Meccano Upright Steam Engine, 1914 (Bing for Meccano Ltd)
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Meccano Upright Steam Engine, 1914 (Bing for Meccano Ltd) |
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Arch Two , Area 4 1914 |
An example of the original Meccano-branded steam engine, manufactured in Germany for Meccano Ltd just before World War One, almost certainly by Gebruder Bing.
The piece is usually assigned a date of 1919 thanks to its earliest known appearance in a ~1919-dated catalogue.
Identification
Having studied the piece, we can confirm that the drive mechanism design is "classic Bing", with thinner components that you'd expect to see on, say, something by Márklin. We've also cross-checked the curved level gauge cover plate against a Bing spare part in our workshop spares stocks, and can conform that it's indistinguishable – we're certain that the piece is Bing-made, in agreement with what it says in the normal reference-sources.
This means that before WW1, Meccano Ltd. seem to have been subcontracting work to both Bing and Márklin (Márklin produced the large No.2 Marklin/Meccano clockwork motor on display to the right).
