This model is a part of the A. A. Stewart collection of ship, mechanical, and railway models acquired by the Powerhouse Museum over nearly 30 years from 1938 to 1963. Albyn A. Stewart was a trained engineer fascinated by engineering models and he constructed some of those in the collection. Others however were brought from amateur and commercial modelers at great expense to Stewart who travelled regularly to England to seek out models. In January 1938, Percival Marshall, the editor of 'The Model Engineer' England's premiere modelling magazine devoted editorial space to the collection where he stated that "Mr. Stewart has been fortunate in acquiring some excellent examples of both screw and paddle marine engines of considerable value as records of real prototype practice."

In April of the same years he expanded his comments on the collection by saying, "As a trained engineer himself, his judgement of the technical merits of a model is very sound, and I should imagine that his collection is now the finest of its kind in Australia, in private hands. Many of the models are undoubtedly worthy of careful preservation, and I hope that they will eventually find a suitable resting place in one or other of the Australian national museums."

Stewart was first contacted by the Technological Museum, as the Powerhouse Museum was then known, in 1933. The then Director/Curator A. R. Penfold immediately recognised the importance of the engineering models and in 1935 began to loan items for display. Penfold expanded the area available for displaying the models as they were seen as instructive for students at the adjacent Technical College as they were for the general public.

In early 1938 Stewart's company 'Lymdale Ltd.' which owned most of the models was approached about the purchase of a large part of the collection. Stewart was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Museum and in July 1938 it began to purchase the models it had loaned as well as the best examples in the rest of the collection. The cost of this was estimated at over 3000.00 pounds. By 1943 the museum was still acquiring material from the collection and the Advisory Committee made a special appropriation request to the Minister of Education. "In view of the advantage of retaining a collection intact, and the national asset which the museum possesses, the committee recommends the purchase of the remainder of the Stewart collection offered at approximately 2,400. This sum was approved and between 1943 and 1945 around 80 more models were purchased. Apart from the monetary limitations the acquisition was spread over a number of years because some of Stewart's models needed to be finished before they could be sold.

The high costs reflected the quality of the models. Many of the working steam engines are one-off examples hand crafted by amateur modelers over the course of years. The same is true of some of the ship and locomotive models many of which are made to exact scale and include working parts. The models were carefully collected by Stewart who collected as much for posterity as he did for personal interest. Once contacted by the museum he deliberately sought models which would fill historical and technological gaps and as a result the collection is one of the most significant in still extant in Australia. A. A. Stewart died in 1961.

This model was one of the first selected from Stewarts collection and was purchased in 1938.

Geoff Barker, March, 2007

References
Marshall, Percival, 'The Model Engineer and Practical Electrician', London, April 29, 1937
Marshall, Percival, 'The Model Engineer and Practical Electrician', London, May, 27, 1937
Marshall, Percival, 'The Model Engineer and Practical Electrician', London, January, 27, 1938
Marshall, Percival, 'The Model Engineer and Practical Electrician', London, April, 14, 1938
Chalmers, A. Mar, 'The Model Engineer in Australia and New Zealand, Melbourne, January, 1939
Davison, G., Webber, K., 'Yesterday's Tomorrows; the Powerhouse Museum and its precursors 1880-2005', Powerhouse Publishing, 2005
Lavery, B. and Stephens, S., 'Ship Models; their purpose and development from 1650 to the present', Zwemmer, London, 1995

The castings for this model steam engine were made by Stuart Turner Ltd in Henley-on-Thames, England between 1907-1938.

Today, the majority of Stuart Models castings are made using the shell moulding process. This involves mixing sand with Bakelite and placing it in a 'dump box' (an open topped box on trunnions). The pattern is pre-heated in an oven to around 400 degrees Fahrenheit, coated with a parting solution and placed face down on the dump box and clamped in position.The latter is inverted so that all the sand mixture drops onto the pattern. The hot sand-Bakelite is 'cooked' by the hot pattern for at least 15 seconds, the longer it is left the thicker the shell of sand. The dump box is then turned back and all the loose sand falls off. The pattern with the sand shell on it is then returned to the oven for a few minutes to harden the shell, and is then removed from the pattern.The other side of the shell is moulded similarly and then the two halves are then attached either using metal clips or a special adhesive, the shell is then ready to pour. For more information see: Stuart Models, www.stuartmodels.com/history.cfm (Downloaded 24/1/2007).

Stuart Models was established in 1898 and today, is the oldest company in the world still producing a range of model steam engines. The founder of Stuart models was Stuart Turner who was born in 1868.

Model steam engine, vertical compound, metal / wood, A A Stewart collection, castings made by Stuart Turner Ltd., Henley-on-Thames, England, 1907-1938

Model of a vertical tandem compound marine engine made of metal and mounted on a rectangular wooden base. The model is finished in green and black. With reversing gear activated by a handwheel, and a vertical air pump to represent a system for condensing steam, the model is representative of certain marine engines that were used on some of the large steamships or tugs. The model is fitted with a small flywheel.

Made: Stuart Turner Ltd; Henley-on-Thames, England; 1907 - 1938

None

B787

1907 - 1938

210 mm

120 mm