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Author Topic: Weeden No. 3 Upright Engine  (Read 2952 times)

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Weeden No. 3 Upright Engine
« on: November 18, 2025, 12:20:23 am »
Introduced by Weeden in 1894 and produced into 1940. I expect this engine is somewhere in the 1920s but that is me guessing.  I know my brother's is from 1939 (his original box says so) and his No. 3 has solid metal knobs.

It came to me damaged in shipping, the balance wheel had been smashed with about a 10 degree tilt and two broken spokes. I removed the wheel and carefully got it pretty close to true and shored up the two broken spokes with superglue. Also broken is one arm of the pressure valve that allows the bar to pivot, though I knew that was broken from the photos on eBay.

I replaced the sight glass with my new 3.5mm glass tube that came from China, as it had some kind of solid plastic rod installed. I also removed the top main assembly, made a new seal and used Permatex Ultra Black RTV to give it a great seal. Lastly, the thumb screws for the whistle & throttle are missing their rubber insulators. This is common for this type of Weeden knob setup. I am thinking what I can do to replace the rubber "tire" that goes on the hub....

All said and done I believe it is a excellent runner with a great sounding whistle :-)




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Richard

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Re: Weeden No. 3 Upright Engine
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2025, 06:06:27 am »
Another observation, the photos/videos I have been able to find have the No. 3 with a painted smoke stack and the lower base.  This one is blued steel where the others have been painted.

Also, the brass patina is so nice I am not going to do any polishing to the brass.  All I did was light clean the top assembly & fittings.  I need to remove the PV and replace its seal but it isn't leaking.  I am keeping my eyes open for a replacement PV because one of the lever's hinges is broken off - hopefully I can find a cheap donor.
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Richard

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Re: Weeden No. 3 Upright Engine
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2025, 10:41:22 am »
  I just watched it running and I'm jealous.
BOTH the whistle and throttle valves work!
I presume they came that way as I don't know
of any way to loosen them without courting
disaster. I have at least three that will not
turn and have 'warning - fragile' written all
over.

  The sealing repairs you've done work well and
the repaired flywheel is ok.  My crankpin is
actually a small nail that is a tiny bit bent.
It still has the point.  Will I shave off the
point and try to straighten it?  No way!  It
runs and that is what counts.

Also, I'm on board with lite cleaning when
the boiler looks like yours.  Patina, when
it looks nice, rules!

Happy steaming,
Wayne
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Re: Weeden No. 3 Upright Engine
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2025, 01:15:13 pm »
Thank you Wayne - I'll take you being jealous as a compliment!

Before I took the top assembly off, the whistle didn't work at all - zero steam or water.  When I took it off for resealing it was plug by the previous owner's orange RTV and seal.  That was a easy fix.  Why some people use so much RTV is beyond me - it's like more has to be better!

It is pretty impressive how well the throttle & whistle screws work by controlling/shutting off steam.  The whistle is actually quite loose easy to move - I though for sure it was going to leak but it doesn't.  The throttle screw is a real PITA to move - it is crazy tight.  It has worked a number on my finger because the "hub" got damaged/melted and now I have a messed up finger tip!  I got to figure out how to get a "tire" on my hubs LOL!

My brother's No. 3 has what I call a "zebra stripe patina".  Ugly as heck - I wouldn't think twice polishing it.  He thinks it is some kind of coating for the brass and the "stripes" are brush strokes... which seems like a good hypothesis to me.
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Richard

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Re: Weeden No. 3 Upright Engine
« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2025, 05:49:35 am »
Here is my brothers.  He got it off eBay the day after I got mine and his was a buy now for like $100 cheaper than mine.  His was made no earlier than 1939, at the end of the run for the No.3



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