Below is an incomplete but growing list of surviving Alco Firefly generator sets, boilers, and Stuart Sirius steam engines separated from generator sets. It is compiled from sales and auction records and other information available online, my collection, and submissions from owners and interested people like you. If you own one of the listed items, please write to fill in details. Thank you!
The goal here is to preserve these pieces of history and educate those who encounter complete sets or components.
A table of information follows. Some entries will have their own pages going into further detail.
| Year | Description | Nameplate Serial | Engine # | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Generator Set | 1020 | M 29 |
Information provided by Brendan Baker (Australia). Set owned by work acquaintance, who said it was given to him by a neighbor whose father served during WWII and had something to do with the communications department. It is possible this set was a bring back from the war. This early set has features which are different from later sets. The ammeter is a CAV ammeter, the oil level indicator is a chain attached to the cap (instead of the later dipstick), and the box is strapped closed. Also, note that the engine serial is higher than the next set Brendan shared information about. It is plausible that engine serial numbers would not always ascend with the nameplate serial on the box given how these were probably manufactured in batches. |
| 1944 | Generator Set | 1038 | M 19 |
Information provided by Brendan Baker (Australia). Set owned by a friend since the 1970s. This early set has features which are different from later sets. The ammeter is a CAV ammeter, and the box is strapped closed. |
| 1944 | Generator Set | 1075 | M 92 |
Information provided by Chiel de Theije (Netherlands). He found this set in a museum in Medemblik, Netherlands. The engine number is unexpectedly out of sequence with the general ordering. |
| 1944 | Generator Set | 1086 | M 32 |
Sold July 18, 2022 on eBay.co.uk for £600. From Carrara, Italy. Seller writes that set was parachute dropped in the Gothic Line area, north of Tuscany. M [over] 32 stamped on aluminum sump and I was told by seller it is also on the crankcase. Very interesting early production piece with provenance. |
| 1944 | Generator Set | 57700 | M 77 |
Owned by Ron Zownir (USA). Purchased on eBay in 2018. Previous owner from Idaho purchased it on eBay in September 2001 from Australia, where it was located for decades. Has M [over] 77 stamped on the crankcase. Generator serial number is 1030. The number was stamped before the engine was painted and the paint is pristine over it. |
| 1944 | Generator Set | 58316 | M 90 |
Owned by Brendan Baker (Australia). Has M [over] 90 stamped on the crankcase. Like new condition. |
| 1944 | Boiler | 58533 | N/A | Owned by Ron Zownir (USA). Purchased in 2018 from Hindman Auctions in Chicago. Part of a large estate sale of railroad and steam collectibles. The boiler was discovered the day after the auction was held, but by a stroke of luck, the lot was passed on! Purchased for $125 inclusive of auction premium. (Shipping it was more expensive than the purchase price!) Vertical sliding door style of furnace. |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 58601 | 1098 | The number 1098 is penciled on ammeter box cover, top right. Sold for £400 on October 20, 2020 by The Auction Room Northampton (via easyliveauction.com). Flipped two days later, October 22, 2020, on eBay for £2408 + £157.75 shipping. |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 58611 | 1081 | Owned by Chiel de Theije (Netherlands). The number 1081 is stamped on both the aluminum sump and on the crankcase. The generator serial number is 5105. Auctioned by Bonhams for £750 (exluding buyer’s premium) 1 September 2023 along with a boiler of unknown serial number and a reproduction furnace shell. Part of a sale of the John Elgar-Whinney collection of clandestine radios and cipher machines. (Having engine 1081, while there exists engine M [over] 90 topples the conclusion that there was a change in serial numbering format, and shifts us toward a new working conclusion: there are two serial number blocks, perhaps assigned to two separate groups working on the project. More data is required.) |
| 1945 | Generator Set (Incomplete) | 62409 | ? | Owned by Chiel de Theije (Netherlands). Has provenance. Used by the British army in the street of Malacca, Malaysia. Wound up in the possession of a Dutch army officer, who brought it back with him to the Netherlands. The older gentleman who gave Chiel the set wrote the story in a letter. The engine is stamped 62409 in the aluminum sump, at the bottom of the crankcase, and on the body of the generator. (It is odd for the nameplate serial on the box to wind up on the engine and generator, but here that is the case.) |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 106549 | ? | Sold June 2023 on eBay UK |
| 1945 | Boiler | 106832 | N/A | Owned by Jim Huntley (UK). Originally purchased military surplus by K.H. Pridie, a surgeon from Bristol, in 1949/1950, paired with generator set 106872, according to a letter from his son. Missing original furnace, but will soon have a reproduction furnace. |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 106847 | 1172 | eBay via Worthpoint. Green box but it looks obvious that it was repainted green with a brush. This was probably originally silver in color. The number 1172 is stamped on the steam engine sump. There appears to be a number that was on the ammeter box, but an attempt was made to erase it or rub it out. The last digit is appears to be a 9, but conceivably could have been a 2 with the base line erased. And the second to last digit is probably a 7, but might be a 4. So 1179, 1172, 1149, or 1142. |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 106856 | 1174 | Owned by Ron Zownir (USA). Purchased via auctionet.com. Factory original silver painted box. Marked 1174 in pencil on ammeter box cover in exact same location as on serial number 58601. Generator serial number is 4841. |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 106859 | ? | eBay UK via Worthpoint. Factory original silver painted box. |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 106872 | 1202 | Owned by Jim Huntley (UK). Originally purchased military surplus by K.H. Pridie, a surgeon from Bristol, in 1949/1950, paired with boiler 106832, according to a letter from his son. Number 1202 stamped on crankcase. |
| 1945 | Engine Only | Unknown | 1224 | Owned by Jim Huntley (UK). Previous owner may still have other components to the set. Number 1224 stamped on crankcase. |
| 1945 | Generator Set (Incomplete) (Restored/Modified) | Unknown (“Frost”) | 1244 | Owned by Ron Zownir (USA). Has 1244 stamped on the crankcase. Purchased engine and generator (serial number 4965) from Matthew Frost, whose father purchased the complete generator set surplus in the 1950s. The engine was used for a pump in a boat before it ended up sitting in a garage for around 60 years. The baseplate and ammeter box wound up in the trash in 2020 before Matthew knew what they were for. The engine had been modified (as is often done) with the pressure gauge removed, the stem shortened, and plugged. It was also missing the rag joint coupler. I tore down the engine, got it working, replaced the BA screws and cladding (although have the originals stored), epoxied the back right foot back on with special aluminum epoxy (the fragile cast aluminum foot cleanly broke off during shipment to me), and repainted it with accurately matched paint. I made a baseplate for the engine, same as with the engine 1296. I metal 3D printed the drive couplers in 17-4 PH stainless steel. Subsequently, John W. graciously sent me the original brass couplers along with an original rag joint stack. The couplers will be used here once I repair one of them and remake the lock screw. For this set, the rag joint was reproduced, with 8 plies of artist canvas. The disks were individually beeswaxed prior to cutting out the diameter and punching the drive holes, so they would not fray and fall apart. (The original rag joint uses a thicker grade of canvas and uses 6 plies.) |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 106936 | ? | Sold at auction on February 26, 2019 by Keys Fine Art Auctioneers. Via the-saleroom.com. |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 106982 | ? | Sold February 28, 2015 at Richard Edmonds Auctions. Sold again for £900 in 2018 via Lacy Scott & Knight |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 106990 | ? | eBay UK via Worthpoint |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 106996 | M 533 |
Owned by Chiel de Theije (Netherlands). Purchased on eBay. Generator is numbered 1884. M [over] 533 is stamped on the aluminum sump. No number visible on crankcase due to paint. (This set challenges the original serial numbering conclusion I made.) |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 107001 | 1261 | Preston Services sold with a boiler with late style bracket-type furnace. Serial number on boiler is obscured in photos, but is XXXX50 - possibly 107050? Penciled 1261 on ammeter box cover. |
| 1945 | Generator Set | 107048 | ? | Westland.nl sold in 2020 or 2021 (?) for €2000 |
| 1945 | Engine Only (Restored to Incomplete Generator Set) | Unknown (“Philly”) | 1296 (likely) | Owned by Ron Zownir (USA). Purchased on eBay. Came from Philadelphia. Complete engine, unmodified, original paint, came with engine side rag joint coupler. I have accurately reproduced the steel baseplate for it, and joined it to the generator from set 1244, which came to me with the generator side rag joint coupler. I received an original rag joint stack from John W (thanks!) that I used here. The engine has what I interpret as 1296 stamped on the engine crankcase, but it is difficult to read and contains multiple strikes for single digits. The stamping appears to be 1112229666, with the 296 sequence overlapping. I am certain the serial number is 12X6 and the second to last digit appears to me to be 9, but honestly I cannot be sure. With this engine, and appears so with many others, the paint is missing or damaged where the serial number is stamped. Was the number stamped after painting? |
| 1945 | Engine Only | Unknown | 1341 | Owned by Jon Lawes (Southwest England). Number 1341 stamped on top of the crankcase. Excellent runner, especially at low speed. Missing original manifold, pressure gauge, and regulator. |
| 1945 | Engine Only | Unknown | 1390 | Owned by John W. (UK). Engine purchased at auction from Charles Miller Ltd via the-saleroom.com on April 26, 2022. The number 1390 is stamped on the crankcase. |
| 1945 | Engine Only | Unknown | 1401 | For sale on eBay March 2024. The number 1401 is stamped on the crankcase. |
| 1945 | Engine Only | Unknown | M 511 / M 717 |
Previously owned by Chiel de Theije (Netherlands), who sold it to a friend. Stamped M [over] 511 on the aluminum sump and M [over] 717 on the crankcase. This is a very odd example with two different and high "M" numbers. (This engine challenges the original serial numbering conclusion I made.) |