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| Reeves Double Tangye Horizontal
Engine |
United Kingdom - Manufacture date:
1970
Bore = 1 1/8", Stroke 1 1/2", Flywheel diameter
= 5 1/2"
Style: Dual Cylinder, Double Acting, Governed horizontal |
Dimensions: 12" length x 7" width x 6"
height |
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Reeves Double Tangye in Its New Livery |
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This beautiful engine was acquired from an online steam
engine dealer. The Double Tangye is a dual cylinder engine, massively proportioned with an amazing amount of detail, making it a very eye catching display. Usually, buying from a dealer is much like buying from Ebay, in that
the history of the engine is often lost along the way to your display shelf.
In this case, Robert, the builder of the engine, saw it
on this site and emailed me with
a little of the engine's history.
This collection has managed to acquire
4 of Robert's engines from more
than one source, so it was fun to
learn who had built this one and
to have the chance to speak with
him about the various projects which
found their way here. |
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The original color scheme has been changed
to the current red with
pinstriping, to eliminate
the disconcerting white
base it had when I purchased
it. The brass lagging
on the cylinders, like
it often does, reflected
a good deal of the handling
this engine had received
over the years. I didn't
want to completely lose
the tooling and hand
finishing marks on this
one so the polishing
was quite a bit lighter
than on other engines
I've restored. In
keeping some of the
"flaws" that
make this engine unique,
I've tried to keep the
essence of Robert's
work intact. The new
brighter colors make
it a real show stopper
as it retakes its rightful
place in the collection
display. |
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Reeves Double Tangye "Before "
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The real beauty of this engine is the attention
to detail in the hand work required to hand shape the working, dual brass flyball governors and the associated linkages and gearing. Although
I've polished things up a bit, many of the pieces still show some
of the marks of what had to be many hours of painstaking hand work. The functional miniature oilers are real glass and brass, adding a touch of realism missing from most engines.
The hand rubbed mahogany lagging
was added to give the machine a
more classic look, and then strapped
in place using strips cut from the
original brass which once covered
the cylinders.
I found that the engine had a problem with the
crosshead guides which prevented
the
slide valve blocks from seating properly,
allowing blow by, directly to
the exhaust ports. I discovered
the crosshead guides were placing
lateral tension on the slide valve
rod, which acted as a lever, thereby
lifting the valve blocks away from
contact with the ports. Once the
crossheads were shimmed out a bit,
things came back into alignment
and after a bit of fine tuning to
the timing, the engine ran perfectly.
Thanks "Bill M.", of Ann Arbor, for
the steam chest drawings and the
assembly instructions. Bill is nearing
completion with his own new Tangye
and I hope he'll see it up
and running real soon. |
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Governors and Cylinders "Before" |
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Governors and Cylinders "After" |
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