Category:Mamod

Mamod was launched by Geoffrey H. Malins in the mid-1930s to produce steam-powered stationary engines and mobile models, with the company name being a contraction of Malins Models.

The company was known for producing a small and unique range of distinct (and often very recognisable) steam-powered model vehicles.

• 

  ~1979

• 

  1984

Origins

Between the end of World War One until around 1934/35, Hobbies Ltd. were selling steam engines made by Geoffrey Bowman, along with a range of Hobbies-Bowman boats. When the business failed to make as much money as Bowman had hoped, and he decided to branch out into other engineering interests, Hobbies needed another source of supply, and struck up an agreement with another engineer called Geoffrey, Geoffrey Malins, who had a background in marine engineering, and was already supplying the company with brass propellers.

Malins had had a variety of engineering jobs, (like Bowman) enjoyed being self-employed, and had set up a workshop in his garden shed and started somewhat ambitiously calling his business G.M. Patents Co.

After a meeting at the 1935 British Industries Fair, Malins was commissioned produce small engines for Hobbies broadly similar to their previous "Bowman"-produced range, manufacturing the stationary steam engines SE.1, SE.2, SE.3 and SE.4, and a marine engine for fitting to boats, the ME.1. Where some of the Bowman range had been available in two versions, with a wood base or a metal base punched with holes at Meccano-compatible spacings, all of the new Malins stationary engines had Meccano-style bases. Understanding that there was also a significant market for selling the engines direct rather than just through Hobbies, Malins rebranded the range as Mamod, and renamed the company Malins (Engineering) Ltd. ... which was less catchy, but left the door open for other possible manufacturing projects.

Post-war

After World War Two, Mamod revised their designs and then expanded the range to include a number of model steam-powered model road vehicles.

In the 1960s Meccano Ltd decided that they wanted to once again offer a stationary steam engine for powering Meccano models themselves, and contracted Mamod to make their new, unimaginatively-titled Meccano Steam Engine between 1965 and 1979. Mamod also started selling an updated solid-fuel-burning version, the SP 3.

Mamod engines are now fired with safe, convenient Mamod solid fuel. All are fitted with a safety valve and are supplied with a safety valve and are supplied complete with filler funnel, fuel, (except in certain export countries), burner tray and full operating instructions. Boiler and steam fittings are all made from high quality brass and copper.

Elsewhere in the construction, steel and die-castings are used to give maximum strength and realism. The baseplates have holes to suit construction sets by Meccano and other manufacturers.

Product range

1968 range

1971 range

1984 range

2024 main range

from https://mamodspares.com/

Fuel changes

Mamod's steam plants (just like everyone else's) were originally designed to burn methylated spirits.

When the mood began to turn against toys meant to burn liquid alcohol (because of the fire risk associated with spillage), Mamod switched to Hexamine solid fuel.

With hexamine being increasingly considered problematic due to its use as a precursor for explosives, in 2024 Mamod were working on butane gas adaptors, and also supplying a proprietary gel-based fuel.

August 2024 shutdown

A communication from Owner/Director Adrian Lockrey on 28th July 2024 announced that Mamod would be closing, mainly due to a landlord rent increase and new terms and conditions, exacerbated by fuel issues and the fact that the localness of staff ruled out moving to a cheaper location elsewhere.

Mamod had an Open Day on August 3rd 2024 to sell off their remaining stocks, and then closed down, with Companies House listing Lockrey as ceasing to be Director on 14th August 2024.

The mamod.co.uk website is now offline (August 2024) but https://mamodspares.com/ is still going.

Addresses

• Malins (Engineers) Ltd., St Marys Row, Birmingham 4 – 1930s
• Malins (Engineers) Ltd., 25-31 Camden Street, Birmingham – 1940s
• Malins (Mamod Ltd.), Thorns Works, 206 Thorns Road, Brierly Hill, West Midlands DY4 2JZ – 1960s
• Mamod Limited, Karatepi House, Kennel Ride, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7NN.
• Mamod, Unit 1a Summit Crescent, Smethwick, West Midlands, B66 1BT – current at 2017

See also:

• Bowman Models
• Wilesco

External links and references

• "About Us", Mamod company website (mamod.co.uk)
• Mamod Spares (mamodspares.com)

• Malins (Engineers) (gracesguide.co.uk)
• BBC/BM "A History of the World" Mamod SE2
• Mamod Meccano engine 1965-79 (rolywilliams.com)
• Houstoun Gate Locomotive Works: Mamod documents (hglw.co.uk)

• Terry Davy The Hobbies Story (Nostalgia Publications, 1998) ISBN 0947630198 pages 80-81

Hexamine

• We make toy trains not explosives - but Government ban is killing our business (birminghammail.co.uk)
• Government anti-terror ban forces historic British model steam train firm to close after 87 years (dailymail.co.uk)

• Hexamine fuel tablet (wikipedia.org)