From the book "Tube, train, tram, and car; or Up-to-date locomotion", by Arthur Henry Beavan
1903
CHAPTER XV
HORSELESS VEHICLES ELECTRICAL AND OTHERWISE
"Cars without horses will go." - MOTHER SHIPTON.
PRIVATE MOTOR-CARS
THE above prediction, constantly quoted at the advent of railways, is being realised with the utmost exactness. Except the late craze for cycling, nothing is more remarkable than the boom in the motor-car.
Prior to the passing of the " Locomotives on Highways Act" in 1896, motoring was an impossibility. Even then its advance was slow, and until about three years ago motor-cars were decidedly unpopular. The London street boys - miniature representatives of public opinion - derided them, and, with their usual fiendish lack of sympathy, rejoiced when they came to grief; while 'bus-drivers and cabmen ironically likened all automobiles to traction engines, cherishing the delusion that they continually broke down, cost a small fortune to maintain, and, worse than all, dislocated every bone in their occupants' bodies.
This contempt reached a climax when certain lemon-coloured electric cabs were seen plying for hire, ugly to look at and limited in speed ; while simultaneously a line of steam omnibuses, so cumbersome and weighty as to really merit comparison with traction engines, began to run to Victoria Station.
But an extraordinary and rapid change has come over popular taste, and nothing is needed to bring motor-cars into universal use, save a lowering of their cost ; for even the cheapest are rather beyond the means of people with moderate incomes. This may be one reason why they are so fashionable, though the King's marked predilection for travelling by them has done much to make "motoring" the correct thing; and His Majesty has recently consented to become a patron of the Automobile Club.
Before the advent of the motor-car, Society, though tired of "biking" and craving for a novelty, could not tolerate the notion of being seen in any other than a well-horsed vehicle. Society now thinks differently, as evidenced by a stroll in the Park during the season. There, in the midst of graceful landaus and other equipages drawn by the most splendid horses in the world, may be seen endless electric and steam barouches, broughams, victorias, and cars, all perfectly noiseless, and magnificent petrol motor-cars (not noiseless!), resplendent with brass and oxidised silver fittings and upholstered in morocco, whose fair occupants are smartly dressed in tailor-made motoring gowns or, on warm days, in ordinary carriage toilettes.
Some of the fashionable hotels own big cars and run them in lieu of coaches for their customers' benefit to various places near London; while, to the vexation of omnibus companies, motor waggonettes, duly authorised by Scotland Yard, ply to and from Putney and Piccadilly Circus, always "full up" with people, no longer the butt (as they used to be), but the envy, of pedestrians. And these public cars, though not perfect, are an advance upon omnibuses, and do not break down more frequently than horsed conveyances.
In the country motor-cars have become indispensable, more especially to landed proprietors, with houses always full of visitors who, with their luggage, have to be conveyed to and from the station. They are much used for race-meetings and for conveying shooting parties to the covert side, stubble, or moor, in comfort, golfers to the links, and fishermen to the riverbank; picnics would be failures without them; and delightful excursions to all kinds of outlying places are arranged by the host, proud of "motoring" his guests, who thus are made acquainted with bits of beautiful scenery they would otherwise have remained ignorant of; as in the case of the King's and Queen's visit to Chatsworth last January, when a feature of the programme was a series of motor-car tours in North and West Derbyshire. In fact, the motor is a most important factor in English country life, and the art of managing it is gradually superseding that of riding, driving, and four-in-hand coaching. Eheu !
Horseless vehicles are not actual novelties. They have merely been in abeyance while the perfecting of our iron roads has proceeded. The earliest practical specimen emanated from an inventor named Guyniot a hundred and thirty years ago, but nothing commercially serious came of it, and the idea slept. In 1786 William Symington produced his steam-engine, to run upon an ordinary road. It had the condenser and the ratchet-motion used in his steamboat, an invention of which he was the originator. The boiler and funnel were in the front, a coach on C-springs between them, and the steering gear, with a kind of bicycle handle-bar, at the rear. The machine, it was said, worked well.
Then, in 1821, a steam-coach by Griffiths attracted much attention, being the first self-propelled vehicle to ply for passengers on British roads. It had a boiler with water-tubes as now used in the Serpollet and Belleville systems for motor-cars. In appearance it somewhat resembled the Symington, but carried a double coach mounted on railway springs.
Walter Hancock's three-wheeled steam-coach of 1828 looked like a tricycle with a big funnel, and was propelled by a pair of oscillating cylinders working the double-cranked axle of the steering-wheel.
In 1859 the Marquis of Stafford had a steam-coach built that weighed less than a ton. 'With its chain-action it anticipated the modern bicycle : in front it had a kind of bath-chair seat facing the steering gear. In this vehicle Lord Stafford and party of three made trips at from nine to twelve miles an hour over heavy roads without any difficulty, it being easy to guide and remarkably steady. In these steam coaches the funnels appear to have been placed in the rear.
All these ideas, though from one point of view crude, undoubtedly represented
"... such refraction of events
As often rises ere they rise."
The motor-car industry in Great Britain is flourishing, and it is estimated that out of a total of some ten thousand horseless carriages in the country one-tenth are of home manufacture (the remainder being French or American), a small proportion, truly, but a great increase upon the number built in 1890; and at the Reliability Trials of the Automobile Club last September (1902), thirty-five of British make took part in the contest, and only twenty-six of Continental or American origin, a most satisfactory feature to those who are eager to see British makers second to none in motor-car construction, especially as the aim of the competition was to encourage the building of machines that would be thoroughly dependable in all conditions of road and weather.
At the last Crystal Palace Automobile Show, national vanity was certainly gratified. Not only was the exhibition the largest ever held in the country, but
By permission of the Fischer Motor Vehicle Syndicate, London.
FIG. 27. A "CROWDUS" ELECTRIC CARRIAGE
was a concrete example of the remarkable progress of an industry which, so far as these islands are concerned, started lamentably late in the day. There were brought together at the Crystal Palace about seven hundred and fifty motor-propelled vehicles of every class, ranging from the powerful steam lorry, capable of transporting a load of 7 1/2 tons, to the latest " flier," light and elegant of construction, and costing anything up to some £3,000. Motor tricycles and bicycles formed a strong section. The cosmopolitan character of the exhibition is shown by the fact that among the two hundred or so exhibitors were the leading English, French, Dutch, Italian, and German firms.
By general consent the show was regarded to have made plain the fact that in efficiency and reliability the English maker has drawn at least level with his foreign rival, while, so far as the production of motors for commercial purposes is concerned, he still stands far ahead.
Automobiles are of all sizes up to magnificent 40- or 60-horse-power racers. For town use there are broughams, victorias, landaus, and landaulettes (open or closable for country work), the phaeton with four seats, placed two by two, looking forward, and the tonneau a kind of small omnibus with a movable back with the two rear seats in the corners.
Sometimes cars are run with six seats arranged in three pairs, with plenty of room both for the driver and the coveted box-seats. Most cars of either pattern have a glass front screen, while some have a fixed roof as well. The greater number are driven by the use of petrol, the machinery being in front under what is called the "bonnet," and the ease with which the oil can be obtained has great advantages for a touring expedition.
Steam is also employed for motor-cars, and is practically noiseless, but there are obvious objections to its use, however skilfully the working parts are constructed.
In London, electromobiles are extremely popular, and no wonder, for there is no smell, no vibration, and no noise; the speed attainable is great, and they are under perfect control, advantages involving the use of storage batteries, the recharging of which is a lengthy operation, seldom taking less than five hours. But, as Mr. Llewellyn Preece observed about twelve months ago, "this condition of affairs is gradually disappearing; private electric carriages are now to be seen in London, and their number is increasing. Cars can be obtained capable of running to Brighton, Portsmouth, and other places within seventy or eighty miles of the metropolis." (i.e. on one charge. They may be called " short-tour cars.")
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Electric town-cars are generally of the landaulette type for theatre-going, and for paying visits in such inaccessible suburbs as Stoke Newington, Balham, and Hampstead. They carry from two to four passengers, can attain a speed of fourteen miles an hour, and will run forty miles without recharging.
A long-distance electric car, to compete with petrol, has yet to be made, but it will shortly be possible to obtain one of moderate weight at a reasonable price that will cover one hundred and twenty miles on a single charge; and, as a matter of fact, tours of more than a thousand miles (from London to Glasgow and back) have been satisfactorily accomplished.
PUBLIC CONVEYANCES
The perfect motor-omnibus, and, for that matter, the perfect 'bus of any kind, has yet to arise, and is suggestive of Darwinism in the length of time required for its evolution. But can London and the long-suffering traveller wait ten million years or so - putting up mean-while with the inconvenience of existing vehicles until
the omnibus companies wake up, or are superseded by more enterprising business adventurers?
Why, for instance, should all omnibuses be stuffy? There was a reason for it when their floors were covered with straw and they were shut in with doors. But now there are no doors, and there is nothing to harbour damp; yet even when the passengers sitting at the entrance of the omnibus are assailed by icy blasts, those at the far end are in an atmosphere of mustiness strongly suggestive of stables. Then, on days when the roads are greasy, these vehicles crawl along, often taking an hour and a half to travel from Fulham to Liverpool Street (a distance of about six miles). Upon such minor nuisances and annoyances as the exiguous space (about 2 feet 6 inches) between the seats, ticket-giving and ticket-examining, the jarring of brakes, the rattling of loose coach-bolts, the lurching of the top-heavy structure, the windows that will not open, the glare and dust in summer, the Cimmerian darkness in winter and at night, the stout people who take up too much room, the wet umbrellas and odoriferous waterproof cloaks, the exasperating and often unnecessary stopping every few hundred yards to the distress of the poor animals, it is needless to dilate. We experience them every day of our lives.
But better times are in store for the horses, and better times for our children (perhaps even for ourselves), who will see in London's streets electric omnibuses in which it will be a delight to travel.
Between Oxford Circus and Cricklewood (not far from Hendon) are now running improved motor-omnibuses built in Scotland for a London syndicate, to the requirements of the Chief Commissioner of Police. It will be remembered that some years ago a very large Thorneycroft steam 'bus plied for custom. It carried thirty-six passengers, but, turning the scale at three tons, it was of illegal weight as a vehicle, and should have come under the definition of a traction engine with speed limited to four miles an hour, and preceded by a man with a red flag. So it was ultimately withdrawn.
But the new "Stirling" steam omnibuses are only 32 cwt. when empty. The engine is of 12 horse-power, and is geared for three forward speeds of 4 1/2, 9, and 14 miles per hour, with one slow reversing speed, while by a clever contrivance the driving machinery ceases to act if 14.2 miles be exceeded, both steering gear and brakes being under perfect control. Handsomely fitted up, with large windows that can be taken bodily out in hot weather, and with comfortable leather-covered spring seats, the new 'buses are a decided step in the right direction.
At the last meeting of the London General Omnibus Company the deputy-chairman stated that there was no kind of motor traction that would pay the company to take up. If anything was done in that direction it would be in the use of petrol. Steam was of no use, because of the great vibration, and he doubted if the Government would permit 15,000 such omnibuses to run over the streets. In his opinion the time to take up motor omnibuses had not yet arrived.
But the London Road Car Company has taken a different and more far-sighted view of the situation, and a combination of petrol and electricity is now to be tested by it.
Cars of the Fischer combination pattern have arrived from America. Each has a 10 horse-power petrol engine which drives a dynamo, the current from which is used to work a motor acting directly on the wheels.
This may, perhaps, seem a needless complication, but there is much method in it. A 10 horse-power engine is not sufficiently powerful to drive a fully-laden 'bus up a hill at any reasonable pace, but there are many places where a 'bus will run by its own weight, and needs no engine. The new car is provided with accumulators.
When little or no power is required by the motor, the current is switched on to the accumulators, so as to store up a reserve for hill-climbing. So when necessary, the car draws on the reserve in the accumulators, and with them and the dynamo develops not 10 but 20 horse-power, enough to take it up and over any hill that 'buses climb.
The manager of the Road Car Company is of opinion that the new vehicles will carry from twelve to twenty
By permission of the Fischer Motor Vehicle Syndicate, Ltd., London
FIG. 29. A "FISCHER" COMBINATION OMNIBUS
Capacity fifteen passengers; weight, 2 tons 13 cwt.; speed, 12 miles an hour
passengers. Owing to the greater speed of the motors, however, the passenger accommodation provided by, say, half a dozen such cars would be greater than that of a similar number of omnibuses, for the service would be more frequent. Not much increase of speed can be hoped for in congested areas, but outside these the motor should be able to run half as fast again as the horsed 'bus.
There exists, however, no reason why a still more improved and refined omnibus service should not be started, electricity alone being adopted, instead of steam, petrol, or a combination. Runs of seventy and eighty miles without recharging are perfectly feasible by using standard long-distance batteries, and would suffice for the daily journeys of the omnibus, while the recharging could be effected with little or no trouble after working-hours.
Motor-omnibuses, besides working on the regular routes, can be run on the tramway time-table system on tramway sections where there is little traffic; while for developing scantily-populated districts and accustoming people to travel, automobile public conveyances are perfect agencies, the very fact that they can choose their own route accentuating this great advantage; and on special occasions, for instance when exhibitions are held in places inaccessible by tramways, they will be a source of considerable profit.
Our provincial towns (take Eastbourne and Hastings for example) are beginning to wake up on the subject, and many of them have adopted or contemplated the starting of some form of horseless omnibus, in several cases the motive power being electricity. Across the Atlantic automobile 'buses are run by the Fifth Avenue Stage Company of New York City down Fifth Avenue, and have proved most popular; while in Chicago there are three lines of electric omnibuses successfully competing with the street cars for patronage. They are double-decked, seating forty passengers, and when they are "full-up" express speed is put on, and there are no more stoppages until the down-town district is reached.
As to four-wheeled cabs, they are hopelessly behind the times, though excellent ones may be evolved out of the landaulette type of electromobiles. During sixty-two years of sullen toleration on the part of the public, the growler has improved but little, and it remains a mystery why in the streets of the world's metropolis comfortable and comely private vehicles cannot be hailed for hire, as in other cities.
New and improved cabs, such as the "Brougham," the "Clarence," and the "Chesterfield," from time to time appear in our streets, and inspire hope that a general reformation is about to take place, and that neat little coupe's will be universal. But in some unaccountable manner, after a brief season they disappear from public view as did the lemon-coloured electric broughams of a few years ago relegated to some mysterious region where vehicular failures find employment when banished from Modern Babylon.