KELSEY AND TILNEY GASOLINE AUTOMOBILE, 7 899 

 Gift of Joseph R. Darling in 1923 (USNM 308029) 



Made by Carl W. Kelsey and I. Sheldon Tilney in 

 Chestnut Hill, Pa., as an experiment in 1899, this vehicle 

 (fig. 47) was never put into production, though in later years 

 Kelsey did enter into the production of automobiles of dif- 

 ferent design, including both 3-wheeled and 4-wheeled cars. 



This 3-wheeled machine has a frame made of pipe, with 

 two wheels in front and one driving wheel in the rear. A 

 light 2-passenger body is attached to the frame by three full- 

 elliptic springs. The wheels are wire-spoked, 25 inches in 

 diameter, and the front wheels are steered by a tiller. 

 Single-tube pneumatic tires were provided. 



A horizontal, 1 -cylinder engine is supported on the left 

 side of the frame, with the crankshaft end toward the rear. 

 A planetary transmission, providing two forward speeds and 

 reverse, is assembled on a transverse jackshaft driven by 

 sprockets and chain from the engine. The high-speed 

 clutch is operated by a lever at the right of the vehicle, while 

 the low speed and reverse are controlled by two pedals. The 

 drive to the rear wheel sprocket is transmitted by chain from 

 a sprocket on the jackshaft. 



The engine is water-cooled by circulation from a water 

 tank in the upper right part of the body. The 4-cycle en- 

 gine has an intake valve of the automatic type and an ex- 

 haust valve mechanically operated by a cam driven by gears 

 at half crankshaft speed. A muffler is provided. Above 

 the intake valve is a gasoline vaporizer fed by gravity from 

 a small tank above it, behind the seat. Ignition is now by 

 means of high-tension coil and spark plug, advance and re- 

 tard being effected by a small lever to the right of the seat 

 cushion. Originally the ignition was of the make-and- 

 break type. 



Figure 47. — Experimental 1- 

 cylinder automobile built in 

 1899 by Kelsey and Tilney. 



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