Birmingham Dribbler

A 'Birmingham Dribbler', Stevens Dockyard, England, around 1890

A Birmingham Dribbler or carpet railway describes the very first model railways. It is a bit of a misnomer, as the railway featured a model live steam railway locomotive, but no track – the locomotive was simply run across the floor. They first appeared in the 1840s and became very popular Victorian model railway toys.

The steam locomotives were very simple, usually made in brass, with a simple oscillating cylinder driving the main wheels. They were basically a boiler mounted on wheels, although simple decoration (usually bands of lacquer) was sometimes applied. Track was not used – the boiler was filled with water, the burner lit, and when steam was being produced, the locomotive was placed on the floor and allowed to run until either the water ran out or the engine crashed into the furniture. Very quickly, after a number had exploded, simple safety valves were fitted.

They quickly gained the nickname of Birmingham Dribblers, as they had the unfortunate habit of leaving a trail of water behind them as they ran across the floor. Very often this trail would be mixed with the fuel used for the burner, and there were numerous incidents of fires caused by the locomotive crashing into furniture and over-turning so that the burning fuel was spilled over the floor. The fuel inside has also been known to explode, but this is incredibly rare. As time passed, embellishments were added, such as wooden buffer beams, buffers and steam whistles.

Recent models

Not all Birmingham Dribblers are Victorian antiques. In the 1980s and 1990s, a brass, self-assembly kit for a Birmingham Dribbler model was manufactured by Maxwell Hemmens Precision Steam Models of Yorkshire, UK.