Wilesco Stationary Engines
A large well known German manufacturer of Model Steam Engines, they have been in production since 1950.
Having lost money on 2 non-steam items that never arrived from Germany, and a general lack of German sellers using PayPal, has meant that my Wilesco purchases off ebay have been limited to the UK at present.
Wilesco D6 Steam Engine
The entry level horizontal boiler engine, this has a mirror polished and nickelplated boiler with water gauge glass. Boiler house, coloured and copperplated, with embossed brick type walls. Oscillating brass cylinder and piston, spring loaded safety valve, dome whistle, & flywheel with grooved pulley.
This is my Wilesco D6 Steam engine. It was purchased on ebay, and is in near complete condition, just missing the operating instructions. It runs well having used some old Mamod solid fuel recently. This probably dates from the 1980s with a price tag on the box for £17.51.
Wilesco D8 Steam Engine
Slightly bigger than the D6, this also has a mirror polished and nickelplated boiler with water gauge glass. Boiler house, coloured and copperplated, with embossed brick type walls. Oscillating brass cylinder and piston, spring loaded safety valve, dome whistle, & flywheel with grooved pulley.
This is my Wilesco D8 Steam Engine which was the 2nd stationary engine I acquired, and is is my first, and so far, only electrical heated engine. It runs very well without any stinky fuel smells! Its date is unknown at present.
Wilesco D16 Steam Engine
Mirror polished and nickelplated boiler, with water gauge glass. Boiler house with embossed brick type walls, 2 footbridges with ladder. Double action reversible brass cylinder with flywheel, spring loaded safety valve, additional steam whistle, steam regulator, flywheel with grooved pulley, sturdy attractive die cast piston rods, centrifugal governor, steam jet oiler and railing.
This is my Wilesco D16 Steam Engine which is fitted wth the earlier type whistle with counterweight. it was descibed as a Traction Engine on ebay, and has suffered from neglect after being used. This was my first valve gear operated steam engine, and it runs well. To be cleaned and the rust on the baseplate when time permits.
Wilesco D21 Steam Engine
Mirror polished brass boiler, with water gauge glass, water drain cock. Boiler house true to life, coloured, with embossed brick type walls, 2 footbridges with railing and 2 ladders. Double action reversible brass cylinder with flywheel, spring loaded safety valve, additional steam whistle with chain, pressure gauge, steam regulator, flywheel of 100 mm diameter with grooved pulley, sturdy attractive die cast piston rods, steam jet oiler, centrifugal governor, with feeding water pump, so the steam engine can be filled with water while in operation. The condensed water is fed to a tank hidden behind the boiler house, causing the chimney to smoking realistically. Finely painted metal base plate.
This is my Wilesco D21 Steam Engine. It was purchased off ebay in near mint boxed condition, although it is missing the accessories and instructions. Interestingly the chimney is now held on by 2 screws, presumably to stop it vibrating off like earlier models.
Wilesco T90 Steam Turbine
They are the successors of the traditional steam engines and replaced it more and more during the last decades. Turbines are used today in the aeronautics as well as in power stations. The first model of this range is mounted on a light-coloured and printed base plate. A graph shows the course of the torque dependent on the speed and a manometer shows the pressure in the nickelplated boiler. Finely painted metal base plate. The WILESCO Steam Turbine T 90 represents in contrast to the piston driven machines a different technology. The RPM and the working pressure are higher (1,2 - 1,5 bar). Because of this it is important to preheat the boiler, then the fun can begin. With the second filling of dry spirit tablets the
maximum allowed pressure is achieved which is equivalent to the well known steam engines D 16 or D 20. The turbine and the turbine housing are made of high quality and heat resistant plastic. The biggest difference between the the steam engines and the turbine is that the turbine runs without oil. All moving parts on the turbine are bearing mounted to enable a smooth operation at high speeds (up to max 9000 RPM). Due to the built in gearing with a ratio of approx. 1:4 WILESCO's model range can be driven. As in all Steam Turbines the steam is directed onto the turbines vanes through a special nozzle thus setting it into rotation.
This is my Wilesco T90 Steam Turbine. It was purchased off ebay in near mint boxed condition, and is complete with all accessories and instructions.
Accessories
Wilesco offer a number of driven models in metal and wood, and the following is my small collection so far.
L to R, M61 Forge Shop with missing rivet on roof, M60 Hack-saw with paint loss on baseplate, M56 Model Plate, M55 Countershaft, and tatty boxed M64 Plate Shears.
L to R, M53 Circular Saw, M51 Drilling Machine & M52 Two Wheel Grinder all in boxed unused condition.
Once I've completed running my Mamod SE & SP range workshop displays, I will build a similar one to run these Wilesco engines and accessories.