You guys are right it is a steam powered trip hammer for smithwork.
As to building quality models I have a statement posted in my shop:
The difference between average and excellence is perseverance.
I have been building models for over 40 years and
I still make lots of mistakes. It can be difficult to throw away an item that took a lot of time but if the end result is to be in the good to excellent catergory everything has to be right. I remember an item that took 6 tries before I got it right, near drove me to pitch the project, but now I can enjoy a well built product.