In article
..com, GutterCyclist scribeth thus
On 25 June, 22:08, (Steve Firth) wrote:
Jules wrote:
I was having this discussion with some folk a few months ago as to whether
anyone could even build a steam engine any more (albeit stationary stuff,
not locos) simply because a lot of the information from the era (in
particular the "tricks of the trade" which would have been handed down by
word-of-mouth) has simply vanished.

Err well, let me see.

Steam engineering isn't difficult.
Tolerances are not particularly high.
There's a real danger that a modern steam train would be better designed
and built than what has gone before.
Enthusiasts working at the weekend perform every trade necessary.
A modern steam engine has been built.

How wrong are you determined to be? Do you spend time outside Heathrow
screaming that the aeroplanes can't possibly fly?

And, might one add, there must be shelf miles of surviving printed
matter, storing much useful material on steam engineering (including
even some of the "tricks of the trade").

Word is that the plans for Tornado were found in a skip somewhere;!...
--
Tony Sayer