Detroit Steam Motors Corporation
Encyclopedia
The Detroit Steam Motors Corporation of Detroit introduced its first steam car
s, called Trask-Detroits, in 1922. The Trask-Detroit was an assembled, or built-up car, with its boiler
, engine and related parts manufactured by Schlieder Manufacturing Co., a Detroit valve manufacturer. It was intended as a popular-priced steam car, something that had never been done (steam cars' high quality engineering conspiring with low production runs to cause high selling prices). The basic model was to be a touring car with a selling price of $1,000.
For some time the company planned to have Trask-Detroits built in Canada
by Windsor Steam Motors in Windsor, Ontario
just across the river from Detroit. This would have allowed the cars to be sold in Canada with a minimum of tariffs, and allow favourable import treatment to other parts of the British Empire
A larger model car was announced in late 1923, with a sedan priced at $1,900. A contemporary report in the Wall Street Journal stated that the car bodies "...will be made by the Packard Motor Car Co..". However, Packard quickly issued a denial and the Trask-Detroit soon vanished, reappearing in the form of the Brooks steam car
in Canada.
Steam car
A steam car is a light car powered by a steam engine.Steam locomotives, steam engines capable of propelling themselves along either road or rails, developed around one hundred years earlier than internal combustion engine cars although their weight restricted them to agricultural and heavy haulage...
s, called Trask-Detroits, in 1922. The Trask-Detroit was an assembled, or built-up car, with its boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
, engine and related parts manufactured by Schlieder Manufacturing Co., a Detroit valve manufacturer. It was intended as a popular-priced steam car, something that had never been done (steam cars' high quality engineering conspiring with low production runs to cause high selling prices). The basic model was to be a touring car with a selling price of $1,000.
For some time the company planned to have Trask-Detroits built in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
by Windsor Steam Motors in Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
just across the river from Detroit. This would have allowed the cars to be sold in Canada with a minimum of tariffs, and allow favourable import treatment to other parts of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
A larger model car was announced in late 1923, with a sedan priced at $1,900. A contemporary report in the Wall Street Journal stated that the car bodies "...will be made by the Packard Motor Car Co..". However, Packard quickly issued a denial and the Trask-Detroit soon vanished, reappearing in the form of the Brooks steam car
Brooks Steam Motors
Brooks Steam Motors, Ltd. was a Canadian manufacturer of steam cars established in March 1923. Its cars more closely resembled the Stanley Steamers in terms of engineering rather than the more sophisticated Doble steam cars. The company was formed from the defunct Detroit Steam Motors...
in Canada.
See also
- Brooks Steam MotorsBrooks Steam MotorsBrooks Steam Motors, Ltd. was a Canadian manufacturer of steam cars established in March 1923. Its cars more closely resembled the Stanley Steamers in terms of engineering rather than the more sophisticated Doble steam cars. The company was formed from the defunct Detroit Steam Motors...
- Steam carSteam carA steam car is a light car powered by a steam engine.Steam locomotives, steam engines capable of propelling themselves along either road or rails, developed around one hundred years earlier than internal combustion engine cars although their weight restricted them to agricultural and heavy haulage...
- Steam engineSteam engineA steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
- Timeline of steam powerTimeline of steam powerSteam power developed slowly over a period of several hundred years, progressing through expensive and fairly limited devices in the early 17th century, to useful pumps for mining in 1700, and then to Watt's improved steam engine designs in the late 18th century...