Quinborne Adult Education Centre - torpedo engine

Image: © Chris Allen Taken: 20 Mar 2013

The International Stationary Steam Engine Society has regular meetings at this community library and education centre. On this occasion the lecture was on Peter Brotherhood and his radial engine. The lecturer had brought this partly sectioned full size engine that it is believed would have been used on compressed air in a torpedo although these engines ran on steam and hydraulic pressure as well. The three cylinders are single acting with steam/air admitted above the piston by a very elegant spring loaded piston valve driven by a cam and exhausted through cylinder wall ports at the end of the stroke into the crankcase. It is therefore a uniflow design but excessive compression is avoided by a slot in the piston crown with a valve attached to the little end. The wooden handwheel allows one to turn it over and appreciate its beautiful elegance. It's fair to say it was well handled before and after the lecture. I did photograph this in the offices of its manufacturer, now owned by the US based Dresser Rand corporation, but resisted posting them. However, an encounter in the 'wild' is a different matter.

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