﻿MECHANICAL 
  TKANSPOET 
  MITMAN 
  555 
  

  

  thought 
  desirable 
  were 
  made, 
  but 
  by 
  September 
  12, 
  1892, 
  it 
  was 
  so 
  

   nearly 
  completed 
  that 
  the 
  engine 
  was 
  cranked 
  up 
  and 
  the 
  machine 
  

   operated 
  on 
  the 
  shop 
  floor 
  to 
  find 
  out 
  "how 
  powerfully 
  it 
  pulled." 
  

   When 
  fully 
  assembled 
  the 
  next 
  month, 
  test 
  runs 
  were 
  made 
  in 
  an 
  

   empty 
  lot 
  adjoining 
  the 
  shop 
  and 
  also 
  on 
  the 
  streets 
  of 
  Springfield 
  at 
  

   night 
  when 
  there 
  were 
  less 
  horses 
  to 
  scare. 
  

  

  While 
  the 
  carriage 
  did 
  not 
  stall, 
  the 
  engine 
  proved 
  disappointingly 
  

   low 
  in 
  power, 
  so 
  that 
  shortly 
  after 
  these 
  October 
  trials 
  the 
  machine 
  

   was 
  taken 
  back 
  into 
  the 
  shop, 
  the 
  engine 
  torn 
  out, 
  and 
  a 
  new 
  one 
  

   started. 
  Duryea 
  felt, 
  too, 
  that 
  heavier 
  parts 
  were 
  needed 
  about 
  the 
  

   rest 
  of 
  the 
  vehicle 
  so 
  he 
  dismantled 
  the 
  whole 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  and 
  

   started 
  a 
  second 
  one 
  immediately. 
  Following 
  the 
  same 
  design 
  as 
  the 
  

   first, 
  the 
  second 
  carriage 
  was 
  finished 
  late 
  in 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1893 
  

   and 
  successfully 
  tried 
  out 
  on 
  the 
  road 
  in 
  September 
  of 
  that 
  year. 
  

   Thirty 
  years 
  later 
  this 
  same 
  machine 
  came 
  to 
  light 
  in 
  a 
  barn 
  in 
  

   Springfield, 
  Mass., 
  covered 
  with 
  dirt, 
  its 
  metal 
  parts 
  thick 
  with 
  rust, 
  

   and 
  its 
  leather 
  dashboard 
  stiff 
  and 
  hard. 
  The 
  National 
  Museum 
  

   was 
  immediately 
  notified 
  and, 
  disheveled 
  as 
  it 
  is, 
  it 
  now 
  proudly 
  heads 
  

   the 
  line 
  of 
  historic 
  automobiles 
  there. 
  

  

  The 
  successful 
  demonstrations 
  of 
  these 
  first 
  horseless 
  carriages 
  

   did 
  not 
  suffice 
  to 
  cause 
  the 
  public 
  to 
  sell 
  its 
  horses 
  and 
  rush 
  pell-mell 
  

   to 
  Duryea 
  with 
  orders. 
  Oats 
  were 
  still 
  too 
  cheap. 
  Duryea 
  also 
  

   realized 
  after 
  seeing 
  a 
  Daimler 
  car 
  and 
  an 
  electric 
  vehicle 
  at 
  the 
  

   World's 
  Fair 
  in 
  Chicago, 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  aimed 
  too 
  low 
  in 
  putting 
  out 
  

   a 
  machine 
  to 
  sell 
  for 
  $500, 
  so 
  he 
  and 
  his 
  brother 
  began 
  immediately 
  

   on 
  a 
  third, 
  this 
  time 
  a 
  "quality" 
  car. 
  

  

  As 
  with 
  the 
  earher 
  carriages, 
  this 
  one 
  went 
  through 
  much 
  pre- 
  

   liminary 
  experimenting 
  with 
  engines, 
  transmissions, 
  electric 
  ignition, 
  

   and 
  the 
  like, 
  but 
  eventually, 
  in 
  March, 
  1895, 
  a 
  2-cylinder, 
  pneumatic- 
  

   tired 
  buggy 
  was 
  on 
  the 
  road. 
  It 
  was 
  immediately 
  turned 
  over 
  to 
  a 
  

   promoter 
  who 
  used 
  it 
  almost 
  daily 
  during 
  that 
  spring 
  and 
  summer 
  in 
  

   attempts 
  to 
  seduce 
  capita,l 
  to 
  start 
  an 
  automobile 
  business. 
  Even 
  

   with 
  this 
  green 
  driver 
  it 
  never 
  failed 
  once. 
  It 
  had 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  features 
  

   of 
  the 
  modem 
  automobile 
  such 
  as 
  a 
  water-cooled 
  engine 
  mth 
  water 
  

   pump, 
  a 
  bevel-gear 
  transmission 
  with 
  three 
  speeds 
  forward 
  and 
  

   reverse, 
  electric 
  ignition, 
  and, 
  like 
  the 
  preceding 
  cars, 
  it 
  had 
  a 
  rigid 
  

   front 
  axle 
  with 
  steering 
  knuckles 
  at 
  the 
  ends. 
  It 
  was 
  steered 
  by 
  a 
  

   tiller 
  handle, 
  the 
  up-and-down 
  motion 
  of 
  which 
  changed 
  the 
  speeds 
  — 
  

   "one 
  hand 
  control." 
  

  

  On 
  Thanksgiving 
  Day, 
  1895, 
  America's 
  first 
  automobile 
  race 
  took 
  

   place, 
  the 
  run 
  being 
  over 
  snowy 
  roads 
  from 
  Chicago 
  to 
  Waukegan, 
  a 
  

   distance 
  of 
  52 
  miles. 
  Duryea 
  entered 
  this 
  same 
  machine 
  and 
  won 
  

   the 
  race 
  and 
  the 
  money 
  prize. 
  It 
  was 
  the 
  only 
  car 
  in 
  the 
  race 
  (the 
  

   others 
  were 
  foreign 
  makes 
  or 
  electrics) 
  to 
  cover 
  the 
  distance 
  without 
  

   being 
  pushed 
  and 
  to 
  return 
  to 
  its 
  garage 
  the 
  same 
  day. 
  

  

  