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Mamod was founded in Birmingham,
England, United Kingdom by Geoffrey Malins in the late 1930's.
The Mamod
Company initially made model
replicas of stationary live steam engines,
progressing to steam engine powered road
rollers, traction engines and roadsters.
Over the years Mamod's fame progressed to
live steam railway which appeared
on the market in 1981.
The
first steam engine locomotives were gauge
O only and initially offered in a set, in a very
attractive, award winning package. The initial set
included a green locomotive (SL-1), a open
a wagon (in gray)
and a log wagon with three Styrofoam "logs". The locomotive had
double acting oscillating cylinders, with direction and throttle
controlled provided by the same valve. Although
today the fuel used in very clean and pure, in those days the
locomotives used the foul-smelling solid
fuel tablets as other Mamod steam engines. A loop of cast track was
also included (O only).
Later the
locomotive was offered separately, in both gauge 1 and gauge O. A
number of other cars were then offered: a goods van (gray), a guards
van (brown), a flat wagon (black) and a passenger coach (maroon).
The were quite durable, made entirely from metal. All the examples I
have seen were made in gauge O. After considerable technical
problems, Mamod finally introduced switches for the O gauge track
system. Later, Mamod offered two additional sets, a maroon
locomotive with two passenger cars and the green locomotive the
goods van and a guard's van.
New
steam engine powered locomotives in light
blue (SL-2) and maroon (SL-3) were offered individually, and
differed from the green locomotive by having a spark arrestor stack
rather than a straight "shotgun" one. The maroon locomotive's spark
arrester was in shiny brass. In 1983, Mamod offered the locomotive
in kit form, enabling the builder to construct either a gauge 1 or
gauge O version. The locomotive was finished in satin black with red
lettering. Two special versions of the steam
engine locomotive were also offered over the years. One
version offered in 1989 was lettered for the 50th anniversary of
Mamod, painted a sort of plum colour. A
production run of 1,000 were made, with serialized numbers. At the
time of the Charles/Diana Royal Wedding, a pair of limited run
locomotives were offered, one lettered for the Prince of Wales and
the other for the Princess of Wales, painted a Royal Blue
colour. Minor variations occurred over the
production life.
One major
improvement towards the end of production was the inclusion of a
plastic cover over the throttle lever. On earlier locomotives, the
lever acted as a branding iron for fingers! Sufficient
supplies exist around that new locomotives and kits can still be
found. There is a still a substantial industry offering after-market
replacement and enhancement parts such as alcohol burners, safety
valves with higher pressure settings, detail parts, etc.
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All
Locomotive Steam
Engines
are steam engine powered, pre-assembled
and in working order. Delivered in an attractive box,
complete with an instruction manual and enough
gas fuel
to get you started.
Additional fuel and spare parts can be
ordered.
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