A guide to building simple oscillating steam engine models. It describes the making of four such models: Kitty, a small overtype engine; Otto, a simple steam turbine plant; Wencelas, a superior Christmas present; and Henry a 19th-century vertical engine and boiler.

This book is a collection of vintage articles on the subject of installing miniature steam engines in model vehicles. Highly-detailed and profusely illustrated, this volume will be of considerable utility enthusiasts with an interest in model engineering, and would make for a fantastic addition to collections of related literature. Contents include: “Simple Model Steam Engine Construction”, “Design for a Motor Car type Steam Engine”, “A Model Compound Under-type Steam Engine”, “A Model Compound Under-Type Steam Engine”, “A Model Compound Under-Type Steam Engine”, “Some Interesting Steam Models”, “A Small Steam and Petrol Air-Gas Plant”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on model building.

In this book long-time model maker Stan Bray describes the construction of a range of uncomplicated miniature steam engines, for construction by the model engineer.

"The Most Powerful Idea in the World argues that the very notion of intellectual property drove not only the invention of the steam engine but also the entire Industrial Revolution." -- Back cover.