When Michael Faraday in Great Britain and Joseph Henry in the United States both discovered electricity at roughly the same time no one knew what to do with it because in those days nothing worked on electricity. In the thirty or so years that followed, between 1831 and 1861, the great experimenters of the day tried to use this new discovery by copying steam engine design and practice. Many early
electromagnetic engines were of reciprocating design and used connecting rods, beams and flywheels that had to be constantly accelerated. These early reciprocating engines were quickly followed by revolving armature designs of which Paul Gustave Froment’s was the first in 1844. These were much more efficient and a variety of different and increasingly sophisticated designs emerged. The model engines manufactured by the Old Model Company reflect those exciting times and great effort has gone into ensuring that each kit is historically correct and as close as possible to the original design. The OMC range of engines are supplied in kit form and can be assembled using ordinary hand tools. No machining or soldering is necessary. Each kit includes a fully illustrated instruction manual that is easy to follow. The parts are supplied in numbered packets that correspond to numbered instructions in the manual. Even the packaging that the kit comes in is easily converted to an assembly jig that holds the model securely whilst connecting the wiring underneath. These model engines work on safe and low DC voltages, typically 4.5 to 6 volts. Clicking on the picture of each model will take you to a video presentation of that engine and to a complete specification.
