African Queen

[Gordon]

I found some good images of the engine at

http://hangsim.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=4586

If that is an actual screenshot from the movie, nothing shown in this thread so far is accurate.

Interesting topic if nothing else.

 

[aonemarine]

Gordon, I posted that link in post #8. It is a computer simulation of what the queen looks like and not a screen shot of the movie.

OOPS sorry, they are screen shots...

 

[Gordon]

I had looked at your previous link and kind of dismissed it because as you said it was just a computer simulation and was more concentrated on the boat itself than the engine. Sorry, I did no hang in there long enough. If the above shots I showed above are actually screen shots as he said it is the clearest shot that I have seen. I did watch the movie (only once) this week end and those shots look right. There are only very brief shots of the engine.

 

[aonemarine]

If that is an actual screenshot from the movie, nothing shown in this thread so far is accurate.

This is where you are confusing me, The stills I posted at the beginning of the thread are screen shots I took with my cell phone from the movie. That may explain the color differences?? Ill watch the movie "again LOL" and try and get you some more if you want.

 

[Hopper]

Those pics are stills from the movie, according to the original poster on the simulation site.
And they look to me to be very like the engine in the first page of posts in this thread. Seem to be some extra bolts around the cylinder area in one pic but that may be the side that is not shown in the simulation site's movie stills.

If you look at the pics from Hangsim and from the beginning of this thread, both are a simple single cylinder engine with valve gear on one side of the cylinder. Both have the large flat cast iron support on the one side going from the crankshaft area to the cylinder base above. The other side has two round turned columns supporting that side of the cylinder base.

It actually looks more like a steam engine that was used for driving a generator or other stationary use than a dedicated steam launch engine. Most steam launch engines were double or triple expansion engines. Seems like this one is super basic, maybe due to African remote conditions?

 

[aonemarine]

maybe due to African remote conditions?

Thats what I have been thinking, large wood fueled boiler, low pressure, big cylinder.
Many, many mysteries about the queen.

It actually looks more like a steam engine that was used for driving a generator or other stationary use than a dedicated steam launch engine

Agreed, pretty heavy construction for a marine engine.. Wheres the flywheel?? If we could only find some information on the engine, ive looked and looked, but cant find one like it.

 

[Gordon]

In looking there are pictures of the boat as received in Florida and the engine was a two cylinder and very bad shape when they received it. I think that the engine used in the movie may have not been a working engine and was just a prop. Several sources state that the boat was actually powered by a diesel or gasoline engine. It would make sense that if the boat was actually used for something else after the movie a working engine was installed and the non working prop engine replaced.

 

[aonemarine]

there is a big green box sitting behind the steam engine, bet thats where the diesel is sitting. Been studying the engine in the movie, yes im pretty sure its a just a prop . But the real question is, if your building the amazon queens engine, do you build the scissions or the prop engine in the movie?

 

[steamboatmodel]

there is a big green box sitting behind the steam engine, bet thats where the diesel is sitting. Been studying the engine in the movie, yes im pretty sure its a just a prop . But the real question is, if your building the amazon queens engine, do you build the scissions or the prop engine in the movie?

I have always thought that the green box contained the engine. There was a Sea Scout group herein Toronto that had a workboat with diesel power and the engine was in about the same spot as the Green Boxin the movie. Unfortunatly the group has dissapeared and I never got any shots of the workboat.
Regards,
Gerald.

 

[aonemarine]

http://mattmulcahey.wordpress.com/2...enes-the-african-queen-1951/#jp-carousel-2251

shot of the queen and filming barge.

pretty sure I see two engines and two boilers in the photo. One in the queen and another copy on the barge.
Maybe someone can download the pic and blow up points of interest?

 

[Gordon]

My original thought was that I would like an engine like in the movie. If it is not the movie version any vertical marine engine of the proper vintage and configuration would do. I thought about trying to make an engine which is ascetically correct but I am not sure that I am smart enough to make a working steam engine like that. There must be certain rules as to bore, stroke, size of steam chamber, steam port size etc with which I am not familiar. Perhaps I could find something close to the correct size and just change the external configuration to match the movie version.

 

[Hopper]

Gordon, if you have a look through the Stuart Models website they have several single cylinder vertical engines of very similar type. Including a launch engine that includes reversing gear and feed water pump.
Also, E and J Winter in Australia sell plans and kits for a line of Bolton engines that are quite similar. Their No 3 engine looks quite similar to the AQ's engine in the movie. It appears to have the two round vertical support columns as well as the main cast support.
You can download their catalogue at http://www.ejwinter.com.au/

Either one of these options would be so close only an afficionado would ever tell the difference. And it would be more correct (to the movie) than the triple expansion engine fitted to the Florida African Queen in recent years, and more correct than the Oregon cider press engine that was fitted to it when the Floridians bought it from the guy in Oregon who bought it from the guy in California who found it in Egypt.

 

[Gordon]

Thanks Hopper. The Bolton looks promising however the view in the catalog is not much better than the screen captures posted here. I have sent an email to E J winter for more information and to see what the options are for US shipment. Perhaps just plans in electronic format are an option.

 

[steamboatmodel]

If you read the book by Katherine Hepburn it showes the boiler outof the boat. I talked with the fellow whohad it originaly in florida and when he aquired thr boat it had a single cylinder engine and a boiler, but they did not match the movie ones. He found ones that closely matched but were not operational. He toured with it like that for years, but then desided to make it operational with a new two cylinder engine and certified boiler. It was like that in the 1990s when I seen it last. The fellow who owened it was a retired lawer (Jim Hendrex?) and had family conections to the hotel in keylargo were it was displayed. I had some photos but can't find them.
Regards,
Gerald.
PS there is PDF of the billings instructions which show the kit engine.

 

[gus]

There are many model versions of the African queen.
some are live steam rc some are static sme look authentic some not as much. varios versions of the boiler and engine.
wilesco has a decent model of it.

Like others have said this boat has have to had a good many different engines and boilers over its life. The question is what look do want it to have . Do you want it to look original ? or like it did in the movie or just look right to you. You may just want to look for a boiler and vertical engine of the right size that look good together and fit your boat.
Here is a plan set that could work or at least use as a starting point
http://www.john-tom.com/MyPlans/SteamPlans3/GermanSingleVertical/BP-Dampf.pdf

Tin

Hi Tin.

Just dreaming. I can DIY the boiler and engine but I know nuts about DIY boat building. Built a few mini steam plants .Maybe the best solution is to buy a boat kit . Will look around.
Put in Futaba RC. Engine will be 2 cylinder slide valve and double acting.

 

[KellisRJ]

2021 update after the subject was discussed on another thread.
I decided to check Wikipedia and found two separate articles on the boat with several original source citations. This article on the movie claims the L.S. Livingston "had been a working diesel boat for 40 years". This article on the boat says there were two boats built for the movie, The Congo boat, built in England in 1912, that ended up in the US, and the Nile boat built for the movie. It doesn't mention the stage boat. The article states "she was actually diesel-powered in real life but made to look like she had a steam engine onscreen." However the article also claims the Nile boat's "original" engine was a "century-old Brady steam engine." I suspect they found an engine and fitted it on the boat. That boat remains in Uganda. So aside from which engine was on either of the two ships, the engine in the film would depend on where the scene was shot. On the US stage boat, the Congo boat, or the Nile boat. Hence the disconnect in the pictures.