts for each of ours. Dad would build the boilers. We got to the point of having the wheels, axles, and frames done, and then for whatever reason, work stopped.
After building several other engines, I decided to finish this project. Dad had built one of the boilers, so I got it. Everything about the engine was pretty easy. Before building the alcohol burner, I attached an air line to the boiler, in place of the saftey valve. The engine ran well, but the air line wasn't flexible enough to run it along a track without pulling the engine over.
The drive wheels are 1-1/4" diameter, and the front wheels are only 1". The cylinders are single acting, 9/32" bore and 5/8" stroke. The smokestack is really the safety valve. Dr. Senft designed it to look slightly British, with buffers, and open cab, and round holes in the cab front. I liked the looks of it, so I built it as designed.
I built the alcohol burner as designed, but I can't get it to keep a flame burning for more than a few seconds. I'm assuming that the tube between the two burners and the tank just isn't enough. So, I've never really run the engine on steam. Someday, I'll figure out the alcohol burner problem. Until then, Dickins remains a static display.
I've also helped my nephew Frank build an oscillator of his own. He was 16 when he built it, over the course of two week-long visits. Read more about it on Frank's Engine page
More pictures of other oscillating engines will follow...
This page is always under construction!
Last Updated Feburary 28, 2006
All photographs and text © Mike Boucher. Ask permission if you want to use any of it!
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