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Jensen 1938 #50 steam engine.

Part 1 It arrives


Part 2 A up close look


Part 3 Running it on Steam

You are absolutely right Jack .... that is one "Super Super NICE" find and certainly one sweet running old classic!!!

Better get a picture of this one sent into Gil for Engine of the Month 

I bought it from the original owner. He said it was to mark his father's 1st Christmas 1938. As such they did not want to part with it. It was expensive. Several of the family members corroborated the purchase date being before Christmas 1938. They were very familiar with Jensen engines.
I've seen 10", 6" and 5" boiler engines. It would appear this is one of the earliest 5" boiler #50's out there.
Regardless it is a treasure and I have more surprises to come. ;-)
Enjoy the videos.
Thank you all for being awesome! I love finding old rare Jensens.

Congratulations on a fantastic find!

I’m going to have to agree with Gil on the age of the engine though. Everything about it says early post war. The generator with the lamp post on the base is most definitely post war. The cord is typical of all early post war engines. The whistle handle is also typical for a post war engine. The earlier 1930s handles were a larger diameter and a rougher finish. The flare on the stack should be at the top just like all Jensen stacks. The sight glass assembly on this engine looks suspect to me. It appears to made from commercially made brass fittings. I see no reason for Tom Jensen to use bought parts at that time when he had been making his own for a number of years already.
Jack—
You mentioned in one of your videos that an engine was purchased in 1938 and another was purchased a few years later. I think it is more than likely that the previous owner has gotten confused about which engine this one actually is. This engine fits the timeline pretty well to be the second one purchased.

Here is a pair of them outdoors for a steam-up.


(5" and 6" riveted boilers, both 1930's)




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Steve Tyner confirmed the sight glass is original Jensen. I too thought it was not original but have been told otherwise.
It also has a very early arm control for the governor.
I've actually done a lot of homework on this engine. There are several things that are unique about it.
There are very few early Jensen #50's to go by.
The smoke stack is flared. It only fits one way. It is original and was made that way.
I also thought it was upside down at first but it's not.
The immersion heaters are also very old circa 1930's.
Definitely not late 40's.
May be one day you will all get to see it in person.
May be cabin fever next year.
The wood base is also a very think solid board. It is consistent with information Tom Jensen cut down a tree in his yard which he used for the solid wood bases. I've not seen any other early engine with that solid wood board.
It is something you just have to see in person.
Also there is no router edge. The wood matches and is consistent with the #20 Deluxe Big Power Plant I have.
All the other #50's I've seen have a router edge are plywood.

Steve Tyner confirmed the sight glass is original Jensen. I too thought it was not original but have been told otherwise.
It also has a very early arm control for the governor.
I've actually done a lot of homework on this engine. There are several things that are unique about it.
There are very few early Jensen #50's to go by.
The smoke stack is flared. It only fits one way. It is original and was made that way.
I also thought it was upside down at first but it's not.
The immersion heaters are also very old circa 1930's.
Definitely not late 40's.
May be one day you will all get to see it in person.
May be cabin fever next year.
The wood base is also a very think solid board. It is consistent with information Tom Jensen cut down a tree in his yard which he used for the solid wood bases. I've not seen any other early engine with that solid wood board.
It is something you just have to see in person.
Also there is no router edge. The wood matches and is consistent with the #20 Deluxe Big Power Plant I have.
All the other #50's I've seen have a router edge are plywood.

Hi Jack, If you look at my picture above, you will see what 1930's wood looks like with the routered edge 1/4 round and stepped at both edges.
Plywood bases are beveled not routered. 1940's wood is precisely like the one you are showing and has square cut edges sames as shown above. It ii just missing the breadboard style end piece on the exhaust (left) side of the base.


Steve may have made a mistake identifying those more modern plumbing fittings as Jensen site glass blocks.
The engine I have pictured below is a mint 1940's piece exactly like the one shown above and I have included a close up of the correct site glass fittings from that era. They were the regular hollow screw fittings. In the 1930's there was a removable hex cap (plug) on top of the upper site glass block. One thing consistent over the years is the glass tubes were all the same from the 1930's through the 1960's.


The flare on the smokestack looks more like the rolled end found on a vacuum cleaner wand or sink drain pipe. I have made replacement #50 chimneys from both. All of Tom Sr's chimneys fit with the flared end up. I suppose it is possible that the original owners family switched the chimneys with their other #50 or as I suspect, they found a suitable replacement after misplacing the original.


The Governor control arm is a well made replacement but not an early Jensen part. All Jensen #50's from the 1930's through today utilize the same governor arm you have seen on all other 50's.


The immersion heaters are all the same ceramic cartridge heaters used on all #50's from the 1930's through the mid 1960's. They are definitely correct for the 1940's.


The wood on these was often chestnut or old growth pine core wood which cannot be harvested today. The wood on that engine is beautiful. That nice looking wood handle on the whistle looks great as is and should be left alone but was once black. I have some similar in various stages of wear.


I am looking forward to seeing it at Cabin Fever next year along with you, Howard, and Tom.


All that takes nothing away from this wonderful find. I am just setting the record straight.
Howard got himself a great engine. An important piece and one to take great pride in.


Pictured here is a 1940's #50 in near mint condition belong to my friend, Bill.




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