When I was chairman of Messrs. Carson and Co., the late Mr. James Carson and I collaborated in the development of flash steam model locomotives.
With the exception of the very small model L. & N. W. “Experiment” loco which had only one coil, and a methylated vaporising burner, the boilers had longitudinal coils running the full length of the boiler, and were fired by means of a Carson Primus type burner. The pressure container was a drum inside the tender, and was surrounded by water in the usual square or oblong tank. This water fed the geared pump, which was driven from the second tender axle.
The most successful of this type was a ¾-inch-scale 4-4-0 Caledonian, built for Sir Henry Lopes. Mr. Carson always declared that this engine was the fastest he had ever seen, and during tests he carried out, on Sir Henry’s track, never dared to give the model more than half-throttle, no matter what load the engine was hauling.
Mr. Wardlaw, of New York, and a “M. E.” Exhibition Championship Cup Holder, has a similar locomotive which, I believe, is destined for exhibition in some museum in U. S. A.
Figure 71.—Operable model of a British locomotive of about 1905.
British Locomotive, 1905
An operable model ([figure 72]) of locomotive No. 146 of the Ferrocarril Oeste of Argentina was presented to the Museum (USNM 310585) in 1933 by Frank A. Wardlaw and Frank A. Wardlaw, Jr. The 22-inch-long model has a gauge of 2½ inches. Gasoline carried in the tender is used as fuel. The builder is not known.
Figure 72.—Operable model of a British locomotive, 1905.
The original locomotive No. 146, a 4-4-4-T type with a cowcatcher and outside cylinders, was built in 1905 by Beyer, Peacock & Co., Ltd., of Manchester, England. The locomotive and tender have a common frame. According to a small plate affixed to the model, the original was the first locomotive to be fitted with “Wardlaw’s composite clackvalve.” This invention of the elder Wardlaw was installed at Buenos Aires in January 1908, according to the legend on the plate.
The original Greyhound was locomotive No. 302 of the London and North-Western Railway Co., built in 1905 at the Crewe works of the company. Of the 4-4-0 type, the locomotive had inside cylinders and was the first in Europe to be fitted with “Wardlaw’s composite clackvalve.” This was done in August 1910.
The model of the locomotive and its 6-wheeled tender ([figure 73]) is 29 inches long and has a gauge of 2½ inches. It is operable, using gasoline carried in the tender as fuel. The builder is not known.