Rope drive engine

[mklotz]

This is my version of Elmer Verburg's rope drive engine. Two double acting cylinders are connected to the flywheel with 90 degree quadrature so the engine is self-starting. A common manifold feeds air/steam to the cylinders through a valve controlled by the functional governor.

The rope is a single loop of heavy gauge packing, three strand twine. (Splicing twine is a very tedious job.) The grooves on the flywheel and layshaft pulley are parallel. (Many people assume they must be threads.) The idler uses a weight to take up any slack in the rope due to moisture, etc.