Henry Seth Taylor (1833-1887) built Canada’s first self-propelled buggy in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada in 1867. The buggy took seven years to build. The boiler was wood-fired and operated at 60lbs pressure. The four wheeled single seat open carriage had tiller steering and carried the water tank over the front axle.
Here is a view of the engine from the underside
On its second run, inventor and builder Taylor crashed it (he had neglected to install brakes), after which he abandoned automobile production and turned his attention to building a steam yacht. The buggy can be seen today in the Canada Science and Technology museum. Canada’s first car was given recognition in 1993 by being depicted on a Canada Post stamp.
Posted by Jerry on May 29th, 2008 — Posted in History, Steam
It looks like many other 1920s cars, but this one would meet the most severe emissions controls. Steam cars are like that. The 1921 Stanley tourer at the Ottawa Science and Technology museum is in excellent condition – and is in good hands to stay that way.
Although Stanley was the most commercially successful steam car, they were never produced in the sort of numbers that gave the Ford Model T its name. By 1921 the Stanley was showing its age with conservative engineering and was no longer really competitive with comparable internal combustion engined cars. They took around a half hour to drive off from cold, and even with the radiator-style condenser, they still only went about 150 miles on 24 gallons of water and similar distance running on kerosene with a 20 gallon fuel tank.
These cars could certainly keep up with the traffic of the day, but the complicated firing up ritual and the ever-present risk of explosion made these a car for the enthusiast, rather than the commuter. There was no need for a conspiracy to put these cars out of business – economics of small scale production and a failure to develop a truly competitive vehicle was quite sufficient. It wasn’t until the ill-fated and over-priced Doble that steam cars really showed a practical alternative to the internal combustion engine – and with petrol prices climbing and concerns about emissions mounting, there may yet be a market for a well-designed sleek modern steam car (perhaps a hybrid with compressed air for that quick start in the morning). But they have their charm and I would be very happy to drive one of these today!
Posted by Jerry on May 24th, 2008 — Posted in Steam, Technology
I had read here about the Brooks steam car – made in Canada in the 1920s. The car was underpowered and overpriced, but it was manufactured and more than 100 were built. Only a handful survive. This is a tale of how I got to see one up close and personal.
The article mentioned that there were four in Canadian museums and three in the UK – there may be eight Brooks steam cars left in the world – so it’s a rare item.
Knowing I was to be traveling to Ottawa I emailed the Science and Technology Museum to find out if the car was on display. I received a lovely email in response with apologies that the car was not on display, but I could make an appointment to view the car at their warehouse.
At the appointed time I met with the Assistant Curator for Transportation and was taken to an amazing warehouse with several steam cars – more on those later. The 1926 Brooks Tourer was unmistakable with its fabric body – it looked in amazing condition, as though it was driven in just a week ago.
I was able to take a number of photos that I would not have been able to get if the car were on official display. The first two photos that follow were supplied by the museum and used by permission.
Brooks steam car – photo courtesy of the Ottawa Science and Technology Museum – used by permission
Brooks steam car – photo courtesy of the Ottawa Science and Technology Museum – used by permission
The late Peter Barrett’s experimental steam car is up for sale – currently at US$20,000 (my guess would be a UK bid from Jeff Theobold – one of the few who could make real use of this amazing vehicle.
The car uses two cylinders of a converted VW engine and is mounted in a fibreglass kit car. It is reported to have been run at 80mph. The car comes with full design notes – Peter Barrett was a meticulous engineer and every aspect is documented. It would be great to see this car go to someone capable of understanding the system and getting it on the road as a modern turnkey steam car.
Some of Barrett’s notes are here, so you can see the kind of work that has gone into this.
If it sells for less than US$50,000 the buyer will have quite a bargain – with 20 years of documentation. This is an outstanding opportunity for the right buyer. (why can’t I just win lotto now?).
Cheers
Jerry
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Yes I’ve been neglecting this blog a little, but grab a cuppa because this is really neat 🙂
It was my birthday recently and a pleasant surprise arrived right on time from the USA. It was a package – tantalisingly box-like
When I opened it, out came a package of metal bits and a reassuringly large instruction manual from Graham Industries – a detailed working live steam model engine. It is a single-cylinder, double acting engine with a stephenson link reversing gear – the sort you get on steam trains.
I borrowed a beading tray from Sharon to prevent the loss of small parts – the bolts are tiny and in good scale with the engine.
And so I set to work on the assembly. The manual opened with a lovely line drawing showing the relationship of components and separate drawings of the valve gear
The cylinder and piston assembly was first – and the manual was well illustrated with step-by-step photos. The package even included proper paper gaskets to ensure proper sealing.
Then came the valve gear – a slide valve that would move up and down to reveal the ports in sequence
Then it was time to assemble the frame
The crankshaft followed with the valve eccentrics, the beautifully machined brass flywheel, and the connecting rod was added to the crank-pin
And finally the engine was complete. The detail is fantastic. Each of the bolts holding moving parts runs in a brass bushing to minimise friction, and the engine runs on fairly low pressure air or steam.
Here is the completed engine.
I did a test run first using a tiny air compressor run off my car’s cigarette lighter, and it ran briefly before one of the bolts vibrated loose on the reversing gear. This was fixed with a light dab of loctite, and then I adjusted the valve timing lightly (yes it is fully tunable!) until it ran well in both directions from the air compressor.
But a steam engine isn’t a steam engine unless it runs on steam is it? So, not having a boiler to hand I went for the next best thing – a milk steamer from a cappucino machine – it had a steam valve to act as a throttle, and with a couple of bits of clear plastic tubing (fuel line) I stepped down the size so it would fit on both the milk steamer and the engine. And within moments, the engine ran smoothly – without the harshness I found running it on air – and without the problem of possibly setting off the smoke alarms!
Here is a view of the engine from the underside
