[Jeroen]

Little kids tend to be fascinated by BIG Machinery.

Our grandson Ben is fascinated by trains. All trains, big and small! He wants to be a train driver when he grows up!

Apparently, according to my late mum, when I was Ben's age (almost 3) I wanted to become a garbage truck driver. In the early 60s, huge garbage trucks came around our house twice a week. It's very impressive for a little boy. I used to follow it around the neighbourhood on my little tricycle.

But Ben as so many other little boys, is very much into trains.

This weekend one of the steam model clubs nearby had an open day. So we all went, our eldest son Luc, daughter-in-law Maloeken and Ben.

You might not have realized this, but steam engine model building is quite a thing in various countries. This steam train club has a huge plot of land with lots of tracks in different gauges. The longest track is well over 350 meters of length!



This is a serious hobby as you will see. It is also nerd-ville or nerd-heaven depending on your point of view.

Some of these engines are quite large as you will see and heavy! Members and visitors bring their engines in the back of the cars. They have this special place where the engines can be offloaded from the car with a special hydraulic ramp.



The engines are then shunted to individual tracks around the turntable where they will be prepped, boilers fired up, water and coal topped up, and ready to go!



This might be just a hobby, but it is pretty serious stuff. All of these engines are hand built. Some of these took ten years or more to build. The boilers are all fully tested and registered in accordance with the relevant steam boilers regulations.





Yes, these are real steam engines. Requiring lots of water and coal!!





This might look like a little engine model, but make no mistake. It is also a properly functioning steam locomotive. The boiler on these little models are heated with propane/petrol. The control is utilizing a Radio Controller!



Lots of engine driving around all day on different tracks, different gauges. They would give rides to the kids and (grand) parents too!

This is a lovely model of a Dutch diesel shunter. I remember these from when I was young. This one is electrically powered.



Ben enjoying one of his many rides!!



Luc was allowed to take over for the driver and took Ben for a ride. They took two full turns on the track before stopping and handing over the train to another dad and little boy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIWzzqN2EvE

Obviously, Maloeke had to have a go as well.



Some of the members of this club also build stationary steam engines. There was this very nice display with various working models.

The level of detailing is just incredible. And it all works!!



The owner had this bicycle pump installed. Kids could pump air and the steam models would start to run on air!! Ben was fascinated! So was Maloeke.



I am just going to show some more details of these engines.

This was one of the nicest locomotives I thought:



Some close-ups:









These guys (and a few gals) might be a bit nerdy, but they do have a good sense of humour. Look who is riding on one of the passenger carriages!



Some more gorgeous engines/locomotives





Dear serious this guy! Lovely!



Some more details on some of the foot plates as they call it. Every valve works!! Some of these handles are only a few millimeters in size!





You might have spotted some of these in earlier images. In order to get the boiler fired up properly they put a little electric fan on the chimney. That creates enough draft to get the coal fire going. These models don't get enough natural ventilation during the initial firing up, so need a bit of help.



Have a look and listen to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDsT6bNCxUc

We spent almost 2,5 hours here, then we went out for a nice lunch. Nice family gathering!

Jeroen

[Aditya]

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

[V.Narayan]

Wow! WOW!! and WOW!!!

This is dedication out of this world simply. Makes our aircraft scale models look passe. Incredible details and amazing that their boilers and steam apparatus works. Thank you for sharing.

Steam engines have a charm unique to themselves. I have been on a steam engine only once in May 1980 in Lucknow. this engine was standing on platform 1 and the driver at my request allowed me to clamber on and explained his controls. He even allowed me to shovel the coal and completely destroy my shirt!

[sachin_cs]

This is so incredible, as you said, every kid is fascinated with big machines, back then I was always fascinated with buses and trains. What I witnessed here is nothing but my then dream coming into reality. I used to day dream that wish there’s a functional train models on which we can take rides, internet was not a thing back then in our part of the world. I’m so happy to see the that such a thing exist and the amount of efforts & attention to details shown by them is on another level.

[Par_neon]

I am out of words. but if i have to put one word to it it will be Incredible.
I wish i had something like this when i was a kid, forget being a kid, i would to love to experience this even today in my 30s. I guess this is one of the few things that we may never get to see in India in the current times.
Salute to the people involved for their passion, dedication and perseverance and salute to the European society for giving these people an opportunity to exercise their talents.
And thank you Jeroen for introducing this to us.

[aashishnb]

Its one thing to enjoy the outing and another to document in such a wonderful way to let others enjoy with you as well.

Thanks Jeroen.

[RGK]

There are no words to express my admiration for this thread Jeroen. It exemplifies dedication at its highest level.It's no wonder that Europe is recognized for its exceptional engineering.

[Doc_nerd]

Thanks for the article Jeroen. Seeing these little engines at work fires the children's imagination. Have been to the rail museum in Delhi but, there are no steam miniatures there. The closest thing I got to see a small engine was a sterling engine at gedee car museum in coimbatore. Awesome, to see how these engines work and to know how far we have come in terms of refinement in combustion engines.

[mxx]

WOW!
Initially reading the title in "Hot threads", I thought this is about some rail museum. Reading the thread I saw a world which I did not know existed.

[sandeepmohan]

Truly amazing. I could spend hours at a place like this.

We have a place called the Kapiti Miniature Railway in Wellington, New Zealand. Its the only one that I know that has a steam engine on the fleet. We used to be regular there when our son was younger. Interests change as they grow older. As a result, our trips to this place are like once a year now.

[BoneCollector]

Incredible!!

I have seen quite a few videos on YouTube of these train models. They're amazing. I used to think that this is from a museum which has so many working models, never knew that many models are personal ones.

Ben is not alone. There was a time, I was around 5-6 years old, I wanted to become a train engine driver. My fascination for trains was so much that I used to go to the washing pit area near my house and keep looking at the trains and engines and shunters. My drawing books used to be filled with train and track drawings. I was able to understand how the train changes tracks during that time itself. My love for trains never bored me on my long train journeys to college, 19 hours from my home to Delhi and then another 38-40 hours to college. I also started railfanning during college but due to lack of resources, couldn't click photographs. Sadly, as time has passed, due to work commitments and need to preserve time, my train hobby has just gone to backburner. Even now, I keep getting engine snaps from my family members who know about this.

[Jeroen]

Thanks everybody for the enthusiastic responses!

Just a follow-up: At this event I also noticed this model of a six-stroke petrol engine!!



The six-stroke engine is a bit like the Scuderi engine I am building currently. In theory, it could be more efficient, but in practice, it never is/was.

I seem to recall that either Toyota or Honda perhaps had a car with a 6-stroke cycle at some point?

Once I finish my Scuderi model, I will start on this model.

The owner and builder of this model built it more than twenty years ago. He did not have the drawings anymore. But he recalled it all came from an American book by Philip Douglas.

So when I got home I started googling and eventually found the publisher. You can still order the book. It is THE SHOP WISDOM OF PHILIP DUCLOS—lots of different projects and tips on machining.

It is hugely expensive to send a book from the USA to Europe. But I found a PDF version on https://www.scribd.com/home

Downloaded it right away:



I hope to be finishing my Scuderi engine later this autumn.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...ml#post5557695 (DIY: Metal model engine building UPDATE: build complete (page 16)!)

If you are interested in Debbie, my home build 2-stroke engine just scroll back in the above thread.

Jeroen

[digitalnirvana]

Wonderful thread dear Jeroen, this will become a core memory for Ben and hopefully one day inspire him to do great things much like his Grandpa! My love and blessings to him and best wishes to your family.

[RGK]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Incredible!!
Sadly, as time has passed, due to work commitments and need to preserve time, my train hobby has just gone to backburner. Even now, I keep getting engine snaps from my family members who know about this.

OT here:

My late cousin, a retired RBI employee, had a great passion for trains and their services. He would gather all the information about new trains, launches, and upgrades featured in daily newspapers and magazines, meticulously collecting and preserving them. This effort accumulated into several volumes, and one day, prompted by some encouragement from his home minister to share his findings, he decided to take these to the SR office in Chennai. The railway staff was thrilled and commented, "We don’t even have this kind of data," officially gathering the information from him. As a gesture of appreciation, they awarded him a first-class AC ticket to the Delhi Railway headquarters, where he was honored by the top management.