Bogstandard said:
It just might be just a clash of cultures, whereby in the UK, most modellers would want their engines to do work, whereas I have noticed that the US modellers, on the whole are quite happy to just have a model that runs for display purposes only, in which case 90% of this engine could be made of totally unsuitable materials for running on steam, and so would inherently be a lot easier to make.
Steam power pretty much originated in the UK and there is a far longer tradition of using it to advantage there. This is reflected in the models where making them work is incidental to making them actually do something. We didn't invent steam engines in the US - they initially came from England - and, as Shred (I think) noted, we kind of got stuck on railroads and ignored pretty much everything else even though steam was all around us.
On the other hand, when I first moved to Pittsburgh, PA, steam was still quite active on the railroads and on the rivers, the latter pushing loads of coal and other materials to the various steel mills. There were still steam shovels around and more than a few steam donkey engines afoot. Outside the city some of the older oil wells were still using steam engines that burned crude oil and got water from a well or other handy source.
Of the riverboats, some turned screws, some turned split stern wheels and a very few had sidewheels ... maneuverable but not really a Good Thing if a barge got loose. There were also a couple showboats (repurposed packets) operating that used steam - I think until one of them blew up. The rest either converted to Diesel or went out of business. (Actually, they all went out of business eventually.)
The non-steam versions go to Noelle for safety reasons, hers and her dog's - 4-legged furry curiosity, playfulness and mischief who's all of 6.5 pounds fully grown. It's far safer for her to turn on a compressor or flick a switch for the electric ones than to fire up a boiler. Further, the engines themselves are being built to provide a degree of entertainment themselves due to a somewhat Rube Goldbergian approach to the designs but they can also be used to couple to other things for even more entertainment. Their purpose is to help take her mind off her illnesses and give her reason to smile, even if for just a little while.
For my own steam-type engines, I want to go back to what I remember - live steam. Many will be freelance rather than strict models and will be a bit whimsical in a number of ways but a few will be made from memory (granted, 50 year old memories) of some of the equipment from back then. The most interesting ones were the oil wells since each one was unique ... in more than a few ways. I'm thoroughly convinced some were designed/built by people who had put a bit too much Jamesons in their coffee - or just skipped the coffee part entirely.
I've thought about a model steam launch or paddle wheeler but the ocean would be fairly unforgiving about anything I could build in my apartment, and I'm not equipped to make anything large enough to power something that would survive. Something will come to mind, though.
Of course, a number of my alternate history electric engines are based on steam engine design but that's a separate issue.
Best regards,
Kludge
