One of the joys of visiting the Guildford Rally is to see the delightful models made by Anthony Boxell. Anthony bases his models on the excellent designs of Anthony Mount - but produces them half-size. in 2015 he showed a new model, based on Anthony Mount’s popular design for McOnie’s Oscillating Engine. It was awarded the Jim Wilson Trophy.

Normally, oscillating engines for model engineers are simple affairs much favoured by beginners. However, back in the day there were some large, powerful and complex engines with oscillating cylinders, and were used to power paddle steamers among a wide variety of applications. The McOnie engine has a slide valve driven by an eccentric, and a large Watt type governor. The first oscillating engine was the product of Henry Maudsley and still exists with the Science Museum in London.

Anthony Mount discovered “this rather attractive oscillating engine” in a book on machinery published in the 1860s, although the engine itself probably dates from the 1840s. He was attracted to its “classical architectural features for the base and main frames.”

Sets of castings and other parts are available from Cotswold Heritage for the Anthony Mount design