A 'steam car' is a
car (automobile) powered by a
steam engine.
Technology
A
steam engine is an
external combustion engine (ECE - the fuel is combusted away from 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 units are capable of
only about half this efficiency. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
De Dion & Bouton steam vehicles
:''See
steam tricycle''
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.
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.
White Steamer
The White Steamer was manufactured in
Cleveland, Ohio from 1900 until 1910 by the
White Motor Company.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.
Modern steam cars
Today most of these problems have been satisfactorily solved, but nowadays the re-introduction 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 than existed in the heyday of steam-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.
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]
Notes
1. SA MOTORING HISTORY - TIMELINE
2. Drive On!: A Social History of the Motor Car, Setright, L. J. K., , , Granta Books, 2004, ISBN 1-86207-698-7
3. Combe Jean-Marc & Escudier Bernard (1986, ''L'Aventure scientifique et technique de la vapeur;'' editions du CNRS, Paris, France; ISBN 2-222-03794-8
4. Walton J.N. (1965-74) ''Doble Steam Cars, Buses, Lorries, and Railcars'' . "Light Steam Power" Isle of Man, UK.
5. "The True Story of the Paxton Phoenix." ''Road and Track'', April 1957. pp. 13 - 18
6. http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/070102.html
7. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/motoring-tech/mg17223214.600
See also
★
Detroit Steam Motors Corporation
★
Doble Steam Car
★
Electric Car
★
Gardner-Serpollet
★
Oliver Evans
★
Stanley Steamer
★
Steam engine
External links
★
Hybrid-Vehicle.org: The Steamers
★
The British Steam Car Challenge (an ongoing project started in 1999 dedicated to breaking the land speed record for a steam-powered vehicle)
★
The Steam Car Club of Great Britain
★
The Steam Automobile Club of America - includes comprehensive links page
★
Overview on an attempt to break the existing 101 year old Steam car world land speed record
★ Pritchard engine
[1]
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