Motors and motor-driving;

Front matter

5TUKAUt-lTfc/i MAIN LIBRARY i-PA-A78D

U.B.C. LIBRARY

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Preface

In a history of the origin and compilation of the Badminton Library prefaced to 'The Poetry of Sport,' I wrote, ' With this volume, the twenty-eighth of the series, the BADMINTON Library comes to an end, at least so far as is at present contemplated ' ; but noting how, since the issue of ' Hunting' in 1885, Golf and Cycling had attained such extraordinary prominence and popularity, I added, ' Who can say what sport may not spring up and take the public fancy ? If any such does arise, a volume about it will doubtless be written.' Motoring — for the verb will have to be accepted and recognised— is such a sport, or, if the description be not admitted on all hands, is at any rate, for reasons set forth in the following chapters, sufficiently near to sport to require inclusion ; and thcrefort no excuse seems necessary for this book. That automobilism is by no means a new idea the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat shows in his contribution ; indeed, viii MOTORS AND MOTOR-DRIVING

he traces the origin of the movement to the year 1769, and gives a picture of a steam coach which ran daily from Paddington to Harrow as long ago as 1833. It is only within the last two or three years, however, that any sustained attempt has been made to introduce motor-cars into this country, and to employ them extensively as pleasure vehicles and for practical purposes. The movement was exhibiting such vigour that a Badminton book became inevitable ; but it could scarcely have appeared so soon had it not been for the initiative and energy of an enthusiast, Mr. Alfred Harmsworth, one of the leading pioneers of automobilism in England, for whose invaluable assistance the Editor and Publishers cannot make sufficient acknowledgment. He is to a great extent responsible for the present volume, of the completeness of which it is not for us to speak, though we confidently anticipate the verdict of critics and of readers. The heartiest recognition must also be given to the untiring aid of Mr. Claude Johnson, Secretary of the Automobile Club, who has probably done more than any other man towards helping to rescue what must assuredly become a great British industry from foreign hands. Mr. Harmsworth and Mr. Johnson were fortunately able to secure the hearty co-operation of the Automobile Club. The

PREFACE ix

various chapters have been read before and exhaustively discussed by the members, to whom are due the thanks of the compilers and likewise of all who may benefit by the varied contents of the work ; nor must an expression of gratitude be omitted to the designers and makers of cars, English and foreign, who have so kindly furnished particulars, photographs and drawings.

As far as possible an endeavour has been made to avoid mentioning the names of particular constructors; where such mention was unavoidable, it should not be understood as suggesting that in the opinion of the writer the cars manufactured by them are necessarily the best ; nor, on the other hand, must it be supposed that because various cars are not included, anything in the nature of adverse criticism is implied. The industry is being pursued with such great activity that to discuss every notable make and invention was impossible within the prescribed limits of the volume.

Alfred E T. Watson

NOTE TO THE THIRD EDITION

This edition has been revised throughout and illustrations of the latest types of cars have replaced some of those used in former editions. Chapters on ' Motor Cars for Men of Moderate Means ' and ' The Gordon Bennett Race of 1903' have been included, and the full text of the new Motor Laws is given. The latest mechanical and ignition devices are described and illustrated, and the whole work has been brought up to date.

June 1904

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. A Short History of the Motor-Car . . i

By the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat.

CHAPTER I A SHORT HISTORY OF THE MOTOR-CAR By the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat

When I \vas first invited to write a brief History of the Motor- Car, I at once realised that I could not do so without repeating much which was contained in an article entitled ' Recent Progress of Automobilism in France,' which I wrote for the 'North American Review' in September 1899.^

It is more than a century since, in 1769, automobilism was born in France, with the steam carriage of Cugnot. This vehicle was of a crude, rudimentary, and incomplete construction. The ideas of Cugnot were an entire century in advance of the mechanical means by which they could be realised.

The attempt led to no satisfactory results. Everything was defective — motive-power, steering, control. Nevertheless, the carriage ran, and ran so well, they say, that it broke down the enclosure of the ground on which it was tried. It is an incontestable fact that Cugnot is the inventor of automobile locomotion, and that the honour of first having imagined and realised a new method of transport, destined to play an important part in the welfare of many lands, belongs to him.

1 The proprietors of that publication have been good enough to consent to my making use of portions of my article, and I take this opportunity of expressing my appreciation of their courtesy.

At the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, the great wars of American Independence, of the First Republic, and of the First Empire turned the spirit of France aside from new effort in the way of any kind of locomotion.

It was in England, towards the third decade of the nineteenth century, that we saw the idea of Cugnot reappear. The same impulse which moved English engineers to build railroads in

Elevation and Plan of N. J. Cugnot's Steam Car, 1770 order to free the great industrial centres from the economic tyranny of those who constructed canals, urged them to study methods of automobile locomotion on highways. That is to say, in its inception, automobile locomotion was considered as an auxiliary to the railroad, which it really is.

Unfortunately, the promoters of new railway lines did not at all understand the respective spheres of action of the machine on the rail and the machine on the road. They took umbrage at automobile locomotion, and, since they had much capital and influence at their disposal, they secured a law from the English Parliament which effectually killed automobile locomotion. It ordained that a man carrying a red flag by day, or a red lantern by night, must be kept a hundred yards in advance of every automobile vehicle.

The report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons which was published in 1831 is extremely instructive, and contains the following remarkable paragraphs : —

These inquiries have led the Committee to believe that the substitution of inanimate for animal power, in draught on common

Hancock's Steam Coach ' Era," 1833 roads, is one of the most important improvements in the means of internal communication ever introduced. Its practicability they consider to have been fully established ; its general adoption will take place more or less rapidly, in proportion as the attention of scientific men shall be drawn by public encouragement to further improvements.

Many circumstances, however, must retard the general introduction of steam as a substitute for horse-power on roads. One very formidable obstacle will arise from the prejudices which always beset a new invention, especially one which will at first appear detrimental to the interests of so many individuals.

Tolls to an amount which would utterly prohibit the introduction of steam-carriages have been imposed on some roads ; on others, the trustees have adopted modes of apportioning the charge, which would be found, if not absolutely prohibitory, at least to place such carriages in a very unfair position as compared with ordinary coaches.

It appears from the evidence that the first extensive trial of steam as an agent in draught on common roads was that by Mr. Gumey, in 1829, who travelled from London to Bath and back in his steam-carriage.^ He states that, although a part of the machinery which brings both the propelling wheels into action, when the full power of the engine is required, was broken at the onset, yet that on his return he performed the last eighty-four miles, from Melksham to Cranford Bridge, in ten hours, including stoppages.

The committee have also examined Messrs. Summers and Ogle, Mr. Hancock, and Mr. Stone, whose steam carriages have been in daily use for some months past on common roads.

Besides the carriages already described, Mr. Gurney has been informed that from twenty lo forty others are being built by different persons, all of which have been occasioned by his decided journey in 1829.

Much, of course, must remain to be done in impi^oving their efficiency ; yet Mr. Gurney states that he has kept up steadily the rate of twelve miles per hour ; that, the extreme rate at which he has run is between twenty and thirty miles per hour.

Mr. Hancock reckons that with his carriage he could keep up a speed of ten miles per hour, without injury to the machine.

Mr. Ogle states : ' That his experimental carriage went from London to Southampton in some places at a velocity of from thirty-two to thirty-five miles per hour.

' That they have ascended a hill rising one in six at sixteen and a half miles per hour, and four miles of the London Road at the rate of twenty-four miles and a half per hour, loaded with people.

'That his engine is capable of carrying three tons weight in addition to its own.'

Mr. Summers adds : ' That they have travelled in the carriage

' The Gumey steam coach was extremely interesting. It possessed : (r) A water tube boiler analogous to the Thorneycroft boiler, in which the circulation was remarkable, (a) The pressure was considerable (5 kilos per sq. centimetre).

at the rate of fifteen miles per hour, with nineteen persons on the carriage up a hill one in twelve.

' That he has continued for four hours and a half to travel at the rate of thirty miles per hour.

' That he has found no difficulty in travelling over the worst and most hilly roads.'

Mr. James Stone states that 'thirty-six persons have been carried on one steam-carriage.

'That the engine drew five times its own weight nearly, at the rate of from five to six miles per hour, partly up an inclination.'

Squire and Macerone Steam Coach, 1833

Ran daily from Paddington to Edgware and Harrow. Average speed, fourteen miles per hour. Speed on level twenty miles per hour. Cost of coke, 3rf. to 4rf. per mile.

They have annexed a list 01 those local acts in which tolls have been placed on steam, or mechanically propelled carriages,

Mr. Gurney has given the following specimens of the oppressive rates of tolls adopted in several of these acts. On the Liverpool and Prescot Road, Mr. Gurney's carriage would be charged 2/. Zs., while a loaded stage coach would pay only 4^. On the Bathgate Road the same carriage would be charged i/. 7s. id., while a coach drawn by four horses would pay 5^. On the Ashburnham and Totnes Road, Mr. Gurney would have to pay 2/., while a coach drawn by four horses would be charged only 35-. On the Teignmouth and Dawlish Roads the proportion is \2s. to is.

The trustees of the Liverpool and Prescot Road have already obtained the sanction of the legislature to charge the monstrous toll of IS. 6d. per ' horse-power,' as if it were a national object to prevent the possibility of such engines being used.

Sufficient evidence has been adduced to convince your Committee : —

1. That carriages can be propelled by steam on common roads at an average rate of ten miles per hour.

2. That at this rate they have conveyed upwards of fourteen passengers.

3. That their weight, including engine, fuel, water, and attendants, may be under three tons.

4. That they can ascend and descend hills of considerable mclination with facility and safety.

5. That they are perfectly safe for passengers.

6. That they are not (or need not be, if properly constructed) nuisances to the public.

7. That they will become a speedier and cheaper mode of conveyance than carriages drawn by horses.

8. That, as they admit of greater breadth of tyre than other carriages, and as the roads are not acted on so injuriously as by the feet of horses in common draught, such carriages will cause less wear of roads than coaches drawn by horses.

9. That rates of toll have been imposed on steam carriages which would prohibit their being used on several lines of road, were such charges permitted to remain unaltered.

The Committee of 1831 made recommendations as to a Bill to regulate the tolls to be charged for mechanical vehicles and to prevent the imposition of exaggerated tolls. The recommendations, however, were not adopted, and the use of steam vehicles on the road consequently became practically impossible, although Hancock had considerably improved on Gurney's carriage, and up to 1836 was running highly successful vehicles on the road. After 1836 inventors from time to time came forward with improved road carriages, but owing to restrictive legislation they comM not be put to any practical use.

The consequences of this legislation were not long delayed. Automobile locomotion disappeared. Yet English builders of that period had already realised some excellent mechanical features. Certain among them had striking and remarkable schemes in regard to boilers, and had conceived extremely interesting ' water-tube boilers.' The boilers which my friends Normand and Thorneycroft to-day place on their torpedoboats and torpedo-boat destroyers possess all the theoretical characteristics of certain apparatus conceived half a century ago.

Mr. Onesime Pecqueur, manager of the works connected with the Conservatoire for Arts and Inventions in France, designed in 1827 two very remarkable devices :

{a) The application of a differential gear to driving-wheels.

{b) The abolition of a forecarriage for steering-wheels replaced by the introduction of an axle fitted with two vertical pivots ; the wheels pivoting separately on each, and being kept parallel with one another by a connecting-rod.

It is impossible not to notice how very much this invention has controlled the fundamental principles in the construction of automobiles.

It is no exaggeration to say that without these two very important devices, the automobile would not, at the present time, occupy the very prominent and progressive position it does.

In 1873 the firm of Leon Bolide commenced the construction of their vehicles, which attracted so much attention at the Universal Exhibition of 1878 in Paris.

At this period one of the most remarkable carriages was a Victoria weighing approximately 3^ tons, including its complement of 8 passengers, 390 litres of water, and 300 kilos of coal. The effectual horse-power varied from 8 to 20 h.-p. ; the greatest speed obtainable was about 40 kilometres per hour. The design of the vehicle was well proportioned and carried out. The transmission to the driving-wheels was effected by two chains and an intermediary shaft. The steering of the car was obtained by the revolving of the front wheels on two pivots set at an angle, giving a dish to the wheels.

The Bolide company constructed about this period many equally interesting cars possessing speed-changing devices. Since then the firm have built very many interesting cars of various designs, but a full description of these would take up too much time and space. Suffice it to say, however, these cars were as well constructed as designed, and that many firms have between then and now constructed cars far inferior to those of Leon Bollee.

In France, about 1885, the automobile vehicle was again in evidence, and attracted attention. At that time the Comte de Dion, at Paris, also constructed steam vehicles which ran in a satisfactory way. Then Serpollet devised his instantaneous vaporisation boilers, which reduce to a minimum the chances of danger, so far as steam engines are concerned.

After that time, automobile locomotion became a subject of talk, but the appearance in 1889 of a petroleum motor, with quaternary explosion features, gave matters an impulse which promises continuance.

In 1894, the 'Petit Journal' asked M. Pierre Giffard to organise the first meeting of automobile vehicles. It took place between Paris and Rouen, with a stop at Mantes. Although the design of the promoters was not that the vehicles should be run with a view to testing speed, the event from the very outset took on the character of a race. The Dion and Bouton steam carriage won the race, making the run at a mean velocity of about twelve miles an hour.

This was a sturdy little four-wheeler, on the back of which rested the pole-bolt of an ordinary carriage, the fore-part of which had been removed. This constituted a six-wheeled affair, remarkably supple and manageable, in spite of its length. The vehicle, empty, weighed 1*4 ton; loaded 2*25 tons, and could develop fifteen horse-power. The two front wheels, steering-wheels, were rubber-tyred ; the rear wheels, driving-wheels, iron-tyred. This motor had the interesting arrangements of the Dion carriage — that is, the use of a Cardan joint as a substitute for the Galle chain, and the movement of the wheel by means of a drilled nave.

Almost all the other vehicles were driven by Daimler petroleum motors. The vehicles of the firm Panhard and Levassor, which controls the Daimler patents in France, had at that time the same principal characteristics as they present

Eckiteins Biograf>hhcher Verla^, Berlin to-day, which have been generally adopted. The motoi maintained a fairly constant velocity of 750 revolutions ; it acted on the drive-wheels situated at the back by means of a friction cone, a series of variable gears, a differential and a Galle chain ; the steering-wheels were in front. The four-seated carriage weighed about a ton.

These carriages, as also the Peugeot petroleum vehicles, the motors of which were built by Panhard and Levassor, lo MOTORS AND MOTOR-DRIVING

worked with remarkable regularity, which, on the whole, demonstrated to those familiar with mechanics what a future there is in store for the petroleum carriage.

Though this first effort was attended with considerable success, the promoters of new methods of locomotion knew that much more remained to be accomplished. On November 1 8th, 1894, a most important meeting was held at the residence

Daimler Quadricycle, 1889, with Wilhelm Maybach and Paul Daimler

of M. de Dion, one which marked the beginning of an era of great development of automobiles in France. Those present at the meeting were Messrs. Baron de Zuylen, the Count de Dion, the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, the Count de Chasseloup-Laubat, P. Gauthier, Ravenez, Peugeot, Levassor, SerpoUet, Dufayel, Lavallette, Recopp^, Roger, Menier, de Place, Giffard, Emile Gauthier, Meillan, Nansouty, and Moreau.

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE MOTOR-CAR il

It was decided at this meeting that, in the month of June of the following year, there should be a great race from Paris to Bordeaux and back (732 miles) ; that the carriages were to perform the whole distance in one trip ; and that repairs were to be made only by such means as could be carried. The contestants, according to the formula adopted, were to procure en route nothing but 'entertainment for man and machine,' This was, therefore, a race and nothing but a race.

In a test of this kind it was, as a matter of course, extremely difficult to establish a method of competing which should be at all logical and satisfactory. The elements entering into an appreciation of the merits and faults of automobile carriages are so complex, that up to the present time the most competent specialists consider it almost impossible to establish a general formula for the classification of contestants. It was hence resolved to adhere to the course, since a test of speed, so long and so hard, would of itself eliminate any vehicle presenting the slightest flaw or insufficiency of construction.

These provisions have been completely realised, and to-day a very long and a very hard course is the most assured means of testing a vehicle.

During several months the committee did considerable work ; for it was not only necessary to collect funds, but also to elaborate a set of regulations, and to obtain from the proper authorities the permission to make such trials of speed on the various sections of the route. In this arduous task the committee was most efficiently assisted by M. Marcel Desprez, Member of the Institute ; M. Georges Berger, Deputy of the Seine ; and especially by M. Michel Levy, Engineer-in Chief of Bridges and Roads. Thanks to the efforts of the Committee, the whole matter was organised in spite of a multiplicity of difficulties. Numerous participants arrived ; among them it gives me pleasure to note two Americans — Mr. Gordon Bennett and Mr. Vanderbilt.

During the early part of June, when all was ready, the vehicles were for several days placed on view in a permanent public exhibition, which attracted much notice. On the nth of June, at nine o'clock, all the contestants were gathered in Paris, about the Arc de Triomphe. They started in procession, with no attempt at speed, toward Versailles, where the test was to begin. About eleven o'clock all the carriages lined up on the Place d'Armes at Versailles in front of the great chateau, according to their order of starting, as determined by lot. I verified rapidly all the marks which I had made during the exhibition by means of the stamp with which the Committee had entrusted me. I stamped also all the spare movables carried by the vehicles. Finally, at 12.5 noon, I gave the signals for starting, two minutes apart. This race, favoured by splendid weather, was a success and created much sensation.

Thanks to the co-operation of local authorities, of the Touring Club of France, of the Bicycle Association, and the instructions prepared by M. Varennes, there was not the least accident to any of the riders ; all went well. The registration, both at fixed points and moving with the race, worked perfectly ; and, on the other hand, the minute verifications of the marks of my stamp showed accurately that the contestants had really accomplished the task ' by their own means.'

M. Levassor returned to Paris, Porte Maillot, June 13, 1895, at 12.57.30, thus accomplishing the formidable course of 732 miles (Versailles-Bordeaux- Versailles-Paris) in 48 hours and 48 minutes. He supervised the machine himself constantly, except when ascending an occasional incline, when the rate of speed was comparatively slow, and then he had entrusted the lever to his mechanic. M. Levassor remained on his machine about fifty-three hours, and nearly forty-nine of these on the run. Yet he did not appear to be over-fatigued ; he wrote his signature at the finish with a firm hand ; we lunched together at Gillet's, at the Porte Maillot ; he was quite calm ; he took with great relish a cup of bouillon, a couple of poached eggs, and two glasses of champagne ; but he said that racing at night was dangerous, adding that having won he had the right to say such a race was not to be run another time at night.

The general mean of his velocity was 19 "91 miles an hour; the maximum was eighteen and a half miles an hour, between Orleans and Tours.

The vehicle which had accomplished this marvellous record without a single break-down or any stops (except those required to take in water and petroleum and one stop for cleaning, of about a quarter of an hour, near Bordeaux), weighed 11 "87 cwt. \vithout supplies or the weight of the two

' No. 5.' Winner of the Paris-Bordeaux Race, 1895, driven by M. Levassor (Four h.-p. Panhard and Levassor)

men riding. It had three speeds, six, twelve and a half, and eighteen and a half miles an hour, the normal number of revolutions being 750. The motor, a new type of ' Phoenix ' built by M. Levassor, was a Daimler, modified and much perfected. The Levassor carriage, like all the swift carriages engaged in this race, was mounted on solid rubber tyres.

A steam carriage, by Dion and Bouton, of about fifteen horse-power, which had been making between thirty and thirty-eight miles an hour on test, kept the lead to near Vouvray, on the banks of the Loire, where a break-down in the shafting threw it out of the race. At that moment, in spite of losses of time, occasioned by the cleaning of gratings and the defective organisation of relays, where water and coke had to be taken on, this vehicle was a score of minutes ahead of M. Levassor's carriage. The first steam road-carriage of M. de Dion was probably, until quite recently, the most rapid in existence. After having undergone some modifications and improvements, it was purchased by M. Michelin, a large manufacturer of pneumatics, and it continued for some time one of the swiftest and most stable in the maintenance of velocit}'. It weighs a little less than two tons, and with its twelve to fifteen horse-power easily and without strain makes thirty to thirty-eight miles an hour on the level.

Other carriages of Panhard and Levassor and of Peugeot likewise made good records.

The characteristic feature of the race of 1895 is the triumph of petroleum over steam. I gave the signal for departure at Versailles to fifteen petroleum and to six steam vehicles; we noted the return to Paris of eight petroleum vehicles and of one solitary steam carriage. This latter was the heavy omnibus by Bollee, constructed and run by those able engineers of Mans, who covered the course in spite of numerous break-downs, thanks to extraordinary physical endurance, and to a mechanical skill worthy of their excellent reputation.

The only electric vehicle entered in this race was constructed by M. Jeantaud, the eminent builder, who has since then made a speciaUty of electric carriages. It was a remarkable piece of machinery, especially for that epoch. But owing to the warping of the axle of one of the front wheels, due to a shock, he could not cover the route swiftly enough to utilise the relays of storage batteries which he held in readiness along the line

After having distributed the prizes, and made its report as a whole, the committee of the Paris-Bordeaux race, on my proposition, declared itself a permanent organisation, designed to give to the automobile industry a rallying centre and

A SHORT ///STORY OF THE MOTOR-CAR 15

encouragement based on conditions of competency and impartiality.

Some months later, MM. de Dion and de Zuylen took the initiative in changing the permanent commission into a subcommittee, adjunct of a society for the encouragement of automobile locomotion ; thus the Automobile Club was born, which, in three years and a half, had grown, as to the number of its members, from about fifty to nearly two thousand ; and now (January 1902) has over two thousand members. This Club, by reason of its large pecuniary resources, and also of the liberal and scientific spirit which animates the encouragement it gives in every way to the new industry, is certainly to-day one of the most useful and commendable institutions in France.

The Automobile Club of France, for which we have selected the abbreviation ' A. C. F.,' resolved to organise a race from Paris to Marseilles and back for September 24, 1896. This course, 1,061 miles in length, could certainly have been covered in a single trip by machines with relays of men ; but the incontestable danger which a night run at full speed involves, led the committee to adopt the principle, which has since been followed, of a test by stages, so regulated that vehicles shall not be obliged to run by night save in cases of long delays due to breakdowns on the road.

It was decided that the start should be made at Versailles, and that the course should be divided into ten stages : Auxerre, Dijon, Lyons, Avignon, Marseilles, Avignon, Lyons, Dijon, Sens, Paris. In each of these towns the vehicles were to be put up in a park under surveillance ; the replacing of broken parts was prohibited, but ordinary repairs could Le made by whatever means came to hand. Of the thirty-two vehicles ranged about the Arc de Triomphe de I'Etoile on September 24 at nine o'clock in the morning, which began their run to Versailles on the same day towards noon, twenty-nine returned to Paris. The three which broke down were the only steam vehicles. Another triumph for the petroleum carriage.

This race was again won by a Panhard and Levassor i6 carriage, which covered the entire course in 67 hours 42 minutes and 58 seconds, equivalent to a mean velocity of 15 '65 miles an hour. This carriage was followed closely by other vehicles of the same house. The greatest speed during a single stage was about eighteen miles an hour.

The Peugeot carriages also did good work. The firm Delahaye of Tours made its reputation on this occasion by one of its vehicles, which came in a good fourth.

But the most prominent event of this test was the extra-

Winner of the Paris-Marseilles and back race, driven by M. Mayard

This was the first four-cylinder carriage built. (Eight h.-p. Panhard and Levassor.) Afterwards purchased by the Hon. C. S. Rolls.

ordinary power of resistance displayed by the new petroleum tricycles constructed by the firm Dion and Bouton. Contrary to all prognostications, these diminutive vehicles, the weight of which is hardly more than that of the man who mounts them, covered the immense course almost as fast as the carriages, in spite of horrible weather and a veritable equinoctial cyclone during the second and third days— from Thursday, the 24th, at midnight, to Friday, the 25th, at noon, the barometer fell about lA inch.