USS Monitor Steam Engine Drawings -Free

[Rich Carlstedt]

After Many years, I have finished the full drawings of the steam engine that powered the first Steam Powered All Steel Battleship, "the Monitor" from the US Civil War period.
Historians and authors refer to it as a "Ironclad", but it was not a wooden ship clad with iron, and in fact the engine identification by many is also incorrect. For some reason they call the engine a "Side lever" engine and it is as far from a side lever engine as can be !
Side Lever engines have vertical cylinders and are beam engines used with paddle-wheel ships , never with screw propeller ships. The Monitor is a "Vibrating Lever-Half Trunk engine " and is truly unique is design and operation. You may know that the only full size engine like this that exists is the one recovered from the ship wreck site in 2001 and is being restored at the Mariners Museum in Newport News Virginia USA.
There was very little information in the form of surviving drawings , and I have spent almost 50 years ( since 1974) researching all that was known and created not only a accurate scale model, but a full set of prototype drawings .  The gracious Editor of Home Shop Machinist magazine has agreed to hosting the drawing files for all to download at no cost. This is a 309 page download divided into about 22 packets for all historians and model builders to have free access--For their Personal Use Only!  They are not for resale  or transfer and are protected with Copyright and US Government registration. Downloading these files is acknowledgement of this requirement

Here is a pic of my model
  [ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]  

To download go here
https://www.homeshopmachinist.net/resources/downloads/

There was an in-depth discussion on the model back in 2008 , go here for that info
http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/viewtopic.php?t=78299

You may also wish to visit my website for further information about this and other models and access a You tube video of it running
http://www.stationarysteam.com/

Thanks for your interest
Rich

[vtsteam]

That's pretty amazing and impressive Rich! And the drawings also quite a gift. Thank you for posting this. 

Back in the mid-seventies when I was learning boatbuilding, I lived in Mathews VA, not too far from the Mariner's Museum. I spent many hours there in the library reading books that were otherwise unavailable. That was, of course, long before the Internet.

[Brass_Machine]

You have shown this engine at Cabin Fever?

Eric

[tom osselton]

I can only say “WOW!

[Rich Carlstedt]

Yes  Eric, I had it at Cabin Fever, the NAMES  show and also the Mariners Museum where I have given seminars on the engine and it's operation.
You might call it a labor of love, as I built my first model of the ship when I was 11 years old. (my older brothers started me modeling at age 5 ) and it even had a electric motor for propulsion.  I later got into steam engines and 47 years ago the Monitor bug bit me .  The real challenge was that there was virtually no published information on the engine , and the few things available conflicted with each other . The bore and stroke are 40 x 22 , and yet there were esteemed historical sources that said 36 x 24  or 32 x 26  for bore and stroke . Don't mean to be impolite, but many history books publish erroneous information because the author failed to do due diligence . My goal was to bring light to the true engine dimensions with the model and I was asked by many afterwards for the drawings , so I spent these past 4 years doing just that
Thanks for the kind words
Rich

Somewhat of a boast ..The engine is at a true 1/16 scale and all parts including internal are scaled to that exactly. My smallest parts are Keys that are .032 x .032 x .076  and both ends radius-ed  which on the real engine is 1/2" x 1/2" x 1-1/4" --making those was a nightmare

[Brass_Machine]

Hi Rich,

I believe I have talked to you about this at Cabin Fever.

All... I have seen this in person, it is a work of art. The attention to detail and quality of work... amazing.

Eric

[vtsteam]

It's a beauty, and a fabulous story, too.   

[Kjelle]

THANK YOU RICH!

Kjelle

[David Jupp]

Shame that the drawings don't seem to be available any longer...

[vintageandclassicrepairs]

Hi All,
Link to Youtube video of the engine

John

[JamsTung]

It's so beautiful. I like it.

[BillTodd]

Superb 

[Rich Carlstedt]

Up Date 2026 - April 13

Yes, The drawings were withdrawn during a web site revision two years ago, sorry about that .
I have been advised they will  be re-posted, and will return to the same web site
It may take a few more weeks for that to occur, so keep trying .

I have spent the past 5 years writing a book (technical) on the engine and all of it's components to help those who downloaded the drawings and those
who wish to know more about the engines' operations and design  and other data from my research
That book is very close to completion and I hope to have it published before years end so I can go back to modeling.
Thank You for your patience , This is a not for profit undertaking

Rich

[tom osselton]

Thanks for the info 

[Rich Carlstedt]

What a Klutz  !

I meant to add that anyone who wants the drawings can also send me a note here using messages or use my direct address - grnbaystmr  "AT"  gbonline.com - the AT used here is to divert web searches and spam . use the ast...  and    no dashes

Send theirr home email and I will send them by email in 5 packages .. It's like 29 Meg donload in one shot
and that would get me in trouble with my provider. 
IMPORTANT , The Subject line must say MONITOR  in Caps
Rich

[vtsteam]

Again, thank you Rich for this remarkable gift!