Burrell Engine Nameplate

Burrell nameplate

The Burrell engine nameplate for this tiny model is just 14mm wide. The capital letters are just 1.4mm high. For all of that the etching has come out rather well. When I started looking at this Burrell valve chest plaque I was concerned about achieving the level of detail that my dad achieved over 20 … Read more

Burrell Valve Chest Plaque

Burrell valve chest plaque

The Burrell valve chest plaque has the makers name and factory location embossed on it. This means I need to etch another brass plate. This time though it is very small indeed. Etching at this scale is possible and feasible at home. The face on this clock was etched using a photographic technique. The dial … Read more

Miniature Oscillating Engine

miniature oscillating engine

This is a tiny oscillating engine that was made by Roy Taylor around 1995-1998 Up close like this it doesn′t look quite so beautiful. However, in the images below you can see it against a common match and you then get the scale – quite remarkable. Compressed air/steam goes in through the pipe and exhausts … Read more

Tender Bulkhead

tender bulkhead

I need to make the tender bulkhead for the Burrell traction engine. This is the bulkhead that sits at an angle and provides a volume for the coal. I may not use coal in this tiny traction engine model, but it needs this volume. First of all I cut a piece of 0.6mm brass sheet … Read more

Brass Etching

brass etching

There are a few different ways to do brass etching, but having learnt how to do this with a really simple method I just had to share it. The real drive for this is to produce the brass lettering on the smokebox door of the Burrell traction engine. You will need: Laser printer – or … Read more

Brass Standards

Brass Gears

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, but often other elements such as aluminium, iron, manganese, tin and lead are added. There are two basic classes of brass: Alpha alloys – less than 37% zinc – ductile and can be cold worked. alpha/beta or duplex alloys – 37-45% zinc – have limited cold ductility … Read more