(This is my first post to this forum. I am a Dutch optical engineer, I live in The Netherlands so you may notice English is not my first language.)
I am a proud owner of an antique toy steam engine (see YouTube video below) and I am hoping members of this forum can help me identify my engine model type and tell me more about its origin. I am particularly interested in learning exactly what model type number it is, in what year(s) this model was built, if there is any known original documentation on this engine (sales catalogues, user manual), things like that. I would also appreciate any advice on how to properly look after this antique engine.
Some background. My grandfather gave me this toy engine when I was 10 years old in 1985. My grandfather was born in 1911, he had owned the engine since he was a young boy so I guess it was given to him by my great-grandparents. When my grandfather learned he had cancer he tried to find a new (knowledgeable) owner for this engine. Initially he tried to give it as a present to an acquaintance who was a collector of small steam engines and who lived in the same town of Zaandam near Amsterdam. This person gracefully refused to accept the engine telling my grandfather that he thought the model too special and valuable to accept and suggested it should stay in the family. That is when my grandfather gave it to me, being the oldest grandson. I think he was a little concerned about me being able to take care of this engine on account of me being 10 years old. So he made sure we visited his acquaintance, who then showed me his collection and taught me how to fill the boiler, what the function of the overpressure valve is, how to apply a few drops of oil before running it, how to gently clean it, things like that. I have always loved this little engine and I remember giving a science talk at school at the age of 10 on how this twin-cylinder double action engine works. I had diagrams showing how the double action works and I actually fired the engine in the class room.
I fire the engine about once a year using denatured alcohol as liquid fuel. Last Christmas I ran it again and (being in lockdown) decided to see if with the help of Google I could find out more about the origins of this engine. Initially I found some single-cylinder engines by the German Gebrüder Bing brand that contained some parts that seemed identical or almost identical to some parts in my engine. But than I found a very thin and barely visible logo on the wooden base that says ‘G.C. & Co. N.’. which with the help of Google I learned is the George Carette company in Nürnberg, Germany. I also learned that George Carette was a pre-WW1 supplier of parts and/or complete products to Bing and that they were both located in Nürnberg. From similar looking engines that I found online I conclude that my engine is a model from around 1905-1911. If this is correct than it is quite likely that my great-grandfather bought this engine initially for himself as my grandfather was born in 1911. I did not manage to find the model type number and thus I also did not manage to find a more exact year of manufacturing. In fact I found very few twin-cylinder engines by George Carette and the ones that I did find were all in relative poor shape or incomplete (e.g. with the smokestack missing). I learned that some George Carette catalogues can be found online, but I did not find one that shows my engine.
Yesterday I put below video with a request for more information on YouTube. Within a few hours ‘Nick’s steam toys and more’ was so kind to add a comment to the video: “Very nice, there are some very knowledgeable collectors on this site:
https://www.officeofsteamforum.com/index.php I believe one of them has an engine just like this.” That is how I learned about this forum.
To make a long story short, I hope you enjoy the video and I look forward to your comments. I would love to hear from anyone who recognizes this model (or even happens to own one!) and can tell me more about it. I also have a few antique tin toys that can be powered by the engine. If you are interested I can share some photos of those as well. Thank you for your help.