Electric Reciprocating Solenoid Engine

When I was 14 or 15 years old, it occurred to me that I still hadn't built an electric motor. Not wanting to build the usual motor out of bent paperclips, I experimented with making a reciprocating engine using Lego and a solenoid. I don't have that motor anymore, but I thought it would be fun to build one out of more permanent materials.

A solenoid is a coil of wire with a sliding iron core. Applying a current through the wire pulls the iron core into the coil.

I went through my drawer of coils and solenoids and picked out a few to try.

I decided to go with this one. It consumes relatively little power and has a fairly long stroke. It also has kind of a "steam engine" look to it.