Bassett-Lowke stationary steam engines
Bassett-Lowke stationary steam engines.
1904 catalogue text:
MAINLY ABOUT MODELS
No one can read the life stories of the great engineers without being more than ever impressed with the truth of the old adage that "the boy is father to the man." Just as James Watt, George Stephenson, and other celebrated engineers of times gone by, were in their boyhood days devoted to anything which savoured of mechanics, so the modern youth who exhibits a fondness for model engineering in any shape or form may be a celebrated engineer of the future, and in a similar degree become a benefactor of his kind and rise to fame and fortune. The enormous variety of model engines and their comparatively inexpensive nature, however, puts the youthful engineer of to-day in a vastly better position than his predecessor in the matter of obtaining early knowledge, and should make his upward path a correspondingly easier one to tread.
The model steam engine of the present time is something more than a mere toy. It is so well made, and in appearance, as well as in principle, follows so closely the lines of the real article that it has a distinct educational value. Indeed the steam engine, in one form or another, plays so important a part in our daily life that no one can be considered really well educated who has not at least a rudimentary knowledge of the principles of its action, and how can such knowledge be more easily and more happily derived than by the actual manipulation of a working model.
The pleasure obtainable from a model locomotive is practically unlimited. ... If the model is not a locomotive, but an engine of the stationary type, there is scope for much ingenuity and amusement in the contriving and fixing of simple working models for the engine to drive.
With regard to the safety of model engines but little heed be said. With reasonable attention they are absolutely safe, and even with careless handling there is but little possibility that anything alarming will happen. As to their being "messy," a criticism which is sometimes made, the whole matter rests with the user. It certainly will not be the fault of the model engine if half the water is poured on the carpet instead of in the boiler, or if the cork is left out of the methylated spirit bottle, and the latter knocked over by the young engineer's elbow, as he turns to invite the admiration of the family to the excellent working of the model. Given common sense care and attention, model steam engines are both safe and cleanly in their fullest degree.
As a present to a youth, nothing can be more suitable than a model steam engine in one or other of its many forms. Who knows but what such a present may awaken in the recipient a latent engineering genius which may lead him to become, if not a Watt, a Stephenson, or a Brunel, at least a distinguished member of one of the noblest professions.
