NO USE FOR HORSES. 



Springfield Mechanics Devise a 

 New Mode of Travel. 



Ingenious Wagon Now Being Made in 



This City for Which the Makers 



Claim Great Things. 



A new motor carriage, whlcn, if tbe 

 preliminary tesls prove successful ss « 

 espied, will revolutionize tbe mode of 

 travel on highways, and do away with 

 the horse a3 a mean* of transportation, 

 u being made in this city. Tt is quite 

 probable that within a short time one 

 may be able to see an ordinary carrlago 

 in almost every respect, raniiing along 

 the streets or climbing country hills with- 

 out visible means of propulsion. The 

 carriage is being built by J. F. Duryca, 

 Che designer and E. l'\ Olarkhajn, who 

 have been at work on it for ever a 

 year. The vehicle was designed by C. 

 B. Duryea, a bicycle manufacturer of 

 Peoria, 111., and he communicated bis 

 scheme to his brother, who is a practical 

 machanic in Oils city. 



The propelling power Is furnished by a 

 two-horse power gasoline motor situated 

 near the rear axle and which, when 

 started, runs continuously to tie end of 

 the trip, notwithstanding fbe number of 

 times the carriage may be stopped. Tie 

 speed of the motor Is uniform, being 

 about 500 revolutions a minute, and is 

 so arranged that it gives a multiplied 

 power for climbing hills and the lower 

 the rate of speed' the greater power If 

 furnished by' the motor. The slowest 

 that tbe carriage can be driven is three 

 miles an hour and the speed can be in- 

 creased to fohrteen or flfteen miles an 

 hour. The power is transferred from the 

 driving wheel of the motor, which runs 

 horizontally with the main shaft by an 

 endless friction belt running on a drum 

 wheel. The belt Is controlled by a lever 



within easy reach of the driver and is 

 shifted along the drum wheel to increase 

 or decrease the speed. The driving wheel 

 is about twenty inches la diameter, hav- 

 ing in its center a depression to which 

 the belt is shifted to stop the carriage. 



The earrlag* can be reversed by shift- 

 ing the ibelt rroro the end of tho drum, 

 which gives tfce forward motion to tiie 

 opposite side beyond the depression in the 

 driving wheel. The power which has 

 been transferred to the driving shaft 

 from the motor \i in turn transferred to 

 the two rear wheels of the carriage by a 

 combination gJctar and sprockets. An end- 

 leas chain connects the sprockets on the 

 carriage wheels to the sprocket wheels on 

 the driving shaft All of the motive pow- 

 er is located under the body of an ordina- 

 ry phaeton, the bight of which is not 

 increased by the machinery. Tbe motor 

 Is started by a crank which in easi.y ap- 

 plied ro a shaft in the reir of iho fer- 

 riage and the gasoline is ignited in tbe 

 cylinder by electricity. An automatic 

 devlca stops the flow of gasoline into the 

 cylinder when the motor ceases running. 

 The gasoline is carried in tanks, which 

 hold about two gallons, and which will 

 run the carriage for aibout -eight hours. 

 The wagon is guided by a bicycle bar, and 

 the speed is also controlled by this bar. 



Tbe method employed in this is as fol- 

 lows: To mart the carriage press the 

 lever down; to reverse it throw the lever 

 up (tuj to gu.de th* wagon turn the 

 lever either to the right or left. The 

 frout axle Instead of turning horizontally 

 plays up and down, in order that 'the 

 machinery may be on a level with the 

 rear wheels, while the front wheels are 

 t>et on the axle b7 a pivotal joint and are 

 connected with the gui>l'.r>,j lever by bars 

 with ball bearings. The carriage com- 

 plete weighs about 235 pound?, and the 

 essential feature* are already covered 

 by paten's while others are pending. 



It is «lirnnt"d that the carnages can te 

 sold for about $4<X>, an! a stock com- 

 pany will probably be formed to manu- 

 facture theai. 



Figure 22. — From the Springfield Evening Union, September 16, 



the running gear was too long for the elevator, they 

 raised the front of the machine, resting the entire 

 weight of 750 pounds on the rear wheels. Once out- 

 side the building, they pushed it into an area between 

 the Russell and Stacy buildings. After dark, "so no 

 one will see," Will Bemis. Mr. Markham's son-in-law, 

 brought a horse and they pulled the phaeton out to 

 his barn on Spruce Street. 28 There, on Spruce and 

 Florence Streets the first tests were made. The 



next day Frank wrote his brother saying, "Have tried 

 it (the carriage) finally and thoroughly and quit 

 trying until some changes are made. Belt transmis- 

 sion very bad. 29 Engine all right." He did admit the 

 engine seemed to be well loaded most of the time. He 

 also had an idea in mind to replace the poor trans- 



2" Ibid., p. 15 



29 Frank stated in this letter that the friction drum originally 

 had two belts, forward and reverse, but since they tended to 

 foul each other, he removed the reverse belt and left the other 

 to serve for both directions. How the shipper fork might have 

 handled two belts is not understood. 



20 



BULLETIN 240: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



