This week in 1895
Motor-car racing off to shaky start in Chicago
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The great horseless carriage race of 1895 set the stage for the introduction of the motor car in the US. Organised by the Times-Herald newspaper of Chicago, it was hailed as the defining race to prove the viability of mechanical transport.
But as The Engineer reported, the competition got off to a shaky start. It was due to run on 2 November, however, only two entries were ready to compete and a decision was taken to postpone the race until later that month.
The gasoline tanks carry a supply sufficient for a 150-mile run
Entrants H Mueller and CE Duryea were nevertheless determined to run on the original date and arrangements were made for the two cars to race head to head on the 92-mile road track from Chicago city to Waukegan and back.
The H Mueller entry was a four-wheel open carriage. It ran on a 3hp Benz gas engine, consuming around one pint of gasoline per hour. The rear wheels were driven from the motor shaft by a chain-and-sprocket wheel on the carriage axel.
The Duryea motor carriage is a four-wheel buggy, seating two persons, and has ball bearings for the axles and rubber tires on the wheel,’ according to The Engineer. ’The gasoline tanks carry a supply sufficient for [a 150-mile] run and can be recharged in five minutes.’
H Mueller made the run in nine hours 20 minutes averaging a speed of 10mph, with a maximum speed of 12mph. The Duryea motor carriage, however, encountered some problems and was finally run off the road by an approaching wagon.
Readers' comments (3)
Anonymous | 27 Jul 2011 12:51 pm
And now 116 years later, we can achive the same sorts of speed on the M25, but will consume more than 1 pint of fuel per hour doing it! That's progress.
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Chris | 27 Jul 2011 2:05 pm
That fuel consumption figure sounds distinctly optimistic. It works out at about 80 miles per (small US) gallon, which seems unlikely given the inefficient nature of early engines. That sort of figure would be reasonable for a modern moped.
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Stuart Wright | 27 Jul 2011 3:00 pm
Well, Chris, you have to get used to the idea that those engines WERE putting out the same amount of power as a small moped engine of today (only 3). And engine efficiency HAS NOT increased that much in all these years. The amount of power HAS, per unit displacement, and if use horses, you have to feed 'em. Go back to the fundamentals:- where are the energy losses? Pumping. Friction. Cooling system. Exhaust gasses. Gas pressure leakage. etc. We are still thrashing the same demons today, as our forefathers did way back then. And we see not much change in the percentages.
For a small lightweight framed vehicle ( perhaps only 300lbs), carrying only one person, at an average speed of only ten miles per hour, on large cycle wheels with low rolling resistance, 80 mpg is a 'snip'. Then and now.
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