Sussex Steam Co.     Historical Model Live Steam Engine Kits

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Newcomen Engine Beam Engine Type S Mill Engine Type S Trevithicks Dredging Engine Trevithicks Puffing Devil Watt's Engine

Sussex Steam Co. is based in a small village in Sussex on the south coast of England and is a small company specialising in the design of working historical model steam engines. The company was created in 2002 by John and Paula and now includes amongst its customers enthusiasts from all over the world as well as customers such as London's Science Museum and Kew Bridge Steam Museum. The models that we have available are all designed by us and operate as 'live steam' models as well as making attractive display exhibits which can be brought to life by the use of motorisation units or compressed air. They are all available in kit form - the guiding principle behind the make up of the kits being  that the models can be built whout the usite of a lathe or milling machine.   Construction does involve the making of small brass parts using hand tools. Tools required are small hacksaw, drill and drill bits, files, screwdrivers and vice, solder torch etc. 2mm / 3mmTaps and dies are used on all models with the exception of the Trevithick models. A bench mounted drill although not completely necessary, will make life easier.

Latest News  Our live steam model of Boulton and Watt's Engine is now available !   James Watts Engine   Our model of Boulton and  Watt's 10 hp engine will be available in kit form in August. It can be made to run quite nicely on compressed air at less than 3 psi and will also run on live steam The model represents James Watt's 'Standard 10hp" steam engine which was produced between 1787 and 1800 - the steam engine that would go on to power the factories of the world and provide great impetus to the industrial revolution. It features the major steam engine improvements that James Watt introduced including condenser, parallel motion, rotating flywheel, double acting cylinder, sun and planet gear and governor. The full sized Lap Engine on display at London's Science Museum is an original example of this type of steam engine.  > Watts Engine Live Video <   > Feedback from customers who have built this model <     Trevithick's Dredging Engine     A live steam model of Trevithick's Dredging Engine. In 1806 Trevithick built a steam dredger for use on the River Thames using his 'strong steam' engine.  This model is similar to the original full size engine on display at .London's Science Museum and is available in kit form.    > Dredger Engine Live Steam Video <       Trevithick's Puffing Devil     Richard Trevithick's 'Puffing Devil' was the world's first passenger carrying steam road locomotive. It was designed and first tested by Richard Trevithick and friends on Christmas Eve 1801 when they drove the vehicle up Camborne Hill in Cornwall. The success of this first Camborne Hill run led to the testing of the world's first steam railway locomotive at Penydarren in 1804. Trevithick subsequently  went on to build the 'Catch-Me-Who-Can' passenger train - the world's first fare-paying passenger railway near Gower St. in London in 1808.It was the first engine to use high pressure steam. James Watt thought that such pressures were dangerous and is said to have remarked that Trevithick deserved hanging for bringing such a thing into the world! There are no known surviving original drawings of  the 'Puffing Devil' . This live steam model is loosely based partly on sketches and partly on the Dredging Engine in the Science Museum in Kensington which was manufactured only two years later.   > Puffing Devil Live Steam Video <   Model Newcomen  Engine     A kit enabling you to build a fully working Live Steam model of a Newcomen Atmospheric Steam Engine that was reputably installed at Dudley in 1712 to pump out water from a coal mine. It was working on a model Newcomen Steam Engine that led James Watt to revolutionise steam engine design. This model was recently featured in part 2 of the Channel 4 programme 'Genius of Britain' ( the James Watt episode) with James Dyson operating the engine under live steam.  The Engine works using the vacuum caused by the condensation of steam in the cylinder. It was the first commercial application of a Steam Engine and paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. A battery driven Motorisation Kit is available as an option for convenient demonstration and display. The metalwork of the  model is  mainly brass and the woodwork is supplied pre-finished.  A fully built example of our  Newcomen Engine is on display at Kew Bridge Steam Museum, London  > Newcomen Live Steam Video <   Model Beam Engine Type S      Available in kit form only, the type 'S' Beam Model Steam Engine and type 'S' Mill Model Steam Engines are designed to be powered by their own on-board Steam Plants. They feature a sliding valve - and the Beam Engine incorporates Watt's Parallel Motion. For display or demonstration, a battery driven Motorisation Kit is also available.      Model Mill Engine Type S     These Engines work at low pressure (less than 1psi) and can also be driven by compressed air from an aquarium Pump (rated at 200L/hr). No machining required.A fully built example of our Beam Type S Engine is on display at  Kew Bridge Steam Museum, London.   > Beam Type S Live Steam Video <

For assembly, none of our Model Steam Engine kits require any machining. A lathe or milling machine is not required.

Completion of the models mainly involves the gluing, shaping, cutting, filing and drilling of small metal parts.

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