{"product_id":"steam-shovels-a-model-builders-plan-book","title":"Steam Shovels - A Model Builder's Plan Book","description":"\u003cp\u003eChris Rueby has assembled a unique collection of full-scale measured drawings for seven excavators from the Golden Age of steam powered shovels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFull details of each machine are shown, including the internals of all steam engines, gearing, boilers, controls, and steering. The 3D CAD generated plans may be scaled  to any size for both display and working live steam models.  Also included are chapters explaining in detail how steam shovels move, and how boilers and steam engines function.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll plans are based on measurements of surviving machines, original factory blueprints and repair manuals, plus patent documentation of mechanisms. Options are shown for versions with traction wheels, rail trucks, and crawler tracks where they were available. The book plans are not to a single scale and, especially if you wanted to embark on building an operable live steam model, a uniformly scaled set of drawings, and quite a bit of research would be required.  A photocopier or scanner which can enlarge originals would be useful for this.  This is a plans book, not a construction manual.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe shovels include encompass a range of sizes from small rotating shovels to huge railroad shovels and are: \u003cem\u003eMarion Model 28, Marion Model 37, Erie Type B, Thew Type O, Thew Horizontal Crowd, Bucyrus 65-Ton, Marion Model 91\u003c\/em\u003e. Whilst these were all American products, non-American modellers wanting to build one of these machines may find a trip to the \u003ca rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?client=firefox-b-e\u0026amp;q=threlkeld+mining+museum\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThrelkeld Mining Museum\u003c\/a\u003e in Cumbria useful as there they will find \u003ca rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.threlkeldquarryandminingmuseum.co.uk\/vintage-excavator-trust\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThe Vintage Excavator Trust \u003c\/a\u003eand some 80 machines, including a Ruston Steam Shovel, similar to those in this book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e208 very well produced pages, full of drawing, plans, reproductions of old         catalogues and illustrations. Spiral bound. \u003cstrong\u003eHIGHLY RECOMMENDED\u003c\/strong\u003e if you are an experienced model engineer looking for a fascinating, long-term project!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ASH Models","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":60080887726464,"sku":null,"price":34.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0178\/6295\/1012\/files\/Screenshot2026-10-09143433.png?v=1791552963","url":"https:\/\/www.ashmodels.co.uk\/products\/steam-shovels-a-model-builders-plan-book","provider":"ASH Models","version":"1.0","type":"link"}