MooseMan
Progress, progress....
1946 Mamod SE1
This
is a 1946 flatbed SE1, with a typical hot stamped brass engine frame on
which the Mamod logo is picked out in relief. It has a Mazak flywheel,
and the exhaust is routed into the funnel. This particular model was
only made for a few months in 1946, which to me makes it even more
interesting.
I saw this beauty for sale at £25 - guess how long I hesitated! It had been pretty badly treated - the baseplate was covered in metallic red paint, the engine frame had been stripped, burner and safety valve were missing....in other words, nothing I can't cope with.
The engine's had a clean and a repaint. The burner is not the exact correct one, but close to what it should be. The safety valve is an exact copy made by MamodFan, and the stunning replica decal was made by flywheel, both regular visitors of the Mamod Forum.
The power of this little engine belies its size - it is more powerful than anything I've encountered in this size. It is really well made, and it runs beautifully, fast and smooth. Please note that the video is pre restoration.
I saw this beauty for sale at £25 - guess how long I hesitated! It had been pretty badly treated - the baseplate was covered in metallic red paint, the engine frame had been stripped, burner and safety valve were missing....in other words, nothing I can't cope with.
The engine's had a clean and a repaint. The burner is not the exact correct one, but close to what it should be. The safety valve is an exact copy made by MamodFan, and the stunning replica decal was made by flywheel, both regular visitors of the Mamod Forum.
The power of this little engine belies its size - it is more powerful than anything I've encountered in this size. It is really well made, and it runs beautifully, fast and smooth. Please note that the video is pre restoration.
Mamod 1948 Minor 2
The early flatbase Mamods are all the vogue at the moment, so I was amazed when this one cropped up on eBay and didn't attract too many bids...granted, it's a little tatty, but still a very nice, solid little engine. The boiler is a drawn tube with a press fit endcap, and the flywheel is solid brass, as opposed to the later mazak flywheels. It came without a burner, but the correct burner was kindly provided by my good friend Dampfzauberer. It runs very well indeed.
1950 Mamod SE2
One of my favourite Mamods - the SE2 has an exhaust choke, which slows it down with full steam pressure still applied to the piston, causing a beautiful "chugging" sound. This is another brass flywheel engine, and in superb condition. The firebox and base have been repainted as there was no original paint left, but apart from that the engine is in totally original condition.
Below is a video of the MM2 and the SE2 running together.
Below is a video of the MM2 and the SE2 running together.
Mamod TE1A
This
is possibly the most popular engine in the world - very few steam
enthusiasts don't have one, or don't want one. I had previously owned a
TE1A - in fact, it was the very first engine I attempted "restoration"
on - I sold it, shamefacedly, a few years ago. This one was a freebie! It came to me, along with a little Minor 1, from the same gentleman I bought my Mersey 54R
from....he'd contacted me saying he had a few "bits" surplus to
requirement, did I want them? Oh yes I did! Thank you very much Mark A.!
And rather nice it is......it is the '68-'72 model with the turned brass whistle and the TE1-type canopy. It's in fine shape, a few bits of paint loss here and there and the whistle is soldered into the bush, but apart from that it's good as gold - all it needed when I got it was a bit of a clean, to get rid of the oil it had been quite rightly wiped over with before storage. A kind member of the Forum donated the spring and steering rod (Thank you Griffin), and I found a suitable used scuttle on eBay for next to nothing - the vap lamp I already had.
As befits a Mamod of this type and age, it runs really, really well......with the spring off the flywheel cranks up some pretty amazing revs, and the little engine has plenty of power to send the TE1A off down my kitchen at a real rate of knots. Tremendous fun, and I'm delighted to have this engine back in my collection!
And rather nice it is......it is the '68-'72 model with the turned brass whistle and the TE1-type canopy. It's in fine shape, a few bits of paint loss here and there and the whistle is soldered into the bush, but apart from that it's good as gold - all it needed when I got it was a bit of a clean, to get rid of the oil it had been quite rightly wiped over with before storage. A kind member of the Forum donated the spring and steering rod (Thank you Griffin), and I found a suitable used scuttle on eBay for next to nothing - the vap lamp I already had.
As befits a Mamod of this type and age, it runs really, really well......with the spring off the flywheel cranks up some pretty amazing revs, and the little engine has plenty of power to send the TE1A off down my kitchen at a real rate of knots. Tremendous fun, and I'm delighted to have this engine back in my collection!
Mamod TE1
This is a fine example of the Mamod TE1, from around 1965. It differs from the later TE1A in that it doesn't reverse and has a choke on the exhaust instead. This is a great example, with only a tiny bit of paintloss here and there, and it runs superbly well - it also has the original box, burner and steering rod, all in very good shape. This engine was a lucky buy from eBay.
Mamod SR1
This superb SR1 is from around 1965 and was sold to me a a knock down price by my good friend Griffin. This model has beautiful shiny aluminium rollers rather than the later mazak ones. It also has the orignal box, burner and rods, and is in perfect cosmetic and mechanical condition - runs like a dream.
Below is a video of the three mobiles in action:
Below is a video of the three mobiles in action:
Mamod SL1 loco
Ah.....the Mamod steam loco. If you don't have one of these, you should get one. Really! I bought this one about a year ago with the intention of selling it on, fired it up once and I was hooked. Apparently you have to be a little bit lucky with these, as not all of them run well straight out of the box, but they can all be made to run well with a bit of time and effort. This one runs brilliantly, or at least it started running brilliantly as soon as I got rid of the solid fuel burner - I now run it on a meths burner from Forest Classics, or on a gas burner I have lying around, and it just goes and goes. It came boxed with an oval of track, an open wahon and a log wagon, and it will haul these around at a rate of knots for about ten minutes on a boiler filling.
Mamod SL3 "Clinton"
This loco is named after my mate and brother-in-steam Clinton Taylor
A very special case! This once was a standard Mamod SL3......I found it on ebay as a rad sad pile of bits, with lots of cosmetic and structural damage. I decided to rebuild it with whatever was in my bits box. I have created a regulator using a nice steam valve which takes the steam through the chimney into the reversing valve - a much sorter route than is normal on this loco. I then spent a few pounds on a couple of refinements from Dream Steam (see below), and a couple of nameplates from Alan Briggs Loco Nameplates. Finally, a high capacity meths burner was purchased from fellow forum member Gremlin, and what we have here is a powerhouse little engine! The paintwork isn't perfect after a little accident with a gas burner, but more that good enough, and I love the way this one looks: a proper little workhorse. Below is some video of it in action:
SL3 with Dream Steam mods
This is a standard SL3 loco, modified with upgrade parts from Dream Steam.....Dream Steam is a small mailorder company who specialise in parts and upgrades for the Mamod loco range, and I can't recommend them highly enough. This loco has been fitted with steel wheels, a needle valve regulator (which allows for much better steam control), and uprated safety valve and a water topup valve. It was also fitted with a high capacity meths burner made by fellow forum member Gremlin. It is a pretty flawless performer, and with the upgrades it is capable of pulling a heavy rake of coaches, see the video below.
The Flying Pig
The "Flying Pig" (so called because they said it never would) was cobbled together out of a rusty MEC1 Mamod/Meccano engine, some bits of Meccano from my bits box and a direct drive belt made out of O ring material - to my own astonishment it runs very well indeed! I fitted it with some Alan Briggs nameplates, and this little thing became a huge crowdpleaser, pulling in fascinated onlookers at the Steam Toys Lincolnshire fair (although that may have something to do with the tall Dutchman crawling around shouting "Go Pig!!!!!")
