Steam car - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A steam car is a light car (automobile)

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

Steam engine

A 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...

.

Steam locomotives, steam engines capable of propelling themselves along either road or rails, developed around one hundred years earlier than internal combustion engine

Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...

cars although their weight restricted them to agricultural and heavy haulage work on roads. The light car developed contemporaneously with both steam and internal combustion engines, as both engineering and road building matured. As the steam car could use the vast experience of steam engines already developed with the steam railway locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

, it initially had the advantage. In 1900 the steam car was broadly superior and even managed to hold absolute land speed record

Land speed record

The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...

s. By 1920 the internal combustion engine had progressed to such a point that the steam car was an anachronism.

Few steam cars have been built since the 1920s, although the technology is not implausible and projects intermittently occur to recreate a "modern" steam car with modern levels of convenience, performance and efficiency.

The greatest technical challenges to the steam car have focused on its boiler. This represents much of the total mass of the drivetrain, making the car heavier (an internal-combustion-engined car requires no boiler), and requires careful attention from the driver - although even the cars of 1900 had considerable automation to manage this. The single largest restriction is the need to supply feedwater to the boiler. This must either be carried and frequently replenished, or the car must also be fitted with a condenser

Condenser (heat transfer)

In systems involving heat transfer, a condenser is a device or unit used to condense a substance from its gaseous to its liquid state, typically by cooling it. In so doing, the latent heat is given up by the substance, and will transfer to the condenser coolant...

, a further weight and inconvenience.

The steam car does have advantages, although most of these are now less important than in its heyday. The engine (excluding the boiler) is smaller and lighter than an internal combustion engine. It is also better suited to the speed and torque characteristics of the axle, thus avoiding the need for the heavy and complex transmission required for an internal combustion engine. The car is also quieter, even without a silencer

Muffler

A muffler is a device for reducing the amount of noise emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine. A US Patent for an Exhaust muffler for engines was granted to Milton and Marshall Reeves in 1897....

Technology

A steam engine

Steam engine

is an external combustion engine

External combustion engine

An external combustion engine is a heat engine where an working fluid is heated by combustion in an external source, through the engine wall or a heat exchanger. The fluid then, by expanding and acting on the mechanism of the engine, produces motion and usable work...

(ECE: the fuel is combusted away from the engine), as opposed to an internal combustion engine

Internal combustion engine

(ICE: the fuel is combusted within the engine). While gasoline-powered ICE cars have an operational thermal efficiency

Thermal efficiency

In thermodynamics, the thermal efficiency is a dimensionless performance measure of a device that uses thermal energy, such as an internal combustion engine, a boiler, a furnace, or a refrigerator for example.-Overview:...

of 15% to 30%, early automotive steam units were 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

Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...

, nitrogen oxides and unburned carbon

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

in the exhaust, thus avoiding pollution.

Steam-powered and electric cars outsold gasoline-powered ones in many US states prior to the invention of the electric starter, since internal combustion cars relied on a hand crank to start the engine, which was difficult and occasionally dangerous to use, 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

Battery (electricity)

An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...

ran low.

Early steam cars, once working pressure was attained, could be instantly driven off with high acceleration. But they could take over a minute to start from cold, plus time to get the burner to operating temperature

Operating temperature

An operating temperature is the temperature at which an electrical or mechanical device operates. The device will operate effectively within a specified temperature range which varies based on the device function and application context, and ranges from the minimum operating temperature to the...

. To overcome this, development has been directed toward flash boiler

Flash boiler

A flash boiler is a type of water-tube boiler, whose tubes are strong and close together with water pumped through the tubes. The tubes are kept very hot so the water feed is quickly flashed into steam and superheated...

s, which heat a much smaller quantity of water to get the vehicle started, and, in the case of Doble cars, spark ignition diesel burners.

The steamer has other drawbacks, also. The absence of a gearbox is more than counterbalanced by the weight of cooling and forced draft fans, fans, and boiler feed, fuel feed, and air pumps; the battery and fan to feed even a flash boiler will more than overcome the weight of a gearbox, and need to run even at idle.

Furthermore, the radiator must be larger, since all heat engine

Heat engine

In thermodynamics, a heat engine is a system that performs the conversion of heat or thermal energy to mechanical work. It does this by bringing a working substance from a high temperature state to a lower temperature state. A heat "source" generates thermal energy that brings the working substance...

s depend on the temperature differences in the working fluid

Working fluid

A working fluid is a pressurized gas or liquid that actuates a machine. Examples include steam in a steam engine, air in a hot air engine and hydraulic fluid in a hydraulic motor or hydraulic cylinder...

; in steam cars, this heat exchange must be larger and more rapid, and so, too, must the radiator.

Early steam cars

Although the first applications of steam to propelling a road vehicle were attempted in the 17th century, it was not until the advent of high pressure steam engines, in the early 19th century, that such vehicles became a practical proposition. Limitations in manufacturing technology and the poor condition of road surfaces meant that nothing that could be realistically regarded as a 'steam car', suitable for personal transportation, was created until the end of the 19th century.

Amédée Bollée

From 1873 to 1883 Amédée Bollée

Amédée Bollée

Amédée-Ernest Bollée was a French bellfounder and inventor who specialized in steam cars. After 1867 he was known as "Amédée père" to distinguish him from his similarly named son, Amédée-Ernest-Marie Bollée .-Biography:...

of Le Mans

Le Mans

Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...

built a series of steam-powered passenger vehicles able to carry 6 to 12 people at speeds up to 60 km/h (37.3 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 much later motor cars than other steam vehicles.

Cederholm brothers

In 1892, painter Jöns Cederholm and his brother, André, a blacksmith, designed their first car, a two-seater, introducing a condenser

Steam locomotive condensing apparatus

A steam locomotive condensing apparatus differs in purpose from the usual closed cycle steam engine condenser, in that its function is primarily either to recover water, or to avoid excessive emissions to the atmosphere, rather than maintaining a vacuum to improve both efficiency and power...

in 1894. It was not a success.

De Dion & Bouton steam vehicles

The development by Serpollet of the flash steam boiler brought about the appearance of various diminutive steam tricycles and quadricycles during the late 1880s and early 1890s, 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 outnumbered other forms of propulsion among very early cars. In the U.S. in 1902, 485 of 909 new car registrations were steamers. From 1899 Mobile

Mobile Company of America

The Mobile Company of America was a U.S. steam automobile manufacturer founded in 1899 by John B. Walker after a fallout with businessman Amzi L. Barber, whose financing had earlier allowed Walker to purchase the now well-known Stanley Steamer concern...

had ten branches and 58 dealers across the U.S. The center of U.S. steamer production was New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

, where 38 of the 84 manufacturers were located. Examples include White

White Motor Company

White Motor Company was an American automobile and truck manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the company was based in Cleveland, Ohio.-History:...

(Cleveland

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

), Eclipse (Easton, MA), Cotta (Lanark, IL), Crouch (New Brighton, PA), Hood (Danvers, MA; lasted just one month), Kidder (New Haven, CT), Century

Century Motor Vehicle Company

Century Motor Vehicle Company was a manufacturer of electric and steam automobiles in Syracuse, New York. The company switched to gasoline-fuelled internal combustion engine-powered automobiles in January 1903, and went out of business later that year.-History:Century Motor Vehicle Company was...

(Syracuse, NY), and Skene (Lewiston, ME; the company built everything but the tires). By 1903, 43 of them were gone. In 1923, Brooks

Brooks Locomotive Works

The Brooks Locomotive Works manufactured steam railroad locomotives and freight cars from 1869 through its merger into the American Locomotive Company until 1934.-History:...

(Canadian) opened for business, lasting until 1926.

Toledo Steam Carriage

In 1900 the American Bicycle Co. of Toledo, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

created a 6.5 hp Toledo Steam Carriage (a description from the Horseless Age, December 1900). The Toledo Steam Carriage was a very well-made, high-quality machine and is considered one of the best steam cars produced at the time. In September 1901 two Toledo steamers, one model B (a model A machine 1000 to 2000 lb (453.6 to 907.2 kg) but with the foul-weather gear designating it as a model B) and one class E (public delivery vehicle), were entered by the American Bicycle Co. into the New York to Buffalo Endurance Contest of mid-September 1901. There were 36 cars in class B and three in class E; the class B Toledo won the Grosse Point race. Steam carriage production ceased in 1903 and the Company concentrated on gasoline-driven models under the name Pope-Toledo.

Locomobile Runabout

What is considered the first marketable popular steam car appeared in 1899 from the Locomobile Company of America located in Watertown, Massachusetts

Watertown, Massachusetts

The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...

an from 1900 in Bridgeport, Connecticut

Bridgeport, Connecticut

Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...

. Locomobile manufactured several thousand of its Runabout model in the period 1899-1903, designed around a motor design leased from the Stanley Steamer Company. The company ceased producing steam cars in 1903 and changed to limited-production, fuel-powered luxury automobiles. In 1922 it was acquired by Durant Motors

Durant Motors

Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors CEO William "Billy" Durant following his termination by the GM board of directors and the New York bankers that financed GM.-Corporate relationships:...

and demised with the failure of the parent company in 1929.

White Steamer

The White Steamer was manufactured in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

from 1900 until 1910 by the White Motor Company

White Motor Company

Stanley Steamer

Perhaps the best-known and best-selling steam car was the Stanley Steamer, produced from 1896 to 1924. Between 1899 and 1905, Stanley outsold all gasoline-powered cars, and was second only to Columbia Electric in the US. It used a compact fire-tube boiler

Fire-tube boiler

A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases from a fire pass through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water...

to power a simple double-acting two-cylinder engine. Because of the phenomenal torque

Torque

Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....

available at all engine speeds, the steam car's engine was typically geared directly to the rear axle, with no clutch

Clutch

A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...

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

Steam locomotive condensing apparatus

, which considerably reduced their water consumption.

In 1906 the Land Speed Record

Land speed record

was broken by a Stanley steam car, piloted by Fred Marriott

Fred Marriott

Fred Marriott was an American race car driver. In 1906, he set the world land speed record at 127.659 mph at the Daytona Beach Road Course, while driving the Stanley Steamer...

, which achieved 127 mph (204 km/h) at Ormond Beach, Florida

Ormond Beach, Florida

Ormond Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 36,301 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 37,929. Ormond Beach is the northern neighbor of Daytona Beach and is home to Tomoka State Park.-History:Ormond Beach was...

. This annual week-long "Speed Week" was the forerunner of today's Daytona 500

Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....

. This record was not exceeded by any car until 1910, and, though Barber-Nichols later held the US steam-powered record, the FIA international record was only broken by another steam car on August 25, 2009 by Team Inspiration of the British Steam Car Challenge (see below).

Doble Steam Car

Attempts were made to bring more advanced steam cars on the market, the most remarkable being the Doble Steam Car

Doble steam car

Any of several makes of steam-powered automobile in the early 20th century, including Doble Detroit, Doble Steam Car, and Doble Automobile, are referred to as a Doble because of their founding or association with Abner DobleFox Stephen...

which shortened start-up time very noticeably by incorporating a highly efficient monotube steam generator to heat a much smaller quantity of water along with effective automation of burner and water feed control. By 1923, Doble's

Abner Doble

Abner Doble , was an American mechanical engineer who built and sold steam-powered automobiles. His father was William Ashton Doble, inventor of the Doble water wheel, and his grandfather and namesake was the founder of the Abner Doble Company.Abner Doble began apprenticing at his family's factory...

steam cars could be started from cold with the turn of a key and driven off in 40 seconds or less. When the boiler had achieved maximum working pressure, the burner would cut out until pressure had fallen to a minimum level, whereupon it would re-ignite; by this means the car could achieve around 15 miles per gallon (18.8 litres/100 km) of kerosene despite its weight in excess of 5000 lb (2,268 kg). Ultimately, despite their undoubted qualities, Doble cars failed due to poor company organisation and high initial cost.

Paxton Phoenix

Abner Doble developed the Doble Ultimax

Doble steam car

engine for the Paxton Phoenix steam car, built by the Paxton Engineering Division of McCulloch Motors Corporation

McCulloch (company)

McCulloch Motors Corporation is a manufacturer of chainsaws. The company was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1943 by Robert Paxton McCulloch as a manufacturer of small two-stroke gasoline engines and introduced its first chainsaw in 1948, the Model 5-49....

, Los Angeles. Its sustained maximum power was 120 bhp. The project was eventually dropped in 1954.

Alena steam car

The Alena Steam Car was an American car planned for manufacture in 1922 by the Alena Steam Products Company of Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

which mainly built commercial vehicles and tractors. Only two cars were built, both touring models; each had a wheelbase of 126 inches (3,200 mm).

Davis steam car

The Davis Steam Car was an American steam car. Only a prototype

Prototype

A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...

was built, in 1921, and even the existence of this is in doubt. A twin-cylinder car, it was announced as having a 120 inches (3,048 mm) wheelbase; the touring car was listed at $2300.

Endurance steam car

The Endurance Steam Car was a steam car manufactured in the United States from 1922 until 1924. The company had its origins in the Coats Steam Car

Coats Steam Car

The Coats Steam Car was an American steam automobile produced from 1921 until 1923 first in Columbus and later in Bowling Green, Ohio.The car was designed by George A. Coats, but few were built. It was popular with circuses because many clowns could fit on the wide seat...

, and began production on the east coast before shifting operations to Los Angeles. Here, one single touring car

Touring car

A touring car, or tourer, is an open car seating five or more. Touring cars may have two or four doors. Often, the belt line is lowered in the front doors to give the car a more sportive character. They were often fitted with a folding roof and side curtains. Engines on early models were either in...

was made before the factory moved again, this time to Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

; one more car was built, a sedan, before the company folded.

Decline

Steam cars dropped-off in popularity following the adoption of the electric starter, which eliminated the need for risky hand cranking to start gasoline-powered cars. The introduction of assembly-line mass production by Henry Ford

Henry Ford

Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...

, 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. Additionally during the 'heyday' of steam cars the internal combustion engine made steady gains in efficiency, matching and then surpassing the efficiency of a steam engine when the weight of a boiler is factored in.

Modern steam cars

With the introduction of the electric starter, the internal combustion engine became more popular than steam, and the Model T was considerably less expensive than any steam car. But the internal combustion engine was not necessarily superior in terms of performance, range, fuel economy and emissions. The same is true today. Many steam enthusiasts feel steam has not received its share of attention in the discussion of automobile efficiency.

Saab steam car

As a result of the 1973 oil crisis

1973 oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...

, SAAB

Saab Automobile

Saab Automobile AB, better known as Saab , is a Swedish car manufacturer owned by Dutch automobile manufacturer Swedish Automobile NV, formerly Spyker Cars NV. It is the exclusive automobile Royal Warrant holder as appointed by the King of Sweden...

started a project in 1974 headed by Dr. Ove Platell which made a prototype steam-powered car. The engine used an electronically-controlled 28 pound multi-parallel-circuit steam generator with 1 millimetre bore tubing and 16 gallons per hour firing rate which was intended to produce 160 hp, and was about the same size as a standard car battery. Lengthy start-up times were avoided by using air compressed and stored when the car was running to power the car upon starting until adequate steam pressure was built up. The engine used a conical rotary valve made from pure boron nitride

Boron nitride

Boron nitride is a chemical compound with chemical formula BN, consisting of equal numbers of boron and nitrogen atoms. BN is isoelectronic to a similarly structured carbon lattice and thus exists in various crystalline forms...

. To conserve water, a hermetically sealed water system was used.

Pelland Steamer

In 1974, the British designer Peter Pellandine

Peter Pellandine

Peter Pellandine was an influential car designer and manufacturer in the field of specials/kit cars and steam-powered vehicles in both the UK and Australia.-Biography:Worked for the prestigious British coachbuilders H. J...

produced the first Pelland Steamer

Pellandini Cars

Pellandini Cars was a manufacturer of kit cars during the early 1970s that was located in South Australia.- History :Englishman Peter Pellandine founded Pellandini Cars Ltd in 1970 at Cherry Gardens, South Australia. He first produced a curvy, gull-wing coupe that used a mid-mounted BMC Mini...

to a contract with the South Australian Government. It had a fibreglass monocoque chassis (based on the internal combustion -engined Pelland Sports) and used a twin-cylinder double-acting compound engine. It has been preserved at the National Motor Museum at Birdwood, South Australia.

In 1977 the Pelland Mk II Steam Car was built, this time by Pelland Engineering

Pelland Engineering

Pelland Engineering was a British engineering company that produced kit cars and made an attempt on the world land-speed record for steam cars.-The Pelland Sports:...

in the UK. It had a three-cylinder double-acting engine in a 'broad-arrow' configuration, mounted in a tubular steel chassis with a Kevlar

Kevlar

Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed at DuPont in 1965, this high strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...

body, giving a gross weight of just 1050 lb (476 kg). Uncomplicated and robust, the steam engine was claimed to give trouble-free, efficient performance. It had huge torque (1100 foot-pound (energy)) at zero engine revs, and could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 96.6 km/h) in under 8 seconds.

Pellandine made several attempts to break the land speed record for steam power, but was thwarted by technical issues.

Pellandine moved back to Australia in the 1990s where he continued to develop the Steamer. The latest version is the Mark IV.

Enginion Steamcell

From 1996, a R&D subsidiary of the Volkswagen group called Enginion AG was developing a system called ZEE (Zero Emissions Engine). It produced steam almost instantly without an open flame, and took 30 seconds to reach maximum power from a cold start. Their third prototype, EZEE03, was a three-cylinder unit meant to fit in a Škoda Fabia

Škoda Fabia

The Škoda Fabia is a supermini produced by Czech manufacturer Škoda Auto since 1999. It was the successor to the Škoda Felicia, which was discontinued in 2001...

automobile. The EZEE03 was described as having a "two-stroke" (i.e. single-acting) engine of 1000 cc displacement, producing up to 220 hp (500 N·m or 369 ft·lbf). Exhaust emissions were said to be far below the SULEV standard. It had an "oilless" engine with ceramic cylinder linings using steam instead of oil as a lubricant. However, Enginion found that the market was not ready for steam cars, so they opted instead to develop the Steamcell power generator/heating system based on similar technology.

British Steam Car Challenge

On 25 August 2009, Team Inspiration of the British Steam Car Challenge broke the long-standing record for a steam vehicle set by a Stanley Steamer

Stanley Steamer

The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was a manufacturer of steam-engine vehicles; it operated from 1902 to 1924. The cars made by the company were colloquially called Stanley Steamers, although several different models were produced.-Early history:...

in 1906, setting a new speed record of 139.843 mph (225.1 km/h) at the Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...

, in the Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

of California. This was the longest standing automotive record in the world. It had been held for over 100 years.

The car was driven by Charles Burnett III. FIA land speed records are based on an average of two runs (called 'passes') in opposite directions, taken within an hour of each other – in this case the maximum speeds reached were 136.103 mph (219 km/h) on the first run and 151.085 mph (243.1 km/h) on the second. As of August 25 the record is subject to official confirmation by the FIA.

On August 26, 2009 the British Steam Car, driven this time by Don Wales, the grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell, broke a second record by achieving an average speed of 148.308 mph (238.7 km/h) over two consecutive runs over a measured kilometre. This was also recorded and again, and has since been ratified by the FIA.

In popular culture

In Ward Moore
Ward Moore
Ward Moore was the working name of American author Joseph Ward Moore. Moore grew up in New York City, and later moved to Chicago, and then to California....

's alternate history novella Bring the Jubilee
Bring the Jubilee
Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore is a 1953 novel of alternate history. The point of divergence occurs when the Confederate States of America wins the Battle of Gettysburg and subsequently declares victory in the "War of Southron Independence" on July 4, 1864 after the surrender of the United States...

, "trackless locomotives" referred to as "minibiles" are used in wealthy nations for personal transportation. In this world, internal combustion was never discovered and machines are always powered by steam.
In another 'alternate history' novel The Two Georges
The Two Georges
The Two Georges is an alternate history novel co-written by science fiction author Harry Turtledove and Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss...

, the authors Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...

and Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...

describe a North America where steam cars are generally used and Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

is a used car dealer.
Specific makes of steam car (such as Locomobile) feature in other novels, such as The Chase
The Chase (Clive Cussler)
The Chase is a western novel by author Clive Cussler in November 2007.-Blurb:April 1950: The rusting hulk of a steam locomotive rises from the deep waters of a Montana lake. Inside is all that remains of three men who died forty-four years before. But it is not the engine or its grisly contents...

by Clive Cussler
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...

.
In Meredith Willson's The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...

, conman Harold Hill reveals that he used to be in the steam automobile business until "someone actually invented one."
In the movie Cars
CARS
Cars, or automobiles, motor cars, are wheeled motor vehicles used for transporting passengers.Cars or CARS may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Cars , a Disney/Pixar film series...

, Stanley Steamer is the founder of the town of Radiator Springs.

External links

Hybrid-Vehicle.org: The Steamers
The Steam Car Club of Great Britain
Technical website about how steam cars operate
The Steam Automobile Club of America
Stanley Register Online - Worldwide register of existing Stanley steam cars
The British Steam Car Challenge (an ongoing project started in 1999 dedicated to breaking the land speed record for a steam-powered vehicle)
Overview on an attempt to break the existing 101 year old Steam car world land speed record
One day Steam Car conversion – For the UK TV series Scrapheap Challenge
Scrapheap Challenge
Scrapheap Challenge is an engineering game show produced by RDF Media and broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK. In the show, teams of contestants have 10 hours in which to build a working machine that can do a specific task, using materials available in a scrapheap. The format was exported to the...

(Junkyard Wars in the US) two teams converted junk cars into coal-fired steam cars.
Steam 101 – Steam engine terminology

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Technology

Early steam cars

Amédée Bollée

Cederholm brothers

De Dion & Bouton steam vehicles

Early 20th century

Toledo Steam Carriage

Locomobile Runabout

White Steamer

Stanley Steamer

Doble Steam Car

Paxton Phoenix

Alena steam car

Davis steam car

Endurance steam car

Decline

Modern steam cars

Saab steam car

Pelland Steamer

Enginion Steamcell

British Steam Car Challenge

In popular culture

See also

External links