Woodroffe & Co’s Verto portable steam engine was built at the Albion Works in Rugeley, Staffs, in the 1880s and 90s. It was available in a range of sizes from one to five horse power as a general purpose machine that found use as a power source in a variety of industries. It came in three forms: an individual engine, an engine plus boiler mounted on a fixed base (which doubled as a water tank), and as an engine and boiler mounted on a wheeled base. Models of all three forms have been designed by Anthony Mount in 1:6 scale with drawings and casting available from Polly Model Engineering.

This model was shown by the Sutton MEC at the last Sandown Park exhibition.

These are quite small models with the boiler just 9” high and the flywheel is 4” dia. The single flue boiler has a cross tube firebox and a ceramic gas-fired burner. The safety valve is spring loaded, with a dummy weight arm. Working pressure is 60psi.

The wheels are built up with pre-shaped spokes set into a slotted hub, and held by the wheel rim, in the same way as the originals

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