Meccano Oscillating Paddle Steamer Engine

I have again visited the most excellent articles in Meccano Magazine on the British Marine Engine History in Meccano, which ran from March to July in 1934.
This is a model of a twin-cylinder oscillating paddle wheel engine in the Royal Mail paddle steamer; Leinster. This ship (one of four) was built in 1860 to take mail between Wales and Ireland.
The Leinster was built by Samuda Brothers in London and unusually had four funnels. The vessel was big at 343 feet long and 35 feet beam, with a depth of 19 feet, a draught of 13 feet and a displacement of 2,000 tons.
The Leinster's engine, built by Ravenhill Salkeld in London had two oscillating cylinders, 8 ft 2-in diameter by 6 ft 6-in stroke. The paddle wheels were 32 feet in diameter and of the feathering type, with floats 12 feet long and 5 feet wide. The engine produced 4,751 hp, and gave the vessel a speed of 17¾ knots with the engine making 25½ revolutions a minute on a steam pressure of 20 lb.
The boilers were each 9 ft 3-in long, 18 feet wide and 12 ft 3-in high. The eight boilers contained 40 furnaces and 4,176 tubes. The total grate area was 677 square feet and the total heating surface 16,800 square feet.
The model article suffers from a very poor quality single photograph and the usual limited instructions but with a bit of prototype research on the valve gear it wasn’t too difficult to build. I’ve followed the original design pretty closely but I have my suspicions it is not very accurate representation of the original. The one photograph that I have found of a model of the engine has quite a few differences.
I fitted a feathering paddle wheel which I think enhances the model a lot.
This is the second engine I have built from the magazine articles and I have a feeling I am going to build many more – these are great fun to watch in action.