Hi Nick,
That is quite violent at higher pressure
Just a thought, can you retard the timing of the steam valve? As you know i know nothing about steam but looking at the rather insubstantial crank and bearings i hazzard a guess there is a fair amount of free movement there to create knocking if the timing is too advanced. Or maybe the crank has got bent in the centre where it is unsupported upsetting the timing?
Apologies for sticking my nose in if you have already tried this

Best wishes
Ade