Steam Donkey

[Captain Jerry]

Well, I'm at the boat this weekend, getting her ready for sale. So I can't stop poking around the American Hoist & Derick steam donkey that is displayed at the marina. I'm taking lots of pictures and making lots of notes. The thing is mostly complete but rusted solid. I can't help thinking what a great project it would be, but I don't know if I have enough years left in me to get to it. I think I have seen a model on line somewhere but can't find it.

If anyone is interested, I'll post some of the detail photos and some drawings from time to time. If anyone knows of a set of plans for this let me know.

Here is the first drawing. This is the big end of the con rod and is exactly the same as the cross head end. What do you call this type of connection?

By the way, as rusted as it is, I found about half of the two dozen grease cups could be unscrewed by hand and still had grease in them.

Jerry

 

[cfellows]

There is a similar engine modelled by Steve Peirce at

http://www.floridaame.org/

Click on Gallery, then click on External Combustion Engine Models. The donkey is in the third row down on the left.

Chuck

 

[Jeff02]

You might give this a look.

http://www.powells.com/biblio/9780941653695

https://secure.villagepress.com/store/items/detail/item/1229

 

[Tin Falcon]

I have a copy of the vp book if you have any questions .
If you want to build one well worth the $12
Tin

 

[Jeff02]

Also "Donkey Engine by Roy Ozouf" started in the 1988 issue of Modeltec magazine, I have all issues of this series.
Roy's has a piston dia of .592 compaired to the 1" of the above mentioned engine. Just more FYI.

Another thing on my ToDo list, It never ends!

 

[gbritnell]

I believe Live Steam also ran an article many years back.
gbritnell

 

[metal89]

HI,
take a look at http://plan-ahead-designs.us/
I bought the plans they are well made.

Patrick

 

[Tin Falcon]

Patrick welcome
please post and intro in the welcome area tell us about yourself your shop and your interests aspirations and accomplishments in the hobby.
Tin

 

[Harold Lee]

You might give this a look.

http://www.powells.com/biblio/9780941653695

https://secure.villagepress.com/store/items/detail/item/1229

This is incredible!! In November I was visiting my daughter and her family in Hillsboro, Oregon and we took a ride to the coast on highway 26. There is a place called camp 18 and they have a lot of steam and gasoline powered logging equipment. I was very impressed and intended on going back and getting some detailed photographs and build one. I did not realize that VP had a book on one. I am going to order it and start it after I complete my steam tractor and my Topsy Turvy and..... well you get the point. I would sure love to see someone decide to build one and post their progress during the build cycle. This board is the richest source of information and I cannot express how much I have gotten from others posts during their build. Takers???

 

[Bernd]

Another book that would be of interest to those that want more info on steam donkeys is a hard cover book by Merv Johnson, "In Search of Steam Donkeys" Logging equipment in Oregon. It's put out by Timber Times, Inc. P.O. Box 219 Hillsboro, OR 97123.

Bernd

 

[Captain Jerry]

Here is a pic of the grease cup open.

I'm just trying to figure this thing out. All of the steam piping is gone. There is no governor, no regulator. How did the operator run the engine? There is this. The lever seems to open stopcocks at both ends of both cylinders at the same time. I first thought thus was just to drain accumulated water but it sure would stop the engine at the cost of a lot of steam. If its just a drain, why does it need a control at the operators position? Is it an emergency pressure release? Here is the pic:

The pivot shaft goes through the frame and drives similar linkage on the other cylinder.

Jerry

 

[Jeff02]

Just found these on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-Live-Steam...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45f1a8135c

http://cgi.ebay.com/Live-Steam-Scal...wItemQQptZModel_RR_Trains?hash=item53e0113b1f

 

[BAH101]

I have CD books on Clyde Iron works and American Hoist and all thier donkey engines have those drains and linkages. I do have pics of a Donkey engine made by Tyee Machinery Co out of Vancouver BC, (it is on display at Ladysmith on Vancouver island) and it does not have them.
My guess it is the fastest way to stop the piston if the cable get fouled. Steam is cheaper than cable.

 

[Captain Jerry]

Jeff02

Thanks for the ebay links. Who woulda thought that there would be to online at the same time. Now I don't have to build one. I can just enter a bid!

BAH101

I think that's right. If it were just a maintenance item it wouldn't need all that linkage and convenience to the operator. I don't think it would be used for a fouled cable though. The drums are controlled with a clutch and brake and I would think the operator would just disengage the clutch if the cable fouled. If the clutch failed to disengage or other mechanical problems like a busted drive pinion happened, you might need to dump steam quickly.

Another couple of thoughts on this engine. Brunswick is a port city on the Georgia coast so this engine may have been used to handle lifting with a stiff leg derrick, either at the port or aboard ship. It is slightly different than either of the logging donkeys shown. The drum clutches use four segments rather than the two segment clutches on these models. Also the clutch levers and the foot brake levers are at least twice as long so I think it may have handled heavier loads.

Strangely, with all of the moving parts so close to the operator, this hoist has guards over the hoist gears and there are bolts around the gear that appear to have held guards over the clutch mechanism. The guards are now gone and I suspect that they were pitched early in the life of this machine. They probably would have pitched the gear covers as well but they served to support the brake bands.

Jerry

 

[steamer]

Cylinder Drain cocks to let condensate out of the cylinder at start up. Threre's four of them, two on each cylinder on both sides of the boiler, so running around turning them on and off while your trying to pay attention to the load your lifting/moving would be problematic. Hence a central lever.


I suspect you will find it is connected to the cylinder drain cocks on the other side as well.

Nice piece.....savable too.... a little blue wrench persausion, clean up and some new hardware and the engine would run again.....I doubt the boiler would though.

Do take lots of pictures from all sides and some key dimensions with a tape measure. That would be a great model subject.....though Bill Harris has done it, but not like that one....

Dave

 

[Captain Jerry]

Steamer

Thanks for the answer. It has the ring of first hand knowledge. You are right about the link to the other piston. All four drain cocks operated simultaneously with one lever. I think it would take more than the blue wrench to free up the works. This marina was built in 1995 and this was dragged out when the channel was dredged. Since then, the only attention it has had was to be hoisted up on the concrete piers in 2002. Thirty plus years submerged in salt marsh and fifteen years exposed to the atmosphere has taken its toll. With the steam pipes gone, the inlet ports on top of the cylinders are open. The drive pinion between the two hoist has been reduced to flakes.

There are a few things that move. There is a gate valve with the stem intact that seems to be in working condition. The clutch lever on the main hoist moves a few degrees. This let me figure out how the shaft that the lever turns is driven against the shaft that forces the clutch pads to expand inside the drum. I am not sure if the operator had to hold pressure on the lever to keep the clutch engaged or if the clutch linkage knuckled over center. If it knuckled over, I don't see how it was disengaged.

I have taken lots of pictures and measurements and I have easy access if I need more. Another difference I have noticed is that the base of this unit seems to be made from castings bolted together instead of a welded fabrication from steel channel.

The main base is 8" high, 65" long, and 48" wide. The casting for support of the front drum adds another 15" in length. The cylinder OD is 10" but I have no idea what the bore is. The stroke is 10" as measured at the crank (5" throw)

Jerry

 

[BAH101]

These 2 pages look like that Donkey engine. The 3rd I had to add
Bryan

View attachment AmericanHoist.pdf

 

[steamer]

I headed up the team that restored this doctor engine.....it was dredged up from the Missouri..... IIRC.

http://www.neme-s.org/Mystic_Seaport_2008/DSC04187.JPG

Runs well....needed a lot of work.

Dave

 

[Captain Jerry]

Brian

Thanks for the pdf. I clears up a few things, mainly the steam controls which are clear in the picture. It would seem that this is a model 26 hereafter referred to by the telegraph code "EAGLE". This is based on the drum dimensions plus the fact that this unit has the brake bands at the same end as the clutches, and the chart says that on engines larger than this, the brakes are on the opposite end. so the bore is 6.25". The smaller engine has an 8" stroke and I have measured this one to be 10" so "EAGLE" it is.

I think I will build it in Alibre'. In the real, it is beyond my present skills. It is always great to have something to aim for.

Jerry

 

[BAH101]

The rest of the book I have has a lot of detailed drawings on it, most of their engines were the same basic parts, they just added more or larger drums and stuff.
The disclaimer I had to add on pg 3 only says I cannot charge a fee for them and distribution is ok as long as that page is there, so... my take on that is you could borrow them if you would like
Bryan