Waltham Steam
The Waltham Steam was an American steam car.
George Tinker and John Piper
The engineers George M. Tinker and John W. Piper were employees of the Waltham Manufacturing Company,[1] at that time makers of the Orient bicycles in Waltham, Massachusetts. In 1898, they were allowed by the company's owner, Charles Herman Metz, to build a light steam buggy at a corner of the plant. This vehicle was finished at the end of the year and named the Waltham Steam. It had a very light (50 lbs), 3 bhp (2.24 kW) two cylinder, double acting steam engine. The copper-built condenser weighted in at 110 lbs, and the complete vehicle at only 600 lbs. It had wire wheels, and steering was provided by a vertically mounted lever. Tinker and Piper exhibited their steam buggy at the Boston Automobile Show in 1898.[2]
Two more steam cars followed under the label Tinker & Piper. Meantime, Metz had sold out his company to Charles A. Coffin and H.P. Clough but stayed in the position of a general manager. Coffin was an executive of the General Electric Company. Seeking for markets for the GE products, he ordered a light electric car to be made by Tinker and Piper. They built it also at the Waltham Manufacturing plant. It had a wheelbase of 60 in. and, of course, an electric motor by General Electric. Although it was presented as the Orient Electric at the New York Cycle & Automobile Show in 1899, neither Tinker and Piper nor Metz were impressed, there were no more electric vehicles to follow.[2]
Waltham Automobile Company
In 1899[3] or early 1900,[2][4] Tinker and Piper left the Waltham Manufacturing Company in consensual agreement with, and supported by, Charles Metz, to start their own business.[2] Their Waltham Automobile Company was located at 130-136 Newton Street in Waltham[4] and started building small steam-powered stanhopes that sold for $750[1][2][4] with a Victoria top.[4] Further, there might have been some steamers with Vis-à-vis coachwork.[4]
Production ended in 1902[1][2] or 1903.[4]
Of the unknown number of Waltham steam vehicles built, one Stanhope is still in existence.[4]
Waltham of Springfield, Massachusetts
An unrelated company in Springfield, Massachusetts also produced a steam powered automobile under the Waltham name in 1905.[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 Kimes, Beverly Rae; Clark Jr, Henry Austin (1996). Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805–1942. Iola, WI: Krause Publications. p. 1612. ISBN 978-0-87341-428-9. Cite uses deprecated parameter
|coauthors=(help) - 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kimes, Beverly Rae; Clark Jr, Henry Austin (1985). Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805–1942. Iola, WI: Krause Publications. p. 1463. ISBN 0-87341-111-0. Cite uses deprecated parameter
|coauthors=(help) - ↑ 100 Years of the American Auto Millennium Edition, Copyright 1999 Publications International, Ltd.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Waltham Museum: The Waltham Steam Cars of Piper and Tinker
Sources
- Beverly Rae Kimes (ed.) and Henry Austin Clark, jr.: The Standard Catalogue of American Cars 1805–1942, 2nd edition, Krause Publications, Iola WI 54990, USA (1985), ISBN 0-87341-111-0
- Beverly Rae Kimes (ed.) and Henry Austin Clark, jr.: The Standard Catalogue of American Cars 1805–1942, 3rd edition, Krause Publications, Iola WI 54990, USA (1985), ISBN 978-0-87341-428-9
- G. N. Georgano (ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present; Dutton Press, New York, 2nd edition (Hardcover) 1973, ISBN 0-525-08351-0
- Beverly Rae Kimes: Pioneers, Engineers, and Scoundrels: The Dawn of the Automobile in America. editors: SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Permissions, Warrendale PA 2005, ISBN 0-7680-1431-X (Hardcover).
Links
- Waltham Museum: The Waltham Steam Cars of Piper and Tinker (retrieved 27 February 2013)
- earlyamericanautomobiles.com: Massachusetts Manufactured (Automobiles); chapter 33 (retrieved 27 February 2013)