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

I just read Nick's tale about finding (and contriving to pick up) a Craigslist engine within a mile of the zoo, and I have read elsewhere about people finding engines fairly close to home.

That got me thinking: how close to home was your nearest "find"? And how many treasures must be lying dormant out there awaiting discovery?

My nearest find was right across the street from my home. My neighbour wandered over looking for a buzz coil for his Model T, saw some of my engines, and proposed a trade. I got this somewhat unorthodox little Fleischmann:

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That's a pretty close find. How close was your nearest? Any good stories out there?

My nearest find was my first steam engine, a Jensen 76, 10 miles from home. My dad always had a 65 in the basement that we only ran a couple of times over the years. Fast forward to 2005, I was spending the summer helping my Great-grandma clean out her house and get everything organized for an auction in the fall (we lost Great-grandpa in Dec. '04). In the kitchen at Great-grandpa's table by his window was a bright orange Jensen Mfg. box. I was very excited that I had found a box to go with my dad's steam engine, knowing that this box's engine was likely long gone. I was not into toy steam at the time and knew no difference between a 65 and a 76 and based on the size of the box, I thought it was for the 65. A few weeks went by and I was cleaning out the attic... shoe box after shoe box of brand new/dry-rotted shoes... Finally, I found one that didn't have shoes    Inside was a Jensen 76  They moved off the farm some time around 1995 so it was in the attic for at least 10 years. Nobody remembers who gave him the engine or how he ended up with it, or has any memory of the engine at all. I don't have any before pictures because that evening I sat at my Grandpa and Grandma's kitchen table tearing the engine apart and polishing off all the soot and Esbit residue. I would have to say this little shoe box made a huge change in my life. I found ebay and my life pretty much revolves around this hobby now! And I'm not complaining about that! 

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My 2 nearest finds  were a Jensen 51 from a local craigslist ad that was delivered to my door by the owner. 2nd was a jensen 5 riveted boiler at a local antique shop, fifteen miles from my home. Keep in mind where i live- everything is at least 15 miles away..I also was given an early Wilesco engine from my brother in law and next door neighbor a few years ago. It was in terrible condition. I offered it free to any forum member who thought it could be restored. I don't remember who got it, but i do remember them sending me photos of it some time later in it's beautiful restored condition.
crazydoug

My nearest find was this wonderful 1940's Jensen 20-G Big Power Plant.


It was in an antique co-op abut less than 15 minutes away.
Required a lot of careful cleaning which revealed a very desirable piece in great condition.

Gil

  My first engine was a Weeden 14 about 10 minutes from home at an antique shop. I also found a Jensen #10 about 20 minutes from the house in a Craigs sale. More recently I found a new old stock Stuart boiler in an antique shop an hour from home.
  I've also driven for hours ( 4 one way ? ) to pick up a couple of engines. Both were worth the drive and one I had to be at the sale when it opened at 9am to score a nice Bing engine.
 
 I collect antique American clocks too and I once arrived at an estate sale in the dark a couple hours before it started so I'd be first in the door to score a Seth Thomas office calendar #5, a rare big clock.  It's all great fun. 

Back in October of 2015, I went to a local yard sale here in my little community of about 70 homes, that is 9 miles outside the town of Bishop which only has a population of around 5000, so it is just a small town as well. You actually have to travel almost 200 miles to get to a bigger town, or anything that might justifiably be referred to as a city from here.

Anyway, this yard sale was just around the corner and up the next block a little ways, probably no more than two or three hundred yards away as the crow flies. There, sitting on one of the tables was a small box marked "Steam Engine" with a round sticker marked $8, so I just had to open it up, and inside found a somewhat soot stained, very good condition Mamod MM2 with accessories, paperwork and even the original box liner. I guess I just have a natural ingrained barter gene in me, so I held out a $5 dollar bill and asked the fellow if he'd consider selling it for five .... he smiled, reached out and took the bill and said yes, then proceeded to tell me it had belonged to his son who had outgrown any interest in such "toys". I quietly suggested that he just hadn't reached the level of maturity necessary for such interests to be rekindled, but thanked him for taking my offer, and assured him that it was going to a place where it would be surrounded by its brethren!

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I've only had a couple of other "local" scores, but this was by several miles the closest. Perhaps I'll relate the other two in another post, but then again perhaps not as I may not wish to relive those minor frustrations.