Welcome to Mamodder (adj. Someone who operates or collects Mamod steam models), my new blog about Mamod steam models, including their restoration, servicing and improvement. There will also be posts about my previous and current projects and videos of my own models and those of friends and other enthusiasts.
My background in steam engines (both full-size and scale model) dates back many years. From around 1994 I attended steam and vintage vehicle rallies, mostly those in the East Midlands, several times a year. At some long forgotten show I met the late John Sanderson, who was kind enough to let me help him operate his 4" scale (1/3rd size) Fowler traction engine "Dhoo Joan". Soon after I joined the Steam Apprentice Club, the junior branch of the National Traction Engine Trust (NTET), through which I worked on many traction engines and steam rollers over the next 10 years.
My father had occasionally mentioned having an old Mamod traction engine when he was young but it was not until 2001/2002 that I actually took an interest in the models. My father's model was a 1950s Mamod TE1 traction engine, one of the original designs. This had been passed onto a friend of the family, Andy, many years ago and had languished in a garage. However the engine was found and Andy, who was a model engineer, helped me to restore it to working order. Encouraged, I acquired several more, some little more than boxes of pieces, and made them run again. Each of these projects will be described in detail in a separate post.
