Images: _1_ TSB Entry:456
Approximate Date: 1952-55
Owner: Vic
Owner's website: http://www.freewebs.com/isettasteam/
Notes: This engine was originally in the 'UNKNOWN' section, but two of the sites visitors managed to identify it!
'Roberto' Writes: I was browsing the rest of the Steam Toy Bible web site and found an 'unknown' category. Well, I can tell that the first engine called only 'unknown' is a modified Jensen style 45 just like the one I submitted months ago. All electric material has been removed, leaving only the boiler, crank, flywheel and piston. They modified the AC cable connector opening by widening it a lot in order to accept a burner. With the electric heater removed, you can use the empty space to put a burner in there and use it as a heat source. The Jensen 45 engine is a normal oscillating cylinder vertical boiler engine. Yes, it will run perfectly. They did a color change to green. Looks nice though. Too bad there is no picture of the other side (as the sight glass is in there but can not be seen in the picture). The whistle and SV have the same thread (like in all Jensens) and can be swapped. In this case, you can see that the SV is using the normal position where the whistle should go and vice-verse. One last thing I can say is that this unknown engine is not made of brass. It is a Jensen 45 with a boiler made of steel which are much more common. You can test it with a magnet. The smoke stack is an original Jensen one but painted in a different color. Please take a look at my pictures of my Jensen 45 you have in your site to compare. Mine has got a brass boiler so it has rivets holding together the steel firebox (where the electric heater is located) and the brass boiler. Regarding year of manufacture: Jensen made the 45 from 1952 to 1955. During the Korean war, brass was scarce as it was used for ammo shells. During the first years of the war, Jensen made them with brass boilers. Later, Mr. Jensen sr. started to use steel and no more brass was available. Steel versions of this engine are very common. Brass ones are very rare. Steel, heat and water is not a good combination. This engines use to fail quickly as they rusted inside and pin holes started to develop inside the bottom of the boiler. Water the will go into the heater rendering unusable and unsafe. For sure this is what happened to this engine and the owner modified it to use a meths burner and keep using it. Very clever modification.
27Ace27 also offers the same opinion: The first unknown engine in the unknown manufacturers page on you site is a repainted Jensen 45 that has had the heater removed, and a hole cut in the firebox for a burner. I hope this helps