NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Steam car

A steam car is a car (automobile) powered by a steam engine. The 1923 Stanley Steam Car. ... The 1923 Stanley Steam Car. ... The 1923 Stanley Steam Car The Stanley (nicknamed Stanley Steamer) was a steam-powered automobile produced by the Stanley Motor Carriage Company. ... Karl Benzs Velo model (1894) - entered into the first automobile race An automobile or motor car (usually shortened to just car) is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor. ... // The term steam engine may also refer to an entire railroad steam locomotive. ...

Technology

A steam engine is an external combustion engine (ECE - the fuel is combusted outside the engine), as opposed to an internal combustion engine (ICE - the fuel is combusted within the engine). While Gasoline-powered ICE cars have an operational thermal efficiency of 15% to 30%, automotive steam engines are capable of only about half this efficiency.^{[dubious – discuss]} A significant benefit of the ECE is that the fuel burner can be configured for very low emissions of carbon monoxide , nitrogen oxides and unburned carbon in the exhaust, thus avoiding pollution. // The term steam engine may also refer to an entire railroad steam locomotive. ... An external combustion engine is an engine which burns its fuel to heat a separate working fluid which then in turn performs work. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Gasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting mostly of hydrocarbons and enhanced with benzene or iso-octane to increase octane ratings, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... The thermal efficiency () is a dimensionless performance measure of a thermal device such as an internal combustion engine, a boiler, or a furnace, for example. ... // The term steam engine may also refer to an entire railroad steam locomotive. ... Carbon monoxide, with the chemical formula CO, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. ... Nitrogen has six different oxides: Nitric oxide (NO) Nitrous oxide (N2O) Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) Dinitrogen trioxide (N2O3) Dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) Dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) The term nitrogen oxide is imprecise and can be used to refer to any of these or to a mixture of them. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Standard atomic weight 12. ...

Steam-powered cars and electric cars outsold gasoline-powered cars in many U.S. states prior to the invention of the electric starter. Before the electric starter was put into production by General Motors, internal combustion powered cars were started by hand-crank, which was difficult and occasionally dangerous, as improper cranking could cause a backfire capable of breaking the arm of the operator. Electric cars were popular to some extent, but had a short range, and could not be charged on the road if the batteries ran low. An electric vehicle is a vehicle that is propelled by electric motors. ... Gasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting mostly of hydrocarbons and enhanced with benzene or iso-octane to increase octane ratings, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic - President George Walker Bush (R) - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... The article on electrical energy is located elsewhere. ... General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), also known as GM, is an American automobile maker with worldwide operations and brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Vauxhall. ... Symbols representing a single Cell (top) and Battery (bottom), used in circuit diagrams. ...

Early steam cars could take some time to start from cold, but once fully fired up and working pressure was attained, could be instantly driven off. To overcome this, development has been directed towards flash steam generators which heat a much smaller quantity of water to get the vehicle started.

Early pioneers

Early research on the steam engine before 1700 was closely linked to the quest for self-propelled vehicles and ships; however the first practical applications from 1712 were stationary plant working at very low pressure which entailed engines of very large dimensions. The size reduction necessary for road transport meant an increase in steam pressure with all the attendant dangers therein due to the inadequate boiler technology of the period. A strong opponent of high pressure steam was James Watt who, along with Matthew Boulton did all he could to dissuade William Murdoch from developing and patenting his steam carriage, built in model form in 1784. // The term steam engine may also refer to an entire railroad steam locomotive. ... James Watt James Watt (19 January 1736 â€“ 19 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor and engineer whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution. ... Matthew Boulton. ... William Murdoch. ...

Ferdinand Verbiest is suggested to have built what may have been the first steam powered car in about 1672.^[1]^[2], but very little concrete information on this is known to exist. Father Ferdinand Verbiest (October 9, 1623-January 28, 1688) was a Belgian Jesuit missionary in China. ...

During the latter part of the 18th Century, there were numerous attempts to produce self-propelled steerable vehicles. Many remained in the form of models. Progress was dogged by many problems inherent to road vehicles in general, such as: suitable power-plant giving steady rotative motion, suspension, braking, steering, adequate road surfaces, wheel-road contact (tyres), vibration-resistant bodywork... The extreme complexity of these issues can be said to have hampered progress over more than a hundred years, as much as hostile legislation.

Cugnot's steam tricycle

Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot's "machine à feu pour le transport de wagons et surtout de l'artillerie" ("fire engine for transporting wagons and especially artillery") was built from 1769 in two versions for use by the French Army. Cugnot's fardier, a term usually applied to a massive two-wheeled cart for exceptionally heavy loads, was intended to be capable of transporting 4 tonnes (3.9 tons), and of travelling at up to 4 km/h (2.5 mph). The vehicle was of tricycle layout, with two rear wheels and a steerable front wheel controlled by a tiller. There is considerable evidence from the period that this vehicle did actually run, making it probably the first to do so; however it remain a short-lived experiment due to inherent instability and the vehicle's failure to meet the Army's specified performance level. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1085x600, 51 KB) Description : Fardier de Cugnot, modÃ¨le de 1771. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1085x600, 51 KB) Description : Fardier de Cugnot, modÃ¨le de 1771. ... Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (26 February 1725 â€“ 2 October 1804) was a French inventor who is claimed by the French government to have built the first self-propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile. ... Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (26 February 1725 â€“ 2 October 1804) was a French inventor who is claimed by the French government to have built the first self-propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile. ... Antique tricycle 19th century tricycle used in Iran A tricycle (often abbreviated to trike) is a three-wheeled vehicle. ... A tiller or till is a lever attached to a rudder post (American terminology) or rudder stock (English terminology) of a boat in order to provide the leverage for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

Trevithick's steam carriage

In 1801 Richard Trevithick constructed an experimental steam-driven vehicle which was equipped with a firebox enclosed within the boiler, with one vertical cylinder, the motion of the single piston being transmitted directly to the driving wheels by means of connecting rods. It was reported as weighing 1520 kg fully loaded, with a speed of 14.5 km/h (9 mph) on the flat. During its first trip it was left unattended and "self-destructed". Trevithick soon built a steam carriage that ran successfully in London in 1803, but the venture failed to attract interest and soon folded up. Richard Trevithick Richard Trevithick (April 13, 1771 â€“ April 22, 1833) was a British inventor, engineer and builder of the first working railway steam locomotive. ... piston (top) and connecting rod from typical automotive engine (scale is in centimetres) Components of a typical, four stroke cycle, DOHC piston engine. ...

Steam-powered amphibious craft

In 1804 Oliver Evans built what may be considered the first amphibious vehicle, the 'Oruktor Amphibolis'. This was essentially a steam driven, flat-bottomed dredger able to proceed under its own power to the Schuychill River near its confluence with the Delaware. An amphibious vehicle is a vehicle or craft, that is a means of transport, viable on land as well as on water - just like an amphibian. ...

Early steam carriage services

More commercially successful for a time, than Trevithick's carriage, were the steam carriage services operated in England in the 1830s, principally by Walter Hancock and associates of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, among others. However, the heavy road tolls imposed by the Turnpike Acts discouraged steam road vehicles and for a short time allowed the continued monopoly of horse traction until railway trunk routes became established in the 1840s and '50s. Gurney's technology was particularly advanced for its time with use of a rapid water-tube steam generator, a forerunner of the sort that later became general in small steam cars. Walter Hancock Walter Hancock (1799-1852) was a British inventor of the Victorian period. ... Goldsworthy Gurney in earlier life. ...

In the Victorian Age of Steam

Although engineers developed ingenious steam-powered road vehicles, they did not enjoy the same level of acceptance and expansion as steam power at sea and on the railways in the middle and late 19th century of the 'Age of Steam'.

Harsh legislation virtually eliminated mechanically propelled vehicles from the roads of Great Britain for 30 years, the Locomotive Act of 1861 imposing restrictive speed limits on "road locomotives" of 5 mph (8 km/h) in towns and cities, and 10 mph (16 km/h) in the country. In 1865 the Locomotives Act of that year (the famous Red Flag Act) further reduced the speed limits to 4 mph (6.4 km/h) in the country and just 2 mph (3.2 km/h) in towns and cities, additionally requiring a man bearing a red flag to precede every vehicle. At the same time, the act gave local authorities the power to specify the hours during which any such vehicle might use the roads. The sole exceptions were street trams which from 1879 onwards were authorised under licence from the Board of Trade. The Locomotive Act was an act (actually a series of acts) of British parliament to organize road traffic for self-propelled machines in Britain during the second half of the 19th century. ... The Locomotive Act was act (actually series of acts) of British parliament to organize road traffic for self-propelled machines in Britan during second half of 19th century. ... A modern tram in the Töölö district of Helsinki, Finland A tram (or tramway, trolley, streetcar, tramcar, Straßenbahn) is a railborne vehicle (lighter than a train) for transport of passengers (or, occasionally, freight). ... The Board of Trade circa 1808. ...

In France the situation was radically different to the extent of the 1861 ministerial ruling formally authorising the circulation of steam vehicles on ordinary roads. Whilst this led to considerable technological advances throughout the 1870s and '80s, steam vehicles nevertheless remained a rarity.

To an extent competition from the successful railway network reduced the need for steam vehicles. From the 1860s onwards, attention was turned more to the development of various forms of traction engine which could either be used for stationary work such as sawing wood and threshing, or for transporting outsize loads too voluminous to go by rail. Steam trucks were also developed but their use was generally confined to the local distribution of heavy materials such as coal and building materials from railway stations and ports. It has been suggested that Steam tractor be merged into this article or section. ...

Thomas Rickett of Buckingham

Hence, in 1858, Thomas Rickett of Buckingham built the first of several steam carriages. Instead of looking like a carriage it resembled a small locomotive. It consisted of a steam-engine mounted on three wheels; two large driven rear-wheels and one smaller front wheel by which the vehicle was steered. The whole was driven by a chain drive and a maximum speed of twelve miles per hour was reached. The weight of the machine was 1.5 tonnes and somewhat lighter than Rickett's steam carriage. Statistics Population: 11,572 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SP695335 Administration District: Aylesbury Vale Shire county: Buckinghamshire Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Buckinghamshire Historic county: Buckinghamshire Services Police force: Thames Valley Police Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Central Post office... Roller chain and sprocket Mack AC delivery truck at the Petersen Automotive Museum with chain drive visible Chain drive was a popular power transmission system from the earliest days of the automobile. ...

Two years later, in 1860, Rickett built a similar but heavier vehicle. This model incorporated spur-gear drive instead of chain. In his final design, resembling a railway locomotive, the cylinders were coupled directly outside the cranks of the driving-axle. Spur gears found on a piece of farm equipment. ... Cylinder with piston in a steam engine A cylinder in the central working part of a reciprocating engine, the space in which a piston travels. ... A person who holds strong, unorthodox opinions is sometimes called a crank. ... A driving wheel on a steam locomotive. ...

H.P. Holt

H.P. Holt constructed a small road-steamer in 1866. Able to reach a speed of twenty miles per hour on level roads, it had a vertical boiler at the rear and two separate twin cylinder engines, each of which drove one rear wheel by means of a chain and sprocket wheels. Roller chain and sprocket Mack AC delivery truck at the Petersen Automotive Museum with chain drive visible Chain drive was a popular power transmission system from the earliest days of the automobile. ...

Catley and Ayres of York

In 1869, a small three wheeled vehicle propelled by a horizontal twin cylinder engine which drove the rear axle by spur-gearing; only one rear wheel was driven, the other turning freely on the axle. A vertical fire-tube boiler was mounted at the rear with a polished copper casing over the fire box and chimney; the boiler was enclosed in a mahogany casing. The front wheel was used for steering and the weight was only 19 cwt. A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated under pressure. ...

J.H. Knight of Farnham

1868 - 1870, John Henry Knight of Farnham built a four wheeled steam carriage which originally only had a single-cylinder engine. Britains first convicted speeder in action! John Henry Knight from Farnham was the first person to be convicted of speeding in the UK after he built Britainâ€™s first petrol-powered motor vehicle in 1895. ... Castle Street Farnham is a small town in Surrey, England. ... Four-stroke cycle (or Otto cycle) A single cylinder engine, colloquially known as a one-lunger or thumper, is an engine configuration consisting of just one cylinder, the simplest arrangement possible for an Otto or Diesel engine. ...

R.W. Thomson of Aberdeen

1871, The road-steamer of R.W. Thomson of Aberdeen became famous because of wheels were shod with heavy solid rubber tyres. , Aberdeen (IPA: ; Scottish Gaelic: ) is Scotlands third largest city with an official population of 202,370. ...

Charles Randolph of Glasgow

1872, a steam-coach by Charles Randolph of Glasgow was 15 feet in length, weighed four and a half tons, but had a maximum speed of only 6 miles per hour; somewhat underpowered. Two vertical twin-cylinder engines where independent of one another and each drove one of the rear wheels by spur-gearing. The entire vehicle was enclosed and fitted with windows all around , carried six people, and even had two driving-mirrors for observing traffic approaching from behind; the earliest recorded instance of such a device. â€œGlaswegianâ€ redirects here. ...

R. Neville Grenville of Glastonbury

In 1875, R. Neville Grenville of Glastonbury constructed a 3 wheeled steam vehicle and is still in existence. It traveled a maximum of 15 miles per hour. This vehicle is preserved in the Bristol city museum. Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry spot on the Somerset Levels, 50km (31 miles) south of Bristol. ... This article is about the English city. ...

Amédée Bollée

From 1873 to 1883 Amédée Bollée of Le Mans built a series of steam-powered passenger vehicles able to carry 6 to 12 people at speeds up to 60 km/h (38 mph), with such names as Rapide and L'Obeissante. In his vehicles the boiler was mounted behind the passenger compartment with the engine at the front of the vehicle, driving the differential through a shaft with chain drive to the rear wheels. The driver sat behind the engine and steered by means of a wheel mounted on a vertical shaft. The lay-out more closely resembled that of much later motor cars than other steam vehicles. AmÃ©dÃ©e-Ernest BollÃ©e (1844-1917) was a bellfounder and French inventor who specialized in automobiles. ... Le Mans is a city in France, located at the Sarthe River. ... Car redirects here. ...

De Dion & Bouton steam vehicles

The development by Serpollet of the flash steam boiler ^[3] brought about the appearance of various diminutive steam tricycles and quadricycles during the late 80s and early 90s, notably by de Dion & Bouton; these successfully competed in long distance races but soon met with stiff competition for public favour from the internal combustion engine cars being developed, notably by Peugeot, that quickly cornered most of the popular market. In the face of the flood of IC cars, proponents of the steam car had to fight a long rear-guard battle that was to last into modern times. Cugnots Steam Wagon, from a 19th century engraving A Steam tricycle is a steam-driven three-wheeled vehicle. ...

Early 20th century steam cars

Locomobile Runabout

What is considered the first marketable popular steam car appeared in 1899 from the Locomobile Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut which manufactured several thousand of its Runabout model in the period 1899-1905, designed around a motor design leased from the Stanley Steamer Company. The company ceased producing steam cars in 1903, and was acquired by Durant Motors in 1922. Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Steam powered Locomobile, from January, 1901 advertisement Locomobile was a company that produced automobiles in the United States of America from 1899 to 1929. ... Nickname: Location in Connecticut Coordinates: , NECTA Bridgeport-Stamford Region Greater Bridgeport Incorporated (town) 1821 Incorporated (city) 1836 Government - Type Mayor-council - Mayor John M. Fabrizi Area - City 19. ... The Stanley Steamer Company was an American manufacturer of steam engine automobiles. ... Durant Motors Inc. ...

White Steamer

The White Steamer was manufactured in Cleveland, Ohio from 1900 until 1910 by the White Motor Company. This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... White Motor Company, American automobile manufacturers In 1876, Thomas H. White incorporated his business in Cleveland, Ohio, as the White Sewing Machine Co. ...

Stanley Steamer

Perhaps the best-known and best-selling steam car was the Stanley Steamer, produced from 1896 to 1924. It used a compact fire-tube boiler to power a simple double-acting two-piston engine. Because of the phenomenal torque available at all engine speeds, the steam car's engine was typically geared directly to the rear axle, with no clutch or variable speed transmission required. Until 1914, Stanley steam cars vented their exhaust steam directly to the atmosphere, necessitating frequent refilling of the water tank; after 1914, all Stanleys were fitted with a condenser, which considerably reduced their water consumption. The 1923 Stanley Steam Car The Stanley (nicknamed Stanley Steamer) was a steam-powered automobile produced by the Stanley Motor Carriage Company. ... An engine in the broadest sense, is something that produces an output effect from a given input. ... Torque applied via an adjustable end wrench Relationship between force, torque, and momentum vectors in a rotating system In physics, torque (or often called a moment) can informally be thought of as rotational force or angular force which causes a change in rotational motion. ... For other uses, see Clutch (disambiguation). ... Look up condenser in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In 1906 the World Land Speed Record was broken by a Stanley steam-powered car, piloted by Fred Marriot, which achieved 127 mph (203 km/h) at Ormond Beach, Florida. This annual week-long "Speed Week" was the forerunner of today's Daytona 500. This Stanley Steamer speed record was not exceeded until 1910. 1970 land speed record being set at Bonneville Salt Flats by Gary Gabelich Land Speed Records 1898-2002 The information below is for self-propelled wheeled vehicles travelling over open ground. ... Ormond Beach is a city located in Volusia County, Florida. ... The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. ...

Doble Steam Car

Attempts were made to bring more advanced steam cars on the market such as the Doble Steam Car^[4] which shortened the starting time very noticeably by incorporating a flash steam generator to heat a much smaller quantity of water. By 1923, Abner Doble had developed an automatic boiler and burner which allowed his steam cars to be started with the turn of a key and driven off in 40 seconds or less. In addition, the Doble managed to achieve 15 miles per gallon (18.8 litres/100 km) of kerosene despite weighing in excess of 5,000 lbs (2.27 tonnes). Ultimately they failed due to high first cost (in the case of the Doble) and a perceived lengthy starting process, despite their economy and power. Image:Doble. ... Abner Doble (March 26, 1890 â€“ July 16, 1961), was an American mechanical engineer who built and sold steam-powered automobiles. ...

Paxton Phoenix

Abner Doble developed the Doble Ultimax engine for the Paxton Phoenix steam car, built by the Paxton Engineering Division of McCulloch Motors Corporation, Los Angeles. Its sustained maximum power was 120 bhp. The project was eventually dropped in 1954.^[5] Image:Doble. ... See also McCulloch (disambiguation) McCulloch Motors, Inc. ...

Decline of steam car development

Steam cars dropped-off in popularity following the adoption of the electric starter, which eliminated the need for risky hand cranks to start gasoline-powered cars. The introduction of assembly-line mass production by Henry Ford, which hugely reduced the cost of owning a conventional automobile, was also a strong factor in the steam car's demise as the Model T was both cheap and reliable. Henry Ford (1919) Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 â€“ April 7, 1947) was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. ... 1908 Ford Model T advertisement The Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie and the Flivver) was an automobile produced by Henry Fords Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1928. ...

Modern steam cars

Today most of these problems have been satisfactorily solved, but nowadays the reintroduction of any modern steam car project would run up against the problem of a general loss of steam engine culture which would make it difficult to set up an infrastructure of spares and qualified mechanics. It would also be necessary to meet more stringent safety standards and legislation that existed in the heyday of stem-powered road vehicles. The biggest arguments in favour of such a movement would be: greatly reduced pollution by particulates and noxious gases without recourse to filters, silence in operation, and direct drive without a gearbox. However the competition which development of a modern steam-powered vehicle has to consider is not so much from gasoline-powered cars as from electric, hydrogen-powered and hybrid vehicles.

Saab steam car

As a result of the 1973 oil crisis, SAAB started a project in 1974 headed by Dr. Ove Platell which made a prototype steam-powered car. It used an electronically-controlled 28 pound multi-parallel-circuit steam generator with 1 millimetre bore tubing and 16 gph firing rate which was intended to produce 160 horsepower, and was about the same size as a standard car battery. Lengthy start-up times were circumvented by a system using compressed air that was stored when the car was running and which powered the car upon starting until adequate steam pressure was built up. The engine used a conical rotary valve made from pure boron nitride. To conserve water, a hermetically sealed water system was used. The 1973 Oil Crisis began in earnest on October 17, 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC, consisting of the Arab members of OPEC plus Egypt and Syria) announced, as a result of the ongoing Yom Kippur War, that they would no longer ship petroleum... Saab Automobile AB is a subsidiary of General Motors. ...

Enginion Steamcell

A company called Enginion AG has since 1996 been developing a system which they have named SteamCell. It produces steam almost instantly without an open flame, and takes 30 seconds to reach maximum power from a cold start. Their third prototype, ZEE03, was fitted in Volkswagen and Skoda Fabia automobiles. The ZEE03 was a two-stroke of 1000 cc (164 cubic inches) displacement, producing up to 220 hp (500 nm / 369 ftlb). Exhaust emissions were far below the SULEV standard. Since the water was recirculated, the engine used steam instead of oil as a lubricant. However, Enginion found that the market was not ready for steam cars, so they opted instead to produce power generators based on the same technology. ^[6] ^[7] Volkswagen AG (ISIN: DE0007664005), or VW, is an automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Germany. ... Škoda Fabia. ... Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) is a conventionally powered or gas-electric hybrid vehicle designed to produce minimal air pollution, typically less than 10% of that of an equivalent ordinary vehicle. ...

Notes

^ SA MOTORING HISTORY - TIMELINE. Government of South Australia.
^ Setright, L. J. K. (2004). Drive On!: A Social History of the Motor Car. Granta Books. ISBN 1-86207-698-7.
^ Combe Jean-Marc & Escudier Bernard (1986, L'Aventure scientifique et technique de la vapeur; editions du CNRS, Paris, France; ISBN 2-222-03794-8
^ Walton J.N. (1965-74) Doble Steam Cars, Buses, Lorries, and Railcars . "Light Steam Power" Isle of Man, UK.
^ "The True Story of the Paxton Phoenix." Road and Track, April 1957. pp. 13 - 18
^ http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/070102.html
^ http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/motoring-tech/mg17223214.600

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