Sweden - Small engine powered by ....????

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

An interesting little Swedish engine from member Goran Enqvist in Sweden (and via Nathan).

No further info on this one.

Powered by? Any guesses?

[Steve Appleton]

Looks like a diesel or petrol engine coupled to a bevel gearbox and then chain drive to the rear axle. Why they had to make it look like a steam loco beats me, though!

[John Ashworth]

I would hazard a guess at one of those old-fashioned single-cylinder diesels which makes an explosive noise every time the cylinder fires. But what's that chimney coming out from underneath?

[Steve Appleton]

What I did not initially see is that the transverse shaft, around which the chain runs, actually appears to be a crankshaft with a flywheel mounted on the far end. There is therefore no bevel drive as I originally thought. I have lightened and sharpened the image in an attempt to glean more. I also don't understand the chimney/exhaust pipe. I am not sure whether the round thing above the crankshaft is a cylinder that is mounted vertically or whether the engine is horizontal, located to the rear of the crankshaft and hidden in this picture.

mystiskt_lok1.jpg (93.87 KiB) Viewed 3347 times

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

My personal opinion is that it powered by a rubber band..............

The "exhaust pipe" is in fact a lever for winding up the rubber band.......

[John Ashworth]

I used occasionally to drive a tiny little car, I think it was a DAF, which was rubber-band powered. Well, in fact it had a proper petrol engine, but it had a strange sort of automatic gearbox that was just a rubber band on pulleys.

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

I think it was a DAF - i remember the things.

Weird technology in the "old days". Like the Citroen DS20's - which under the bonnet I could never figure out.

[Derek Walker]

That pipe is where they drop the food for the hamsters that run inside the engine and power the whole shebang.

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

Derek - you could be right.

The operator was called a "ham-burger"?

[Derek Walker]

aaah.. an early MacDonalds "hamburger patty" making machine perhaps?

[Steve Appleton]

No wonder Macdonalds (in SA) are in trouble and having to rethink their strategy! Sweden has used up their entire supply of hampsters to feed their little steam locos.

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

This reminds me (by association) of an interesting book I read on the railways and river boats in Eygpt in the old days. They were naturally steam driven, and for many years (like a couple of decades) were fired on mummys. This is genuine - they were the common type of mummy, and the book actually showed photos of mummy stock piles for refueling.

The mind boggles at the numbers involved.