This is one of the less common of the wonderful miniature steam engines made by the Swiss company L-S Loc. It really is tiny, as can be seen in the bottom photo on the left.
The nickel plated steel boiler is 53mm long x 17mm diameter. It is heated by a tablet burner (missing). It has a filler plug, safety valve and a banjo joint for the steam connection. Steam is fed directly to the back of the port face block. The cylinder is a brass single acting oscillating cylinder, 3mm bore x 7mm stroke. Exhaust is fed to the base of the base mounted chimney. The crankshaft has a disk crank at one end and a 19mm diameter nickel plated steel flywheel at the other. The flywheel incorporates a 5.5mm diameter pulley. Also on the crankshaft, next to the flywheel, is a small gear wheel, which meshes with a larger one on a second shaft, giving a 4:1 reduction ratio.The larger gear is on a second shaft which also carries a small disk crank. This is coupled to one arm of a stylised worker, the other arm holding a hammer which strikes an anvil. Interestingly, the worker appears to be left handed :-) The whole is mounted on a brass base plate which, itself, sits on a wooden base. The wooden base sits in the base of a Perspex display box. Most L-S Loc products are gold plated. This example is from the first batch of this model, not gold plated but some parts are nickel plated and some plain brass. The plain brass base plate has suffered bad oxidisation, but I am leaving it as it is. The tablet burner is missing. Stamped onto the main bearing block is the serial number 0217. However, as far as I know, it is not a limited edition as such.| Make | L-S Loc |
| Model | Mini Steam Engine |
| Made | ? |
| Description | Stationary with blacksmith |
| Cylinders | 1 |
| Cylinder Type | single acting |
| Bore mm | 3 |
| Stroke mm | 7 |
| Valve Type | Oscillating cylinder |
| Boiler Type | Horizontal |
| Boiler Diam mm | 17 |
| Boiler length/height mm | 53 |
| Fuel | Tablets |
| Mechanical Condition | Good? |
| Cosmetic Condition | Fair |
| Paintwork | N/A |
| Packaging | Plastic display box |
| Purchased | 7 Feb 2020 |
| Purchase cost | £482.67 |
| Additional spend |