The Liney Prototype Powerplant
This is made by Liney Machine and built on the basic frame of their "Thimble" engine.
It is to my knowledge the smallest, fully functioning "power plant" driven by steam...at least the smallest I have come across. The "mighty" Thimble drives a flywheel tethered to a tiny generator which feeds a bulb inside the lamp post.
LiNEy's Lance Erickson offered this engine to me as a prototype he'd been working on. I asked for some minor modifications which he implemented perfectly and he added a few nice extras for me by the time I received the final piece.
Features incorporated into this prototype "Power Plant" include:
- stainless cylinder liner and piston with tapered con rod
- a shaft riding in two sets of ball bearings set into brass mounts
- machine beveled black metal engine mount
- turned solid brass lamp post
- LiNEy logo engraved into the end of the 1/8 inch diameter shaft
- flywheel jeweled on both sides
- brushed aluminum base plate
- walnut plinth measuring just 3.5 x 4.25 inches.
- a shaft riding in two sets of ball bearings set into brass mounts
- machine beveled black metal engine mount
- turned solid brass lamp post
- LiNEy logo engraved into the end of the 1/8 inch diameter shaft
- flywheel jeweled on both sides
- brushed aluminum base plate
- walnut plinth measuring just 3.5 x 4.25 inches.
That bulb screws directly into machined threads in the lamp post which is quite precise but robust in and of itself. The top part of the lamp post was turned from a solid piece of brass and snuggly slides down on the post within making bulb changes if needed very easy.
There are no valves involved. Instead, it utilizes a "blow by"
style piston machined such that it tips sideways on each return stroke, allowing
the steam to exhaust by the cylinder.
Piston and con-rod are machined of one piece of stainless steel and
piston is just a couple of mm thick, rounded at it's edges to rock smoothly at
the correct point in it's cycle. Brilliant but simple
engineering.
LiNEy incorporated their logo in a tiny location indeed...the end of the 1/8" diameter shaft, it can be seen below in a super closeup:
The whole works will fit in the palm of your hand. Nice piece of work Lance!!
This last part is being written in May 2012 for new owner Knut A**********rd of Norway.
Liney Machine was founded by Lance Erickson who started a modest machine shop in his home producing miniature steam engines. Lance worked by day as an aircraft mechanic and in his spare time took flying lessons so he could one day achieve his goal of being a pilot. That day came several years ago when he and his wife sold their home and business to become flying medical relief missionaries in Bolivia.
To my knowledge, flying is what Lance is still doing. Since moving to Bolivia, his business name, machined kits and various plans for engines were sold to another company in the internet toy steam business. That company (Mini-Steam) of Ohio, USA indeed still offers his designs and various bits plus machine tools under the Liney Machine name...but none are crafted by Lance as this engine was. So this engine was not only a one of a kind prototype never commercialized, it was one of the last built by Lance before he achieved his dream of being a medical missionary pilot.
Now it travels to the home of Knut where it will no doubt be loved and cherished as it was by it's former owner, IndianaRog!
This article was written by Roger G. Indianarog.
Knut wishes to thank Roger for the time and effort he took into making this explanatory article of this totally unique engine. It is with profound thanks and gratitude I have resived this jewel for safe keeping. Thank you to my friend Roger.
