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Cinder Sniffers, Inc.

Member’s Projects

Carl Schwab

The engine shown here is a Kingery popcorn engine, made by the Kingery Manufacturing Co., Cincinnati, OH, in the late 1800’s. Although Kingery listed Cincinnati as its home, it is believed the engine was actually built in Hamilton, OH.

Cretors is the name that usually comes to mind when thinking about popcorn engines, but Kingery actually preceded this Chicago company.

I think this size engine is unique because it has a piston valve. This valve being of poor fit prevented the engine from operating until a new valve was made.

The other chore was building a governor for the engine. The governor shown is a Cretors governor that I built and fitted to the engine. It was quite a challenge to build.

It is always rewarding to overcome a challenge and see the results.

The author does not own this engine.

Oct 2009

Chuck Balmer’s 3/4 scale 2-6-6-6 Allegheny Locomotive

June 2009: On June 25 Chuck wrote, “Both engines are now running on air. I have had to stop working on it for a while because of other demands but I hope to be starting again sometime in July.” This month’s photos appear below and to the right.

November 2008: The first pictures are of the front and rear engines before being coupled together. The next 2 photos are of the clearance and tracking tests of the coupled engines on our backyard test loop. While some adjustments to the suspension will need to be made, the tests went well. The next phase of the project after the brake rigging is complete will be to make the connecting rods. If all goes well, I hope to have the chassis ready for air tests next summer.

May 2008: The photos show a front  and side view of the entire chassis, a side view of the rear 6 wheel truck and a side view of the front 2 wheel pilot truck. The valve gear supports are actually the wooden patterns that have yet to be cast. I hope to have them finished sometime this summer. The frames are fully welded and I am getting ready to fininsh silver soldering the steam passages in the fabricated cylinders. Once the remaining castings are finished, they will be machined and work will begin making the 4 baker valve gear assemblies and the 4 sets of connecting rods. The 12 drive wheels have been cast and machining them will begin soon.

Since I am still a couple of years away from finishing, I will send updated photos as the work progresses.

Steve Harrod

This is a fun project I made with a motor salvaged from an inkjet printer.
The driver motors (not the stepper motors) on these printers are very high
quality and make very good generators. I can get all the broken printers I want from a
local printer repair shop. This little motor is belted to the second smallest Mamod stationary engine. It generates about 1-2 volts at 300 milli-amps, enough to light a penlight bulb or a single Christmas tree light bulb. I have made a very impressive presentation at our elementary school on energy and power generation.

Denis Larrick

2.5" scale narrow gauge caboose based upon the eight wheel, 17 foot Class 4 caboose on the D&RG and Rio Grande Southern. It is a plywood toolbox with removable roof, sheathed in strips of salvaged paneling from my living room. The side shown to the right is painted to resemble 1880 practice, the other side is painted in early 1900’s style.

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