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

You Know Wayne, you can just roll up wire mesh screen and use that as the wick, as it does wick up alcohol out of a tank and allow it to burn just as does an organic fiber wick. That way, you don't have any organic wick material to get charred or completely burned as the fuel runs low.

@Stoker, I 100% agree.

Everything points to early configuration before they went to the more common pressed steel configuration.  Even the darker red paint leads me to believe earlier manufacturing era. 

Now I am going to have to take a new full collection "Family" photo - I really didn't expect to find/buy another Empire that I would classify as uniquely different from my other existing engines!

Quote from: Stoker on January 18, 2026, 09:28:35 am

Quote from: Jim on January 17, 2026, 08:21:45 pm

Quote from: Stoker on January 17, 2026, 07:58:19 pm

Any hobby blacksmiths or knife forgers about then?

All use charcoal now.

Very sad that!!!

Knife forging is a growing hobby down here, there's a professional (full timer) that has a business and runs classes not far from the boy's plumbing premises. He makes high quality cutlery all by hand.
Talking to him he went on and on about the benefits of charcoal forging over coal and charcoal being far superior my eyes started to glaze over when he got onto welding and purities etc.
He's a nice guy, but bloody intense.

Seems likely that he'd be a good bloke to talk to about the best kind of charcoal to be using then!?!?

Happy 2026 Everyone :-)

It's been a minute since a Empire has come into eBay that I have been interested in but this one perked me up.  Its listed as a 43 and is very much like a B-43 with the cylinder hut & balance wheel stand-offs.  Though it's a short copper boiler, which is generally limited to 90s.  It is complete and the seller had a video of it running!  It also is coming with Weeden Accessories (saw, stamper, & broken line shaft).  All in to my Texas door, $118.00.  The seller has only been on eBay since summer of 2025 and this is the 1st item he has sold (that always worries me).

Seeing the style of the cylinder hut/wheel mounts, whistle topper and no protector cover over the power connection, I am thinking pre-WWII.

It might be months before I see this engine in person, since I am sending it to my Texas home (I am in Atlanta).  So posting the images / video from the eBay listing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZMSfZkIqwc

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A Gen Z kid and a boomer walk into a bar They sit down and the Gen Z kid orders from the gluten free vegan menu and the boomer orders a T-Bone steak.

They start chatting and the Gen Z kid says that social justice issues are the biggest problem facing the world, and that the white supremacist patriarchy is a plague on society. > The boomer waves this off and says the kids these days are just too sensitive, and that he fought for civil rights in the sixties and did his part.

They go back and forth on this for a while, and finally the Gen Z kid says, "we're just not gonna settle this. We don't see eye to eye. You're too old and out of touch and I'm too young and inexperienced. What we need to do is ask a Millennial with a PhD in sociology for their opinion."

The boomer says, "that's a great idea!" And yells, "HEY BARTENDER, C'MERE!"