In this closing year of a century which is marked by unparalleled
advances in science and its applications to the industrial arts,
we are very much inclined to take it for granted that none of the
inventions that are regarded by us as indicative of the highest order
of progressive tendency, could by any possibility have been thought
of by our forefathers; and as the automobile is looked upon as an
ultra-progressive idea, no one who has not investigated the subject
would believe for a moment that its conception could antedate the
present generation, much less the present century. The records,
however, show that the subject engrossed the attention of inventive
minds many hundreds of years ago. In fact, as far back as the beginning
of the thirteenth century a Franciscan monk named Roger Bacon
prophesied that, the day would come when boats and carriages would be
propelled by machinery.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. CUGNOT’S STEAM GUN CARRIAGE, MADE IN 1763.]
The first authentic record of a self-propelled carriage dates back to
the middle of the sixteenth century. The inventor was Johann Haustach,
of Nuremburg. The device is described as a chariot propelled by the
force of springs, and it is said that it attained a speed of two
thousand paces per hour, about one mile and a quarter. Springs have
been tried by many inventors since that time, but always without
success from the simple fact that the amount of energy that can be
stored in a spring is practically insignificant.
In 1763 a Frenchman by the name of Cugnot devised a vehicle that
was propelled by steam, and a few years after the date of his first
experiment, constructed for the French Government a gun carriage which
is shown in Fig. 1. As will be seen, the design was of the tricycle
type, and it was intended to mount the gun between the rear wheels. The
boiler, which resembles a huge kettle, hung over the front end and was
apparently devoid of a smoke stack. Motion was imparted to the front
wheel by means of a ratchet. Although this invention is very crude, it
must be regarded as meritorious if we consider that it was made before
the steam engine had been developed in a successful form for stationary
purposes.
[Illustration: FIG. 2. SYMINGTON’S STEAM COACH, MADE IN 1784.]
The next effort to solve the problem was made by W. Symington in the
year 1784, the carriage devised by him being illustrated in Fig. 2.
This coach, although pretentious in appearance, was crude mechanically,
but it actually ran. The service, however, was not what could be called
satisfactory.
[Illustration: FIG. 3. TREVITHICK’S STEAM CARRIAGE, MADE IN 1803.]
In 1803, Richard Trevithick brought out the carriage shown in Fig.
3, which could run, but was artistically a failure. Moreover, the
machinery was such as would soon give out, even if well designed, on
account of its exposed position.
[Illustration: FIG. 4. STEAM COACH, MADE BY JAMES AND ANDERSON, ABOUT
1810.]
Between 1805 and 1830, quite a number of steam vehicles were invented
and put into practical operation. Fig. 4 shows a very elaborate coach
of this period, which was invented by W. H. James, and constructed with
the assistance of Sir James Anderson, Bart. The machinery used in this
design consisted of two powerful steam engines, one being connected
with each one of the hind wheels in a manner similar to that employed
in locomotives at the present time. The wheels were not fast upon the
axle, hence they could revolve at different velocities in rounding
curves. In this respect this invention embodied one of the features
commonly used by automobiles of the latest design. Two boilers were
provided, one for each engine, and the record says that with one boiler
the speed was six to seven miles per hour.
[Illustration: FIG. 5. STEAM OMNIBUS, MADE BY HANCOCK.]
Fig. 5 shows an omnibus invented by Hancock. This vehicle ran on a
regular route, carrying passengers from Pentonville to Finsbury
Square, London. Fig. 6 shows a carriage invented by Burstall and Hiel,
which attracted a great deal of attention. It was probably the most
complete and perfect mechanically of any invention that had been made
up to that time.
[Illustration: FIG. 6. BURSTALL AND HIEL’S STEAM CARRIAGE, MADE PRIOR
TO 1825.]
Fig. 7 shows a carriage invented by Squire and Maceroni, who had
been for a long time in the service of Goldsworth Gurney, one of the
most noted experimenters of his day in steam propulsion. A number of
carriages were made by these workers, on designs similar to Fig. 7, and
it is said that they ran at a high rate of speed, probably ten miles
per hour.
[Illustration: FIG. 7. STEAM CARRIAGE, MADE BY SQUIRE AND MACERONI.]
Fig. 8 illustrates an invention that is interesting from the fact that
it was to be operated by compressed air, and perhaps was the first
effort to utilize this form of stored energy for the propulsion of
vehicles. It was not a success, but its failure was due to the fact
that the inventor labored under the delusion that the laws of nature
could be circumvented by skillfully contrived mechanical devices so as
to obtain something from nothing. The body of the carriage was used as
a reservoir for the compressed air, and within the wheels were placed
a number of pumps, the short bars projecting from the peripheries
being the ends of the plungers. The expectation was that as the wheels
revolved, the plungers would be depressed, and thus air would be
pumped into the reservoirs and this air would operate the engine that
propelled the vehicle; hence the apparatus would supply its own power,
and realize perpetual motion. If this attempt to controvert the laws
of nature had not been relied upon, better results might have been
obtained.
[Illustration: FIG. 8. COMPRESSED AIR WAGON, MADE ABOUT 1810.]
The highly ornamental coach shown in Fig. 9 was invented by Dr.
Church about 1832. In addition to being ornamental, it was of massive
construction and large capacity, being able to accommodate fifty
passengers. Its operation is said to have been very satisfactory, a
high rate of speed being attained and all grades on ordinary roads
being easily mounted. The inventor swamped himself in endeavoring to
compete with railroads.
[Illustration: FIG. 9. SIDE VIEW OF DR. CHURCH’S STEAM COACH, MADE IN
1832.]
Perhaps the most perfect of all the early automobiles was the one
devised by Scott Russell, the celebrated designer of the Great Eastern.
This carriage is shown in Fig. 10. It was operated successfully, and
was able to mount the steepest hills and to attain a high rate of
speed, but as coal was used for fuel and the engines were of large
capacity, it is probable that the smoke, exhaust steam and noise of
the machinery were decidedly objectionable features. A line of these
coaches was put in commission in Glasgow in 1846, each one having a
seating capacity of twenty-six, six inside and twenty on the top. After
several months of successful operation, the line was withdrawn on
account of the opposition of the authorities and of the general public.
[Illustration: FIG. 9A. DR. CHURCH’S STEAM COACH ON THE ROAD.]
These few examples of the early attempts to solve the problem of
mechanical propulsion of vehicles are sufficient to show that the
automobile is not entirely a creation of the progressive mind of the
latter part of the nineteenth century, but that it engrossed the
attention of inventors more than one hundred and thirty years ago. The
success attained by the workers in this field at different periods was
directly in proportion to the degree to which the form of power used
had been perfected at the time. The first inventors attained but slight
success, owing to the fact that, in their time, the steam engine was in
a crude form, but as the construction of the latter improved, so did
that of the vehicles operated by it.
Before the days of steam, the power of wind mills was utilized to
propel vehicles, and with such success that in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries wind-propelled wagons or ‘Charvolants,’ as
they were called, were very numerous upon the flat plains of the
Netherlands.
[Illustration: FIG. 10. SCOTT RUSSELL’S STEAM CARRIAGE, MADE IN 1845.]
From 1845 up to the early nineties, a period of nearly half a century,
very little was done in the way of developing the automobile. From time
to time inventors in various parts of the world devoted themselves to
the subject, but they were generally looked upon as visionary cranks,
and their work attracted little attention. During this period there
was an almost universal prejudice against the use of any kind of
mechanical power upon the streets or public highways, and it is even
possible that if during these years any one had invented a horseless
carriage, perfect in every way, he would have failed to obtain proper
recognition. Prejudice against mechanically-propelled vehicles has
gradually worn away, probably because of the introduction of cable
and trolley cars, and at the present time the majority of people
desire to see the substitution of mechanical for animal power. As a
result of this change in public opinion, self-propelled vehicles are
accepted as entirely satisfactory, which a few years ago would have
been regarded as failures. Notwithstanding this tolerant feeling,
however, it is very doubtful whether the cumbersome coaches of the
early part of the century would be received with favor at the present
time when taste and requirements are entirely different. What is now
desired is a light, fast-running and attractive vehicle, which could
not be constructed along the lines followed by the inventors of former
days. The automobile of to-day is a far more perfect device than its
predecessors, although it can not be said to have reached a state of
perfection. As motive power, steam, gasoline and electricity are used.
Which of the three is the best, taking all things into consideration,
it would be difficult to say, as each one has its defects as well as
its advantages, and the evident superiority of each one in a certain
direction is offset by deficiencies in other directions.
In every civilized country, where the mechanic arts are far enough
advanced, automobiles are now being manufactured, but France is the
country where modern development first began, and up to the present
time it has maintained its leading position, although in quality of
product, other nations, if not on a par with it, are certainly not very
far behind.
[Illustration: FIG. 11. SERPOLLET CARRIAGE, A MODERN STEAM AUTOMOBILE
OF FRENCH DESIGN.]
The perfection to which the steam automobile has been developed in
these latter days is due mainly to the efforts of L. Serpollet, a
distinguished French engineer. Other highly successful steam carriages
are now manufactured in England and in this country, as well as in
several European nations, but Serpollet was the first to bring forth
a successful fast-running and attractive vehicle, and the others have
profited by his work.
[Illustration: FIG. 12. SIDE VIEW OF SERPOLLET CARRIAGE, SHOWING
LOCATION OF ENGINE, BOILER, CONDENSER, ETC.]
One of the many designs of Serpollet carriages is shown in Fig. 11;
Fig. 12 shows more fully the arrangement and location of the machinery.
The engine used in these vehicles is made with four cylinders of the
single action type; that is, they take steam at one end only. By using
this construction, while the number of cylinders is increased, the
other parts are greatly simplified, as the piston rods, crossheads and
guides can be dispensed with. In addition, the whole engine can be made
very compact.
[Illustration: FIG. 13. SHOWING DETAILS OF THE BOILER OF THE SERPOLLET
CARRIAGE.]
The boiler is of the flash type; that is, it carries no water
ordinarily, but when the engine is in operation, a pump injects into
the boiler at each stroke of the engine as much water as may be
required to generate the steam necessary to propel the vehicle; the
instant the water enters the boiler it is converted into steam. As
the amount of steam is proportional to the amount of water, it can
be seen that by regulating the water supply, the power of the engine
and thereby the speed of the carriage, can be controlled. This is the
method actually employed to control the speed. In starting, a handle
is moved which connects the engine, the boiler and the pump in the
proper relation; and while under way the velocity is varied by the
manipulation of a lever which controls the amount of water injected
into the boiler. The fuel used is kerosene, which is vaporized and then
fed into a properly constructed burner. The amount of oil supplied to
the burner is regulated by the same lever that regulates the supply of
water, so that both are increased or reduced in the proper proportion.
The boiler is constructed of a number of steel tubes, which are about
two and a half inches in diameter, and from three eighths to half an
inch thick. These tubes are pressed into the form shown in Fig. 13, the
dark line in the section marked A representing the interior space. A
number of tubes collapsed in this form and bent into the shape B, are
assembled as shown at C. The number of tubes depends upon the capacity
of the boiler. As the tubes are very thick, they can, without any
danger of bursting, be heated to so high a temperature that the water
injected into them is at once turned into steam.
In Fig. 12 it will be seen that the engine is located under the body
of the carriage between the two axles, and that motion is imparted to
the hind wheels by means of chains and sprocket wheels. The boiler is
located at the back of the vehicle, the lower part projecting some
distance below the rear axle. A small smoke stack at the rear of the
body allows the gases of combustion to escape. Between the front
wheels, a compact condenser is located, and into this the steam from
the engine is exhausted. The condenser serves two purposes; it recovers
a portion of the water that would otherwise escape into the air, and
thus increases the distance the carriage can run without a new supply,
and at the same time it lessens the noise produced by the exhaust, and
also the volume of steam escaping into the atmosphere, which in cold or
rainy weather becomes plainly visible.
[Illustration: FIG. 14. AN AMERICAN STEAM CARRIAGE OF 1900.]
Although we have been rather slow in this country in taking up the
automobile, inventors and manufacturers are now working at a pace that
will soon make up for lost time. We already have a number of designs
of steam carriages whose operation is highly creditable. Fig. 14
illustrates one of these. The design of the engine, boiler and other
mechanism can be well understood from Fig. 15, in which a portion of
the body is removed to expose the internal parts.
[Illustration: FIG. 15. SECTIONAL VIEW OF FIG. 14, SHOWING LOCATION OF
ENGINE, BOILER AND OTHER DETAILS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 15A. PLAN OF STEAM CARRIAGE SHOWN IN FIGS. 14 AND
15.]
The boiler is a very compact form of the upright type, such as is used
in fire engines. It is about fourteen inches in diameter and twenty
inches high. To increase its strength, it is surrounded with two layers
of piano wire. The engine is of the locomotive type, consisting of two
cylinders, the pistons of which are connected with cranks on the end
of the shaft, these cranks being set at right angles, so as to prevent
catching the engine on the dead center. The direction of rotation
is reversed by means of the ordinary link motion. The fuel used is
gasoline, which is carried in the cylindrical tank located under the
front of the carriage. The gasoline is vaporized and then, mixed with a
proper proportion of air, passes to a burner placed under the boiler.
The amount of steam generated is regulated by the amount of gasoline
supplied to the burner, and this supply in turn is regulated by the
pressure of the steam, so that the action is entirely automatic. The
cylinder H is a reservoir of compressed air, connected with tank I, so
that the gasoline is under pressure, and therefore is forced through
the pipe to the burner under the boiler. Between the burner and the
tank there is a valve controlled by the steam pressure, being opened
when the pressure is low and closed when it is high. When the pressure
reaches a certain point the valve is closed entirely, so that even if
the carriage is running very slowly, it is not possible to run the
pressure above the fixed limit. The exhaust passes from the engine
cylinders into a muffler, from which it escapes into the pipe K. This
pipe projects downward into an opening through the center of the water
tank, and the draught produced thereby draws the gases of combustion
through from the top of the boiler to the under side of the carriage
body, where they escape into the atmosphere.
[Illustration: FIG. 16. ENGINE OF CARRIAGE SHOWN IN FIG. 14.]
Directly in front of the exhaust muffler is seen the water gauge,
which is in such a position as to be outside of the carriage body,
as shown in Fig. 14. A mirror is placed at the front of the vehicle,
and by looking into this the water gauge can be seen. Fig. 14 also
shows clearly the position of the operating levers at the side of the
carriage.
The actual construction of the engine is better shown in Fig. 16, in
which A A are the cylinders, B is the steam chest and G G are the valve
rods. The piston rods connect with the crossheads C. The connecting
rods D transmit motion from the latter to the cranks E, and thus
rotate the shaft S. The link motions, by means of which the direction
of rotation is reversed, are at I I, and are operated by the lever G,
which is mounted upon the shaft F F. This shaft is directly connected
with the starting lever. The boiler feed pump is located at M. The
motion of the engine is transmitted to the rear axle of the carriage by
means of a chain that runs over the sprocket wheel L located between
the eccentrics K K. In Fig. 15, this wheel is located at D, and the
chain F connects it with the axle sprocket E.
[Illustration: FIG. 17. AMERICAN STEAM AUTOMOBILE OF 1900.]
Fig. 17 shows another American steam carriage. In this vehicle the
running gear is a complete truck, upon which the carriage body is
supported. The appearance of the truck with the body removed is shown
in Fig. 18. The boiler is of the tubular type and the double cylinder
engine is secured to its side. In this particular the construction
differs from that of the previously described carriage, for in that the
engine is attached to the cross-framing of the body of the vehicle.
Although the general appearance of the mechanism of these two carriages
is very similar, there are many differences in the details of their
construction. In both, vertical tubular boilers are used, and the steam
is generated by the use of gasoline, which is burned in the vaporized
state in specially constructed burners. The engine in both cases is
of the vertical double cylinder type, and motion is transmitted to
the hind axle by means of sprocket wheels and a chain; but here the
similarity ends; the minor details, which it is not necessary to refer
to in this connection, are with few exceptions very different.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.]
A careful examination of Figs. 11, 14 and 17 will show that from
an artistic point of view these examples of steam carriages are
satisfactory. In regard to their operation it can be said that they
have sufficient power to run up the steepest grades encountered on
ordinary roads at a fair rate of speed, while on level ground their
velocity is more than enough to satisfy the average rider. The danger
of explosion is so remote that it need not be considered. The Serpollet
boiler is practically inexplosive, while those used in the American
vehicles are so constructed that they can withstand a pressure far
greater than any they can be subjected to in practice. It might be
expected that the motion of the machinery would produce an unpleasant
vibration, but on account of the lightness of the moving parts and
careful balancing, this effect is much reduced. The use of gasoline as
fuel, in connection with automatic burners, eliminates the smoke and
ashes incident to the use of coal, and in addition reduces the labor of
handling the vehicle, as no attention need be given to the mechanism
other than to see that the water in the boiler is maintained at the
proper level. In the case of the Serpollet carriages, not even this
point need be looked after, as the feed of the boiler is perfectly
automatic.