[Jeroen]

This weekend is Pentecost in the Netherlands. It means that most folks here have an extra long weekend, with the Monday being an official Sun-/holiday. These three days are packed with all sorts of activities all over the Netherlands. Nothing to do with religion. Not sure how many people still celebrate Pentecost.

Even so, endless number of fairs, markets, all sort of events. I could visit 3-4 classic car events every day for three days and I still would not have seen them all!

As it so happens there was one event to which I had been looking forward for some time; The International Stationaire Engine Show.

https://nuenen.jtd.nl/en/over-ons/

This is what their websites says:

The international stationary engine rally in Nuenen

Well known and loved by engine collectors all over the world for it’s great and

Varied presentation of unique historical internal combustion engines.

Each year, some 300 engine collectors with about 500 engines meet in a relaxed and casual atmosphere to exchange experiences, tips and discoveries.

Also to be found at the showground are traders with parts, engines, tools and documentation, as well as a display of superbly built model engines.

It will be an unforgettable “Nuenen”, so make sure you are there (again)!

We would love to see you in Nuenen, either as a visitor or as an exhibitor!

I had read and heard about this event, but never visited it. That is till this weekend. I have written about special events here in the Netherlands before.

(https://www.google.com/url?client=in...gs_hD-xw-Bp8qx) Got a lot of positive response, so I thought I would make a little overview. Lots of photographs and at the very end a cool little video as well. Enjoy!!

This event is held in Nuenen, close to Eindhoven. About a 50 minute drive from our home. Mostly motorway. I am not sure what the exact definition of a stationaire engine is. These folks certainly don’t seem to bothered by it. They are having too much of a good time, enjoying their engines and each other company.

But if I had to take a stab at it, these are engine that were used in more or less stationaire (!?) applications. As you will see a lot of these engines used to drive all kinds of farming equipment. (e.g. pumps, saws). Most of them were fairly small, or at least sort of portable. Just about all of them, few exception are diesel engines of some sort of shape or format. Some of the larger units might have been used in what we call “gemaal” or pumping stations (we have a lot of those as we hate getting our feet wet. An occupational hazard when you build most of the country under sea level)

It's difficult to put an exact time frame on these engines. But I would say the span from early 1900s toward late 1960s perhaps. There might have been a few modern. Most of the engines here are likely to be from the 1925 - 1955 era. But don't quote me on that.


The event is held at a massive field, in between some very nice woods. Nothing fancy, no gates or anything. Just a little market stall with some volunteer. Entrance charge for the day is Euro 6. So that is very very reasonable.

Apart from the engines, there are also a lot of market stalls selling engine related stuff. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!!

Some gorgeous models:





Some of you might remember I collect old (electrical) measurement instruments. Look at this, and there were several of these stands selling this kind of stuff!!





Found this very nice sign. But it was an original one. My RE Bullet in Delhi cost less then this sign!!



And then there are endless market stalls, with endless engine parts, for the discerning stationaire engine owner.





I found this amazing instrument. We used them in the merchant navy. ( I assume they still do). It is called an Indicator. You attach it to the indicator valve of a cilinder of the diesel engine. The little cilinder is attached with a wire to a special lever on the engine. That lever mimics the up and down movement of the piston. The indicator has a bellow that moves a scribe across a piece of paper on the cilinder as the cilinder pressure rises/falls.



It will get you a little diagram, known as the indicator diagram, something like looking like this:



The surface of the enclosed line (sort of the banana) is a measure of the total amount of horse power being generated in the cilinder. Hence the name indicated brake horspower, or iBHP). We used to have a so called planometer that would allow us to measure the exact surface and then some calculations were done and you had the answer. It is important to regularly check the iBHP per cilinder to see if the engine delivers roughly the same amount of power per cilinder.

There is all sorts of other diagrams you can draw with it. All for better understanding on what is happening inside your engine.

If you want to bruhs up on your understanding of performance measurement on large diesels:

https://dieselship.com/marine-techni...ator-diagrams/

These days a lot of this sort of stuff is done continuously and by means of various electronic sensors. But this indicator device is a good measure of what I would be seeing all day. Just plane and simple mechanical engineering. Well, actually not always that simple. You will see some very clever devices, linkages and all kinds of mechanical trickery later on and in the video.

Bottom line with these kind of engines: What you see is what you get. No electrics/electrons!!





I arrived fairly early, about 08.30. Some of the exhibitors had just arrived and were still unloading their engines:





Here is an interesting one. I spotted this unusual engine:



It was used to power a fountain!! The owner still had some original brochures showing what this had looked like originally!





Still making my way through more market stalls with more parts!



One of the things that fascinates me on these engines, are the various details. Look at these little lubricators. Every single one of them is a work of art on its own!!





You might recognise these parts; these are the huge flat belts and respective flat pulleys. They use these to deliver the power from the engine to say a pump or so.

[Jeroen]

Lets look at some of these engines!!

If you wondered about my earlier comments/photograph on the flat belt / flat pulleys here you see them in action!!





Look at this thing of beauty. You can say whatever you want about ze Germans, but when it comes to engineering and building great looking machines, they are a class on their own!!



This event is advertised as International. And it was very much an international crowd. Both the exhibitors as well as the crowd. I heard English, Swedish, French, Italian, German, Russian (well, several slavic type of languages I think) and Vlaams, all apart from Dutch. You will hear so in the video too!

Some of these engines are huge (you will see later) but some of them are quite small as well. This was a very unusual design.



Very simple, small engine, with a clutch (pedal). you would pop that flat belt on the flywheel and Bob’s your uncle. You can power the world!!



Engines, engines



Did I mention I love the details of these engines? Looks at these lubricators. Look at that mechanical governor!!!





Now, for some very stark contrast. Walk to your car, open the bonnet and look at your engine. If you have a modern engine you will be looking at some bits of plastic!! Sorry, I love engineering, high tech engineering, state of the art engineering. But some of it, brilliant it may be, is just mind boggling boring to look at!!

This is a so called “armgasmotor”. Literal translation “poor gas engine”. These engines were fired by means of a gas, from a gas generator. In those days (1905) that could have been charcoal, wood, anthracite.





These days, for demonstration purpose, they run this engine of propane gas.

The event / exhibition was surrounded by campers and tents. Many of the exhibitors arrive on Thursday and will stay 3-4 night. Everybody just camps out, brings a camper, tent or caravan.



My wife and I dont do camping. We did it once, when the kids were small. Friends of ours were die-hard campers and they lend us all their gear. “You are going to love it they claimed”. Well, the kids loved it. But Mrs. D hated it, and I wasn’t so keen on it either. The kids loved it, whilst we rowed and threatened each other with divorce. So no camping for us. But if we were ever to try camping again, I would make sure I would get myself one of these:

Probably not very comfortable, but at least you will have the coolest camper on site!!



And then all of sudden I found this toy crane. Not just a toy crane. It is a Triang Crane. More precisely, it is the Triang Crane I had as a little boy. I played endlessly with it. I have been on the lookout for one of these for decades. I do come across them on Brocante markets now and then. But they are always in very poor shape. This one was in very good shape, all complete!!



The amount of money they wanted for this toy crane was just obscene. When I comes to my hobbies and interest, I don’t mind spending money. But this was just beyond ridiculous. So I passed. My wife and I will be visiting the largest Brocante market in Europe, Temploux Belgium, in Belgium. I will restart my search for my Triang Crane there!!

Talking about hobbies and interests, I could go broke here for buying bits for my lathe and mini mill!!



This was also an interesting one. An old school dentist drill. My dentist has some of the coolest, newest gadgets. She still hurts me, but she is very proud her fancy super duper electronically controlled drill runs at 7 billion RPM.

This thing probably runs at 200 RPM, but is a whole lot more interesting to look at. I love those little guide wheels with the spring/snair running over it. (notice the models in the background too!)



Lots of interesting engines to see and admire. Interesting owner too!





This guy had modelled an old fashioned machine / workshop in his market stall. His business is actually restoring and refurbishing these old engines. There were several of these companies at the event. I had a chat with some of the owners. Believe it or not, but restoring old / classic engines is a thriving business in Western Europe at the moment.



Of course, some of these stationaire engines were used to power generators.





They might be old, they might be rusty, but they still make for an interesting image!!

[Jeroen]

Some more details. Here are a few close ups of the cilinder lubrication devices on some of these engines.

You will find these sort of devices on larger engines. When splash lubrication is not sufficient, these devices inject, preset, amounts of lub oil along the cilinder wall. I wrote some more about these devices in my other Diesel Engine thread.





You will see one of these in action, in the movie at the end of this thread.

Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out whether you are looking at a model engine or a small real engine. Go figure!







Did I mention the gorgeous details on some of these engines? Look at what this guy is selling. Each a work of art. These are used for various liquids. The rectangular ones are usually meant for storing lub oil.



The set up of this event is very simple and basic. Get a very large field. Well that’s it. That is all that needs organising. A few portable loos and a very basic set up cafeteria.



A coffee and a so called “apple flap”. Not sure how that translates? Maybe some of our Indian members in the Netherlands can help out. I would imagine most Indians would love it, very sweet!!



Not quite sure what all the piping is about. But it certainly looked very photogenic.



There were quite a few engines for sale, like this one on the trailer. Euro 750 (INR 63000) and that includes the trailer!! Almost bought it, but it would be way to difficult to explain to Mrs D!

Notice also the two old outboard engines.



This was an interesting contraption. I could not figure out what it was. Had a little chat with the owner. He build this himself. It is truly unique, only one in existence on the planet.



He got an engine from Italy and a gearbox from Germany and managed to get them to work together. All the other bits came from various other sources. The engine/transmission fit is not perfect. He told me he had an alignment problem, could not run it over about 2000 rpm. But that was plenty. He used this little tractor to move his boat trailer around his property.



Here is something else, very Dutch:



These are live-size dolls, they are the size of a small kid. You might find them all over the Netherlands. People might put them up on a bench in front of their house, with the kid peeking inside the house. They are usually positioned so you see them from the back. Looks very real.

We call them “gluudertjes”. “little peek”



This is a so called “Gloeikop” engine. Sorry, not sure how that translates.



Early diesel engines were notoriously difficult to start. Remember a diesel engine relies purely on compression to generate sufficient heat inside the combustion chamber to ingite the diesel / air mixture.

These Gloeikop engines had a gas burner mounted on top of the cilinder head. The burner is used to heat up the combustion chamber so the diesel would ignite easier.



And still more engines were being unloaded as I was wondering around the field. This by far the largest one!



If you bring your engine by truck, you need to find yourself an appropriate classic truck as well, obviously!





Some engines still waiting to be unloaded:





This engine is known as a flame-licker! You can see the burner on top. There is a sliding valve. When the valves slides back, the flame is “sucked” into the cilinder head, valve closes and the mixture ignites. All a bit rusty, but still in perfect working condition.



Have a look at how it all works, pretty cool!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdtpYXLI4d0

More engines, all very stationaire, sitting in the grass, but all running too!

[Jeroen]

Still more engines!



This is a Kromhout engine. Kromhout is a well known and respected name here ini the Netherlands. At one time they operated a ship repair / build yard in Amsterdam. You can still visit it, definitely worth the visit:

https://kromhoutmuseum.nl/en/

But the also started designing and manfacturing diesel engines. They were one of the largest Diesel manufacturers in Europe in the early to mid 1900s. A lot of old/classic ships still run Kromhout engines. I have come across them in my time as Marine Engineer as well. They also found their way into power stations and even busses. This one also features the forward/reverse clutch.



Huge variety of engines, any shape, size, colour, type.



I happen to stumble on one of these things. I remember as a little boy I was absolutely fascinated with it. I don’t know what the official term/tittle of these machines are. But they are used to flatten/stamp down sand. Usually prior cobbling. These days they tend to use machines that vibrate. But this thing jumped up and down, because of a small explosion! Very similar to an old fashioned pile driver.



There were a number of kids around. All boys, all feeling hugely important, clutching tools and oil cans and getting incredibly dirty, just like Dad!!

We say “jong geleerd, oud gedaan”. Sort of “teach them young”.





Of course, there were ladies too. This lady was very busy with her dog. No dirt, tools or oil can on her. She was selling some very nice looking files though.



When you own one of these engines, coming to this event is a family event. You bring your engine, a couple of fold-up chairs, thermos, and some sandwiches.



This was an absolutely gorgeous model. I spoke to the owner. He runs one of these classic engine restoration shops. Apparently, this model was made by a gentleman who died a few years ago. When he mentioned his name, I recognised it. This gentleman is well known in the model engine build community.

The level of details and the finish of this model is just superb!!



A few images of stuff that I found interesting but dont necessarily understand it all.





There were also quite a few old pedal cars for sale. Pedal cars are very popular these days. Good ones will go for hundreds of Euro’s, easily!



A lot of stationary engines have come from Great Britain. So they wrote a book about it. Well, books, multiple, this is just volume 1. These days it is probably easier to find the original workshop manual of a 1930 stationair diesel engine, then getting a copy of your 2022 VW Golf workshop manual. It’s called progress I guess.



A very early mini mill, powered by a diesel engine. Can you imagine having one of these in my garage!! Would be pretty cool, but I can hear Mrs D making objections!



Here you can see it in action!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2dz5m4Ge3w

Some more market stalls. They had some very nice signage plates, hugely expensive.







Here is something I did buy!! It will come in very handy with my machining. I had been on the look out for one of these, but had not been able to find it anywhere. Now its mine, for only Euro 4. Needs a bit of cleaning and polishing up.



This guy was very happy with the lawn mower he had just bought!!



Finally, I have made a little video. Well, I used my iPhone to videotape some stuff. Then a mate of mine helped me put this together. I don’t do so well with computers anymore.

I just re-watched it. No matter how many images, or how good the images might be (mine aren’t very good), but I think this very simple video really capture the beauty of this event. You really need to hear the sounds of these wonderful engines too. Shame you can’t smell them too. Enjoy!!

The video shows some Stirling or hot air engine models running, you can tell as they ran almost silently. Still a combustion engine!! Very low compression! Also have a good look at the little engine from 2:18. Listen for the power stroke. You will notice there is a considerable gap between two consecutive power strokes. These engines run so smoothly and have relative large flywheels, when running at idle, only once in every probably ten revolutions will it have a power stroke. The next engine has an even longer time between power strokes. When you load up these engine they will also start to have more power strokes.

I have also tried to capture a lot of the detailled mechanics that go into these engines, valves moving, all kinds of intricate levers and ratchets doing all kinds of stuff.

So I hope you enjoy it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgzktJSyk0M

As I am finishing up this thread, I have just noticed some more video’s coming out on Youtube.

Here is one, of many, showing even more engines, details etc. Even if you don’t watch all of it, I highly recommend you watch from 5:14 to 6:20. You will see the sand stamping machines in action!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qHt-K4wThU

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[kiredd1005]

Absolutely fascinating! I've been to Eindhoven many years ago, 2012 if I remember correctly. Wish I had known this back then! Thank you so much for sharing! I, for one, am in heaven just reading this and seeing the photos!

[VijayAnand1]

Wonderful engines. They are as unique as their owners and the flame licker was my favorite. With its SL-OB-UKH sound and huffing and puffing. Just wondering the engineering minds back in the times of yore amazes me. We might be all injecting into the combustion chambers today. But just the raw, visceral thump, thomp and ungs of the machines of yore, coupled with a passive background, sandwiches and thermos. That's a day well spent.

Cheers!
VJ

[Thad E Ginathom]

Fabulous, Jeroen. What an amazing day.

I noticed some old-fashioned blowlamps at the beginning of the thread. I'd love to have one of those because my father actually used them when he had paint to strip, etc. No cans of butane back then! They ran on paraffin, which had to be vaporised before burning. This was self maintaining once the thing was going, but the initial heat had to be provided by burning meths (I don't know what you would call it, nor do I know what it is called in India, I've never seen it: Methylated Spirit) under the heating tube. The tank is pressurised by a small, attached pump. I think you probably know all this! Anyway, if I remember corectly, Hurricane Lamps work, and are used, in a sort-of similar way.

Yes, the detail in the old engineering is wonderful. Of course, all the decorative stuff would have been struck out by the accountants! My very small actual experience of the engineering trade (apart from hobby jewellery) was unskilled drilling, and working in the stores. But even my drilling job changed my outlook. It made me realise that someone actually has to make stuff. If there is hole in something, it was drilled or punched. Of course, cnc and other automation now, but still... holes don't get there by themselves!

(not the wanted ones, anyway: the unwanted ones can! )

NB. (Disclaimer: Youtube armchair engineering follows)

That "mini mill" is more properly called a shaper. You can further research shapers and planers on the dear old internet. Planers work much the same way, but the material is on a moving bed, whereas shapers have a moving tool.