20 BULLETIN 19 8, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



the arch of the lower one. At the rear a transverse semielliptic spring 

 is attached to two three-quarter-elliptic springs, which are mounted 

 in a fore and aft direction over the rear wheels. The wheel base is 

 82 inches, the front tread 54 inches, and the rear tread 65 inches. 



The enclosed wooden body, creating an impression of great bulk, 

 will accommodate four, two facing forward and two toward the rear. 

 Communication betwen passengers and driver was by voice tube. Glass 

 windows in the two doors can be raised and lowered. Leather-covered 

 fenders shield the four wheels of the vehicle. Electric side lights, 

 operated from the batteries, are provided. 



Projecting beyond the passenger portion of the body, at the front 

 and at the rear, are two large compartments for storage batteries. 

 The rear compartment contains tliree sets of 12 cells each, while the 

 front contains one set, 48 cells altogether. The wiring from cell to 

 cell is no longer in place, and so the exact system used is not now 

 known. 



Above the rear battery compartment, Y feet above ground, is the 

 exposed seat for the driver and the footman. On the left a steering 

 tiller is attached to the upper end of a long, vertically mounted shaft, 

 which at its lower end is connected by a long rod to the left steering 

 knuckle. In front of the driver is a combined 150-volt voltmeter and 

 ammeter, which indicated the state of charge and the rate of charge 

 and discharge of the batteries. On the left is a lever that controls a 

 horizontal drum type of controller under the driver's seat. This gov- 

 erned the speed and reversed the vehicle. 



External contracting brake bands on the two rear- wheel brake drums 

 are operated by a pedal pivoted in the floorboard. 



A 5-horsepower motor-generator set in the garage of the vehicle 

 was used for overnight charging of the batteries. This set (U. S. N. M. 

 No. 3104Y1) was received with the vehicle and appears to be con- 

 temporary with it. Both the motor and generator were made by the 

 Wagner Electric Manufacturing Co., of St. Louis, Mo. The motor is 

 a 5-horsepower, 208- volt, single-phase A. C, 60-cycle unit, while the 

 generator is a 125-volt D. C. unit capable of charging at a rate of 

 28 ampere hours at 1,800 revolutions per minute. A Weston voltmeter, 

 Weston ammeter, circuit breakers, fuses, switches, a rheostat, and vari- 

 able resistance complete the charging equipment. 



AUTOCAR GASOLINE AUTOMOBILE, 1901 



U. S. N, M. No. 307257 ; original ; gift of the Autocar Co. in 1922 ; photograph 

 No. 38504-A ; plate 6, &. 



This car, thought to be the first shaft-driven automobile made in 

 the United States, was designed by Louis S. Clarke, vice president and 

 consulting engineer of the Autocar Co. in 1901. On December 11, 1901, 



