signature of Saxula, in the Mechanic's Magazine, Clive, of Cecil House,
Staffordshire, England, also engaged in experimenting with steam. In 1830,
he secured patents for two improvements in locomotives, one increasing the
diameter of the wheels and the other increasing the throw of the cranks.
After a time he seems to have lost faith in the steam carriage, for in
1843 he wrote: "I am an old common road steam carriage projector, but gave
it up as impracticable ten years ago, and I am a warm admirer of Colonel
Maceroni's inventions. My opinion for years has been, and often so
expressed, that it is impossible to build an engine sufficiently strong to
run even without a load on a common road, year by year, at the rate of
fifteen to twenty miles an hour. It would break down. Cold iron at that
speed cannot stand the shock of the momentum of a constant fall from
stones and ruts of even an inch high."
SUMMERS AND OGLE
Two steam carriages built by Summers and Ogle, in 1831, were among the
most successful vehicles of their kind in that day. One of these carriages
had two steam cylinders, each seven and one-half inches in diameter and
with eighteen-inch stroke. It was mounted on three wheels and its boiler
would work at a pressure of two hundred and fifty pounds per square inch.
Passengers were carried in the front and the middle of the coach, while
the tank and the boiler were behind. The second carriage had three steam
cylinders, each four inches in diameter, with a twelve-inch stroke. When
the committee of the House of Commons was investigating the subject of
steam locomotion on the common roads Summers and Ogle appeared and gave
interesting particulars concerning their vehicles. The greatest velocity
ever obtained was thirty-two miles an hour. They went from the turnpike
gate at Southampton to the four-mile stone on the London road, a continued
elevation, with one slight descent, at the rate of twenty-four and a half
miles per hour, loaded with people; twenty passengers were often carried.
Their first steam carriage ran from Cable Street, Wellclose Square, to
within two miles and a half of Basingstoke, when the crank shaft broke,
and they were obliged to put the whole machine into a barge on the canal
and send it back to London. This same machine had previously run in
various directions about the streets and outskirts of London. With their
improved carriage they went from Southampton to Birmingham, Liverpool and
London, with the greatest success.
The Saturday Magazine, of October 6, 1832, gave an account of one of their
trials as follows: "I have just returned from witnessing the triumph of
science in mechanics, by traveling along a hilly and crooked road from
Oxford to Birmingham in a steam carriage. This truly wonderful machine is
the invention of Captain Ogle, of the Royal Navy, and Mr. Summers, his
partner, and is the first and only one that has accomplished so long a
journey over chance roads, and without rails. Its rate of traveling may be
called twelve miles an hour, but twenty or perhaps thirty down hill if not
checked by the brake, a contrivance which places the whole of the
machinery under complete control. Away went the splendid vehicle through
that beauteous city (Oxford) at the rate of ten miles an hour, which, when
clear of the houses, was accelerated to fourteen. Just as the steam
carriage was entering the town of Birmingham, the supply of coke being
exhausted, the steam dropped; and the good people, on learning the cause,
flew to the frame, and dragged it into the inn yard."
GIBBS
An English engineer, Gibbs made a special study of the steam carriage of
Sir Charles Dance in 1831. As a result of his investigations he built a
steam drag in 1832. This was intended to draw passenger carriages and it
had a boiler with spirally descending flue placed behind the driving
wheels. In 1832, in conjunction with his partner, Applegate, he patented a
steam carriage with a tubular boiler and oscillating engine cylinders.
The power from the axle was transmitted to the driving wheels through
friction bands, arranged in the bases of the wheels so that one or both
wheels could be coupled to the axles.
CHARLES DANCE
An enthusiastic motorist, Sir Charles Dance, of London, in the first third
of the ninteenth century did a great deal to encourage the engineers who
were inventing steam road vehicles. He was financially interested in
several of the companies that were organized to run steam coaches over the
common roads. He was the backer of Goldsworthy Gurney, and was also
engaged in building for himself. His most famous car was a coach that ran
every day from the Strand, London, to Brighton. This was an engine mounted
on four wheels with a tall rectangular funnel that narrowed toward the
top. Above the engine were seats for six or seven persons besides the
driver. Behind the engine was a vehicle like a boxcar low hung on wheels.
On the side of this box was emblazoned the coat of arms of its owner. On
the roof seat in front were places for four passengers. On a big
foot-board behind, stood the footman. This carriage was one of the
spectacular sights of London at that time and great crowds gathered in the
Strand every day to witness its departure.
Dance ran Gurney's coaches on the Cheltenham and Gloucester Road until
public opposition compelled his withdrawal, but after that he was a joint
patentee with Joshua Field, of an improved boiler. This was applied to the
road carriage above mentioned and the first trips were made in September,
1833, with a drag and omnibus attached, a speed of sixteen miles an hour
being attained. On the first trip from London to Brighton, fifteen
passengers were carried and the distance of fifty-two miles was covered in
five and a half hours, the return journey being performed in less than
five hours. About the middle of October the steam drag and omnibus were
put upon the road between Wellington Street, Waterloo Bridge, and
Greenwich, where it continued to run for a fortnight, with a view of
showing the public in London what could be done in this direction. The
proprietor had no intention of making it a permanent mode of conveyance,
and therefore kept the company as select as he could by charging half a
crown for tickets each way.
JOSHUA FIELD
Born in 1786. Died in 1863.
A member of the well-known firm of Maudsley, Sons & Field, marine
engineers, of London, England, Joshua Field took out a patent for an
improved boiler, in conjunction with Sir Charles Dance. The firm made an
improved vehicle for Dance, and in 1835 Field constructed for himself a
steam carriage that made a trip in July with a party of guests. The
carriage was driven up Denmark Hill, and did the distance, nine miles, in
forty-four minutes. It also ran several times to Reading and back, at the
rate of twelve miles an hour. One of the subscribers towards the building
of this carriage, said that it was a success mechanically, but not
economical. Field was one of the six founders of the Institution of Civil
Engineers.
DIETZ
Previous to the time that the carriage of Francis Maceroni was taken to
France, an engine designed by Dietz was run in the streets of Paris. In
the reports of the Academy of Sciences and Academy of Industry in Paris,
in 1840, this vehicle was described. The carriage had eight wheels, two of
which were large and gave the impulsion. The six smaller wheels rose and
fell according to the irregularity of the road, and at the same time
assisted in bearing the weight of the carriages. The wheels were bound
with wood tires, having cork underneath. The locomotive was a drag,
drawing a carriage for passengers. The engine was of thirty horse-power,
and a speed of ten miles an hour was made.
YATES
A steam carriage was built by Messrs. Yates & Smith, London, in 1834. It
had a trial in July of that year, running from the factory in Whitechapel,
along High and several other streets, at the rate of ten to twelve miles
an hour. Vibrating engines, working on horizontal framing, were used. The
coach resembled an ordinary stage-coach.
G. MILLICHAP
In a letter to an English engineering paper in 1837, G. Millichap, of
Birmingham, claimed to have a locomotive carriage building. He wrote: "If
your correspondent will take the trouble to call at my house I shall be
happy to show him a locomotive carriage in a state of great forwardness,
intended decidedly for common roads."
JAMES CALEB ANDERSON
Born in Cork, Ireland, July 21, 1782. Died in London, April 4, 1861.
The father of Sir James Caleb Anderson, of Buttevant Castle, Ireland, was
John Anderson, a celebrated merchant of Ireland, famous as the founder of
the town of Fermoy. The son gave much attention to the subject of steam
and steam propulsion, and made many experiments, taking out several
patents. In 1831, he lodged a specification for improvements in machinery
for propelling vessels on water; in 1837, for improvements in locomotive
engines, and in 1846, for improvements in obtaining motive power and
applying it to the propulsion of cars and vessels and the driving of
machinery. His 1831 patent was for a manually-propelled vehicle, a
carriage in which twenty-four men were arranged on seats, like rowers in a
boat, but in two tiers, one above the other. The action was nearly the
same as the pulling of oars, the only difference being that all the men
sitting on one seat pulled at one horizontal cross-bar, each extremity of
which was furnished with an anti-friction roller that ran between guide
rails on the opposite sides of the carriage. The ends of each of these
horizontal bars were connected to reciprocating rods that gave motion to a
crank shaft, on which were mounted spur gear that actuated similar gear on
the axis of the running wheels of the carriage; so that by sliding the
gear on the axis of the latter any required velocity could be communicated
to the carriage, or a sudden stop made. It was proposed to employ this as
a drag, to draw one or more carriages containing passengers after it. The
patentee had chiefly in view the movement of troops by this method.
Anderson gave financial support to W. H. James, in 1827, until he fell
into pecuniary difficulties. Ten years later he re-engaged in steam
carriage construction on his own account, and according to his own reports
he expended over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars on experiments. It
was said that he failed in twenty-nine carriages before he succeeded in
the last. He patented a boiler that was said to be a poor copy of Walter
Hancock's boiler. Then he organized a joint-stock company, the Steam
Carriage and Wagon Company, which proposed to construct steam drags in
Dublin and in Manchester, which, when completed, were to convey goods and
passengers at double the speed and at half the cost of horse carriages.
Anderson said: "I produce and prove my steam drags before I am paid for
them, and I keep them in repair; consequently, neither the public nor the
company runs any risk. The first steam carriage built for the company is
nearly completed. It will speak for itself." In the Mechanic's Magazine,
June, 1839, a Dublin correspondent writes: "I was fortunate enough to get
a sight of Sir James Anderson's steam carriage, with which I was much
pleased. It had just arrived from the country, and was destined for London
in about three weeks. The engine weighs ten tons, and will, I dare say,
act very well. I shall have an opportunity of judging that, as the tender
is at Cork. It has a sort of diligence, not joined, but to be attached to
the tender, making in all three carriages. I talked a great deal about it
to one of his principal men, who was most lavish in its praises,
especially as regards the boiler." In August, 1839, the carriage arrived
in London.
In 1840, a report said: "Several steam carriages are being built at
Manchester and Dublin, under Sir James Anderson's patents, and one has
been completed at each place. At Manchester the steam drag had been
frequently running between Cross Street and Altrincham, and the last run
was made at the rate of twenty miles an hour, with four tons on the
tender, in the presence of Mr. Sharp, of the firm of Sharp, Roberts and
Company, of Manchester, and others." A newspaper of the same year reported
that an experimental trip of Anderson's steam drag for common roads took
place on the Howth Road, Dublin. It ran about two hours, backing, and
turning about in every direction--the object being chiefly to try the
various parts in detail. It repeatedly turned the corners of the avenues
at a speed of twelve miles an hour, the steam pressure required being only
forty-six pounds per square inch. No smoke was seen, and little steam was
observed. The whole machinery was ornamentally boxed in, so that none of
the moving parts was exposed to view, and it was found that the horses did
not shy at this carriage.
The company had great plans for travel communication by means of these
drags between the chief towns in Ireland, as soon as a few of the steam
carriages were finished. An even more pretentious scheme involved a
service in conjunction with the railway trains from London, carriages to
be run from Birmingham to Holyhead, whence passengers were to be conveyed
to Dublin by steamer; from Dublin to Galway the steam drags were to be
employed; and thence to New York per vessel touching at Halifax; thus
making Ireland the stepping-stone between England, Nova Scotia, and the
United States of America. But all these plans came to naught.
Anderson continued to take out patents down to as late as 1858. He devoted
more than thirty years of his life to the promotion of steam locomotion on
common roads.
ROBERT DAVIDSON
Robert Davidson, of Aberdeen, was probably the first to make an
electrically propelled carriage large enough to carry passengers. This he
did in 1839. His carriage could carry two persons when traveling over a
fairly rough road, and though the prospects were enticing enough to cause
investment in the enterprise, Davidson's subsequent work was on rail
vehicles.
W. G. HEATON
W. G. and R. Heaton, of Birmingham, England, built several steam carriages
which operated with various degrees of success in their neighborhood.
Their patent was dated in October, 1830. The patent aimed particularly at
the guidance of a locomotive carriage, and the management of the steam
apparatus so that the power and speed might be accommodated to the nature
of the road, the quantity of the load, and so on.
For the purpose of steering the carriage, a vertical spindle was placed at
some distance before the axle of the front wheels and on its lower end a
small drum was fixed. Around this drum was coiled a chain with its middle
fixed upon the drum, and its ends made secure to the front axle formed a
triangle with the drum, situated at the angle opposite the longest side.
The other end of the vertical spindle was connected with a frame situated
in front of the coachman's or rather the steersman's seat and here on the
spindle was a horizontal beveled-toothed wheel. Over this wheel an axis
extended, terminating in two crank handles proceeding from the axes in
different directions, so that one was down when the other was up. Upon
this axis was fixed another beveled-toothed wheel taking into the first.
When these wheels were turned in one direction the right-hand fore wheel
of the carriage advanced and the coach turned towards the left, while when
they were turned in the other direction the left-hand wheel advanced and
the carriage turned towards the right.
The driving wheels were connected with the axle by means of a pair of
ratchets furnished with a double set of ratchet teeth and a reversing
pall. By this one wheel could be advanced or backed while the other
remained stationary, or moving in a contrary direction, an arrangement
necessary for turning and backing. The steersman controlled the reversing
pall by connecting rods and lever.
Motion was communicated to the driving wheels by a double set of spur
wheel gear, arranged to give different powers or velocities, by having
both a large and a small wheel fixed on the driving as well as the driven
axis. By shifting the large wheel on the driving axis into gear with the
small wheel on the driven axis speed was obtained, and by shifting their
relative position till the small wheel on the driving axis came into gear
with the large wheel on the driven axis, power was obtained at the expense
of speed. These two axes were kept at the same distance from each other by
means of connecting rods, although the relative positions might be changed
by the motion of the carriage on rough roads.
In August, 1833, the Heatons placed a steam drag on the road between
Worcester and Birmingham. A slight accident occurred at the start, but
after repairs were made the trial was a success. Attached to the engine
was a stage-coach, carrying twenty passengers, the load weighing nearly
two tons. Lickey Hill was ascended, a rise of one in nine, and even one in
eight in some places. Many parts of the hill were very soft, but by
putting both wheels in gear they ascended to the summit, seven hundred
yards in nine minutes. A company was formed in Birmingham to construct and
run these carriages, subject to the condition of keeping up an average
speed of ten miles an hour. A new carriage was built and tried in 1834,
but after trials, the Messrs. Heaton dissolved their contract, as they
were unable to do more than seven or eight miles an hour. After spending
upwards of ten thousand dollars in endeavors to effect steam traveling,
they retired from the field, stating that the wear and tear were excessive
at ten miles an hour, and that the carriage was heavy, and wasteful in
steam.
F. HILL
An English engineer, connected with the Deptford Chemical Works, Hill was
among the first to be interested in steam-road locomotion. He was
familiar with Hancock's experiments and made a carriage of his own that
was tried in 1840. He journeyed to Sevenoaks and elsewhere and ran up
steep hills with the carriage, fully loaded, at twelve miles an hour, and
on the level at sixteen miles an hour. He adopted the compensating gear
that was invented by Richard Roberts and that by some writers has been
credited to him.
To put Hill's patents to practical use The General Steam Carriage Company
was formed in 1843. The probable success of the company was based upon the
belief that there was a demand for additional road accommodations in order
that road locomotion should counteract the exorbitant charges made by the
gigantic railway monopoly for conveying goods short distances. The company
stated in its prospectus "that while they confidently believe the improved
steam coach which they have engaged and propose to employ in the first
instance to be the most perfect now known in England, they do not bind
themselves to adhere to any particular invention, but will avail
themselves of every discovery to promote steam coach conveyance."
Trial trips were made on the Windsor, Brighton, Hastings, and similar
roads, and with success. Once the carriage made a trip to Hastings and
back, a distance of one hundred and twenty-eight miles, in one day, half
the time occupied by the stage coaches. The Mechanic's Magazine said: "We
accompanied Hill, about a year ago, in a short run up and down the hills
about Blackheath, Bromley, and neighborhood; and we had again the pleasure
of accompanying him in a delightful trip, on the Hastings Road, as far as
Tunbridge and back. The manner in which his carriage took all the hills,
both in the ascent and the descent, proved how completely every difficulty
on this head had been surmounted."
In the Hill carriage, both the coach and the machinery were erected upon a
strong frame mounted upon substantial springs. In the rear were the
boiler, furnace, and water tanks, with a place for the engineer and
fireman. In front was a coach body with seats for six inside, three on the
box, and the conductor in front. The front part of the carriage was also
suspended upon springs. The carriage was propelled by a pair of ten-inch
cylinders and pistons, horizontally placed beneath the carriage. These
acted upon two nine-inch cranks, coupled to the main axle through
compensating gear; the two six-foot six-inch diameter driving wheels had
the full power of the engines passed through them. The weight of the
boiler when empty was two thousand three hundred pounds, and it had a
capacity of about sixty gallons of water, while one hundred gallons more
were contained in the tanks. The total weight of the carriage, including
water, coke, and twelve passengers, was less than four tons. On heavy and
rough roads the steam pressure was seventy pounds per square inch, but on
good roads only sixty pounds. The average speed was sixteen miles an hour,
but on a level twenty miles an hour was reached. As late as 1843, Hill's
carriages were running from London to Birmingham, having been in operation
four or five years. Smooth in motion, they carried their passengers
comfortably, but soon went out of use.
GOODMAN
Early in the forties a small road locomotive was made by Goodman, of
Southwark, London. It was worked by a pair of direct-acting engines,
coupled to the crank shaft. A chain pinion on the crank shaft transmitted
motion to the main axle through an endless pitch chain working over a
chain wheel of larger diameter on the driving shaft. The smoke from the
boiler was conducted by a flue placed beneath the carriage. The vehicle
had a speed of from ten to twelve miles an hour.
NORRGBER
A correspondent of The Mechanic's Magazine, of London, wrote in 1843:
"Norrgber, of Sweden, a locksmith and an ingenious mechanic, made a steam
carriage which ran between Copenhagen and Corsoer, carrying thirty
passengers, the engine being of eight horse-power."
J. K. FISHER
A small steam carriage, that in general character was like a railroad
locomotive, was designed by J. K. Fisher, of New York, in 1840. It was not
until 1853, however, that he went beyond this. Then he built another
carriage, with driving wheels five feet in diameter, and two steam
cylinders four inches in diameter, with ten-inch stroke. This carriage
attained a speed of fifteen miles an hour on good pavements. During the
next two years, Fisher made many trips, sometimes running twelve miles an
hour without excessive wear. In his later engines he introduced several
novelties, among them being parallel connections between the crank shaft
and the driving axle. In the steering gear a screw was placed across the
front part of the carriage carrying a nut, to which the end of an
elongated reverted pole was jointed. The screw was turned by bevel
gearing, one wheel being keyed to the end of the screw, and the other to
the steerage rod, the opposite end of this rod having a lever placed
within easy access of the footplate. Fisher's carriages were driven by
direct-acting engines, one cylinder on each side of the smoke-box.
R. W. THOMPSON
Born in Stonehaven, England, in 1822. Died, March 8, 1873.
R. W. Thompson came to the United States in early life, but returned to
England and engaged in scientific experimenting and studying, and in
engineering at Aberdeen and Dundee. He invented a rotary engine during
this period of his life. In 1846, being then in business for himself, he
conceived the idea of india-rubber tires and perfected this in 1876. In
December of that year he made a small road locomotive to draw an omnibus
and this was sent to the Island of Ceylon. Other road steamers of
Thompson's design were manufactured and sent to India and elsewhere.
ANTHONY BERNHARD
In 1848, a compressed-air carriage invented by Anthony Bernhard, Baron von
Rathen, was built in England. It weighed three tons, and on its first trip
was driven at a speed of eight miles an hour. Upon one occasion it made
twelve miles an hour on a trip from Putney to Wandsworth, carrying twenty
passengers. Until near 1870, Baron von Rathen was engaged in inventing
compressed-air engines.
BATTIN
In 1856, Joseph Battin, of Newark, N. J., constructed a steam carriage
with a vertical boiler and oscillating engines.
RICHARD DUDGEON