Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

The Regular Stuff: Chat, Buy, Sell, Off Topic, etc. => General Discussion - Model & Toy Steam Engines – Stirling Cycle – Flame Lickers – Small Antique Originals => Topic started by: Gregowen on February 19, 2022, 03:28:16 pm

Title: Re: Old Postcard "World's Smallest Steam Engine"...
Post by: Gregowen on February 20, 2022, 09:27:01 pm

   Thanks to all for the kind comments - it never even occurred to me to look up Cyrus Chambers, I will! 

    As far as I know, the current Guiness book world record for the smallest steam engine is a tiny horizontal engine that is less than one inch long, made by a machinist in India. But, that is for the engine alone, no boiler. This little engine also has a boiler, so maybe it would still hold a record for the smallest engine with a boiler (fired by a single small match, I assume)? 

    I wish that the photo showed more detail, unfortunately it is not any clearer looking at the postcard in hand than it is on the photos I have posted here. Maybe I will give the Franklin Institute a call.

Title: Re: Old Postcard "World's Smallest Steam Engine"...
Post by: txlabman on February 20, 2022, 12:51:11 pm

Thanks Gregowen.

Really appreciate you sharing.

Title: Re: Old Postcard "World's Smallest Steam Engine"...
Post by: Woe is me on February 20, 2022, 07:55:52 am

This peaked my interest so I too started to google Cyrus Chambers. He was quite the inventor.
He built machines we never think of because they've been around all our lives. The steam engine
is mentioned several times but no pictures. He built it at the age of 16, P.T. Barnum tried to
buy it for $1000.00.
Google him, interesting reading.

Thanks Gregowen, for showing us some history of steam.

Title: Re: Old Postcard "World's Smallest Steam Engine"...
Post by: Nick on February 19, 2022, 09:37:47 pm

Very cool! Thanks for sharing it  :)

Title: Re: Old Postcard "World's Smallest Steam Engine"...
Post by: parallelmotion on February 19, 2022, 05:05:33 pm

That's amazing. Might still be at the Franklin Institute, who knows.

Title: Re: Old Postcard "World's Smallest Steam Engine"...
Post by: St Paul Steam on February 19, 2022, 03:46:39 pm

That is pretty cool, would love to own it !

Title: Old Postcard "World's Smallest Steam Engine"...
Post by: Gregowen on February 19, 2022, 03:28:16 pm

    Following on Nick's recent postcard, here I share one that I have had for a long time (the only steam engine post card I have).

    Not the greatest photo on this card but the text should be readable. The card dates from sometime between 1929 and 1939 according to information I found about the publisher. The Franklin Institute still exists in Philadelphia, but I was unable to find any references to this tiny engine, and I have never seen another copy of the card (which I bought from e-bay).

    Says that it was capable of "3000 RPM" - I am guessing that must be a mistake, 300 sounds more likely (and how would they measure it anyway?). I wonder if it still exists in the museum somewhere.

[attachimg=1][attachimg=2][attachimg=3]