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"QUANTUM SHOT" #340(rev)
Link - article by Avi Abrams



Loud, Obnoxious, Smoke-Belching Beasties...

Not always detailed in brass, but nearly always surrounded by clouds of noxious steam (which some would say, adds to their mystique), these Victorian monster transports could seat many passengers in (rather dubious) style - but more importantly, these vehicles were not confined to rails and could go virtually anywhere. Today, you can rent them for your next romantic outing, but don't forget to supply your date with a good pair of goggles.



(images via: ImageStudio, Lord-K)

First, a Modern Example

This bus took ten whole years to build: the Sentinel Typhoo is made from various tractor parts and is powered by a 100 horse power locomotive steam engine. This makes it already "more" than a tractor, somewhat "less" than a train, and to be sure, "exactly" a bus - a moving, "breathing" hybrid machine.




(images via)


Steam Bus History Highlights

Perhaps the first in a noble line of steam transportation, was this 1853 Dudgeon Steam Wagon:


(all images via)

London Railroad employed steam buses to bring passengers to its stations (Torquay and Staffordshire Stations, 1904-1907):





(images credit: Reed Business Information)

Regular bus transportation in Paris also used steam vehicles, namely, De Dion (1907) -




Steam buses started to appear in London in 1898 (based at Victoria Station), being introduced mostly as an experiment. These were made by De Dion and lasted whole two years on the streets of London. Strangely, they did not enjoy immediate popularity (perhaps due to their loud, steamy nature). Here is a steam bus Foden made from the tractor chassis, photographed in 1913 -




Here is a couple of "Sentinel" steam buses, made as late as 1931:




... and a modern steam bus conversion: "Old Glory":



This "Old Glory" was made from an old steam truck "Sentinel DG-6" -



(bottom image credit: James Powell)

All of this brings us to the no-less-fascinating... Steam Trucks!


Steam Trucks: Big, Ugly (?) and, alas, Extinct

Sometimes called "locomobiles", these imposing vehicles were manufactured in England as late as 1950, which only shows the reluctance of engineers to abandon steam power as viable means of on-road transportation. Starting in 1905, various models of steam-trucks, or "lorries", graced UK streets without changing much in appearance throughout the years:


Foden Colonial Tipper, 1913


Yorkshire, 1905


Sentinel Standard Wagon, 1916


Mann Wagon, 1919


Aveling & Porter Lady Fiona, 1922
(images credit: Steam Scenes)


Yorkshire, 1927




Sentinel Super Waggon, 1924


Sentinel DG, 1929


Sentinel DB4, 1930

Apparently, some of the "Sentinel" trucks were capable of doing 100 km/h and boasted up to 200 horse power engines:



Many steam trucks had various brewery logos painted on their front end and on the sides, as they were widely used for transporting beer (what a lovely detail in their history!). Some trucks looked especially impressive on an early morning highway, draped in fog:




Steam-Powered Tractors, "Road Locomotives" and Other Steam Beasties


Aveling and Porter Shamrock, 1922


Sentinel Tractor Elephant 1924
(image credit: Steam Scenes)

Road Locomotives: These were pretty curious beasts... many-wheeled vehicles with a steam engine taken from a train! They were also called the "Showman's Engines", because often they were used to pull traveling circus attractions behind them... and when not moving, there were used as a power source for traveling fairs and carnivals.


Fowler Iron Maiden, 1920


Fowler King Carnival II, 1932
(images credit: Steam Scenes)

By the way, "steam carriages" also looked quite radical: these were actual horse carriages put on top of a steam engine, like this:


(image via)

Steam Fire engines will certainly require an article of their own; these machines were equally stunning as works of art and as proud showcases for a local fire department:


(image credit: Josh Sommers, click to see large version)

Here is a steampunk-style "smoke helmet" on a vintage firefighter, photographed in Moscow in 1930:


(photo by Alexander Rodchenko)


BONUS: Antique Wrecks

Check out these accidents from hundred years ago... Some accidents involved running over a stray chicken, but others were a bit more serious in nature, like running into a ditch:



(images credit: ImageStudio; special thanks for the material provided by Lord_K and Svyatozar Chernov)

Driving back then seemed to be a piece-of-cake. All you had to do was watch for dogs, chickens (and occasional cows)... be careful not to "run out of steam", and not to break the government-imposed maximum speed limit, which (in some cases) was a scorching five miles an hour!


CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGE: "STEAM-POWERED TRACTORS"! ->

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YOUR COMMENTS::

14 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

My mum grew up on Romney Marsh during the 1920s and 30s. Some time around 1930 the whole school went on a trip to the seaside (which was only a few miles away) and travelled by flat car drawn behind a traction engine. Because of the very flat terrain, from their perch on the school wall they could see the puffs of steam and smoke and hear the chuffing for nearly half an hour before it arrived. The excitment for a bunch of rural children few of whom had ever been near a car let alone ridden in one must have been intense.
Can't imagine the safety lot liking kids riding on an open flatbed but of course they only travelled at walking pace.

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

Smoke and ashes, yes. Loud, no. The old timers here preferred them for threshing because a man on the tractor could talk to a man at the rear of the threshing machine, 60-80 feet away. Try that with a gas tractor let alone a diesel. Besides, the fuel (straw) was free.

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Blogger liits said...

Stuff the hole in the ozone whatever it is, bring back steam power!

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

Keep in mind that 100 horsepower is a *lot* for a steam engine. They are the kings of torque. In most US tractor pulls team traction engines are ineligible to compete. Given their torque and weight, they go about as fast with the sled as without it. :-)

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

Some nice pictures there. thanks

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

look at this link,it's amazing:
www.freeweb.deltha.hu/zastava.in.hu/wood-gas.htm

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Blogger The Venue said...

Here is a great Video "Oil Drum" By Alan Shapiro
(Johnny Cash Recorded two of Alan's songs)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_zWyf9R0Qc

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've seen several of these vehicles. The Lake District steam bus was built up as a bus literally 1 mile from here. Fantastic vehicles. I'm a steam boat guy myself.

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

I see photos of two which my dad was involved in, in OF and MP. MP was his when he was a lad, photos are at:

http://pacificcoast.net/~wx732/Photos%20for%20Traction%20Talk/David's%20B&W/DavidsPhotos.html

(by the way, those are both waggons, with two g's. English is a flexable language when you invent the word)

James Powell

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Blogger Avi Abrams said...

thank you James, I updated the post with your photo

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great photos, thanks. However I really have to wonder why you think steam is in any way toxic or noxious - it is just hot water! Far, far less toxic than even the most cleaned-up catalytic-converter equipped gasoline or diesel motor.

As another poster pointed out, steam power tends to be quieter than internal combustion engines of equivalent power, and modern steam engine designs are remarkably fuel efficient.

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Blogger soulmercer7 said...

I thought I read somewhere that the first steam buses in London were used in 1831.

London

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sentinel and the other steam lorry makers depended on tax-breaks given to coal as a fuel for goods hauling--it was mined in Britain, but petroleum was imported. Around 1950 (or thereabouts) this lower taxation was abolished, and Sentinel (though they'd hired Abner Doble to modernize design) decided they couldn't compete any more. Last production run ca. 1952.

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

I went for a ride in one of there at an event, imagine climbing inside a hot metal box, sitting on a crate next to a boiler, then sounds like someone is hammering the outside with sledgehammers while you try to avoid the boiler inches from you. Brilliant! It was incredibly thrilling to experience the once, for a very short trip around a car park. Any further it might have been easier to put a harness on me as I ran away and have me drag it.

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