Stanley Steamer – Ottawa Science and Technology Museum

Posted by jerry on May 29th, 2008 — Posted in History, Steam

Stanley steamer 1921

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.

Stanley steamer 1921

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.

Stanley steamer 1921

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!

Stanley steamer 1921

Stanley steamer 1921

Brooks steam car – Ottawa Science and Technology Museum

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
Brooks steam car – photo courtesy of the Ottawa Science and Technology Museum – used by permission

Brooks steam car
Brooks steam car – photo courtesy of the Ottawa Science and Technology Museum – used by permission

Brooks steam car
Brooks steam car – photo Jerry Everard ©2008

Brooks steam car
Brooks steam car – photo Jerry Everard ©2008

Brooks steam car
Brooks steam car – photo Jerry Everard ©2008

Brooks steam car
Final drive to rear axle
Brooks steam car – photo Jerry Everard ©2008

Brooks steam car
Boiler left hand side
Brooks steam car – photo Jerry Everard ©2008

Brooks steam car
Brooks steam car – photo Jerry Everard ©2008

Brooks steam car
Brooks steam car – photo Jerry Everard ©2008

Brooks steam car
Brooks steam car – photo Jerry Everard ©2008

More steam cars from this excellent museum will be added over the next few days

Cheers
Jerry

Turning pens

Posted by jerry on April 27th, 2008 — Posted in Journal, Woodwork

I’ve been turning more pens today – I shall be visiting some special friends next week and wanted to bring them something connected with Australia. What better gift, then, than a pen hand turned from Western Australian jarrah.

The timber is hard and brittle, but takes a wonderful finish when turned, burnished and polished. I cracked three of the blanks during the turning process and one during the assembly process – so I had to remake the blanks.

I wanted to achieve a design that would sit nicely in the hand – a shape that that would mold itself to the hand. And this is what I came up with – what do you think?

hand turned pens

Cheers
Jerry

Medieval crane – walking and lifting weights at the same time

Posted by jerry on April 23rd, 2008 — Posted in Journal

Even a 50kg weakling can lift 500kg with this device – a new fitness craze? No, more a 14th Century crane for lifting building materials up the wall of a cathedral or castle.

In Prague, a team of fifteen have come together and built a replica 14th century tread-mill crane using traditional techniques and tools. And they are using it to reconstruct a real castle – Tocnik Castle.

 Photo: Martin Dostoupil, www.estav.cz
Photo: Martin Dostoupil, www.estav.cz

While it looks cumbersome the whole thing can be dismantled and rebuilt – like a Lego construction – and in this way it can be moved from one location to another around the building site. This one is actually a double treadmill version capable of lifting one tonne of material at a time. That’s pretty impressive for a wooden structure.

You can read the whole story or listen to the radio broadcast at the link above.

Cheers
Jerry

Deconstructing wikis – The Heavy Metal Umlaut

Posted by jerry on April 19th, 2008 — Posted in New media, Technology, Theory

The wikipedia phenomenon has been with us for a while – but aside from the occasional press article, scholarly treatments of wikis are few and far between.

Here is one exception – a serious look at the evolution and development of a wikipedia entry on heavy metal music – and the introduction and use of the umlaut in the names of heavy metal bands. John Udell’s video examines several aspects of the wiki through this example. One of the more interesting aspects is the ‘wisdom of crowds’ – the self-correction of wiki entries. At one point the wiki entry was vandalised, and within a minute it was restored by someone else. This phenomenon has been observed elsewhere. I recall reading that the ABC TV Australia did a short documentary on wikipedia and deliberately put in wrong information on some prominent entries, and the longest it took before the entry was corrected was four hours. That’s pretty impressive for a global free gafitti wall!

Thanks to Beth Kanter for bringing this to my attention.

Cheers
Jerry