Making the beam engine go

All the way from Denmark, Torben asks:

This Airfix beam engine kit, is it with electric powered. I think not ? I have this kit when I was a boy and that was with a batt. driven motor so it will work.

You are correct, my model isn't powered. When the kit was first released it was possible to buy the parts to make it work. Inside the base there are still mouldings that look like they should hold a battery but the instructions don't mention them.

To make the kit work would require some modelling skills but I don't think this ought to be that difficult. As you can see from the photo, the axle that runs though the flywheel has pulleys on the end. An elastic band around these and a similar (but much smaller) pulley on a motor, would drive the model very nicely.

The motor could be hidden in a plinth along with the battery and switch. The result would look lovely. Good luck if you decide to try it.