CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY: PAPER 34 THE 1893 DURYEA AUTOMOBILE IN THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY _Don H. Berkebile_ EARLY AUTOMOTIVE EXPERIENCE 5 CONSTRUCTION BEGINS 6 DESCRIPTION OF THE AUTOMOBILE 16 [Illustration: FIGURE 1. --DURYEA AUTOMOBILE in the Museum of History andTechnology, from an 1897 photograph. The gear-sprockets were alreadymissing when this was taken, and the chain lies loosely on the pinion. Shown at the right, the Duryea vehicle following the recent restoration(Smithsonian photo 34183). ] _Don H. Berkebile_ THE 1893 DURYEA AUTOMOBILE _In the Museum of History and Technology_ _During the last decade of the nineteenth century a number of American engineers and mechanics were working diligently to develop a practical self-propelled vehicle employing an internal-combustion engine as the motive force. Among these men were Charles and Frank Duryea, who began work on this type of vehicle about 1892. This carriage was operated on the streets of Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1893, where its trials were noted in the newspapers. Now preserved in the Museum of History and Technology, it is a prized exhibit in the collection of early automobiles. _ _It is the purpose of this paper to present some of the facts discovered during the restoration of the vehicle, to show the problems that faced its builders, and to describe their solutions. An attempt also has been made to correlate all this information with reports of the now almost legendary day-to-day experiences of the Duryeas, as published by the brothers in various booklets, and as related by Frank Duryea during two interviews, recorded on tape in 1956 and 1957, while he was visiting the Smithsonian. _ THE AUTHOR: _Don H. Berkebile is on the staff of the Museum of History and Technology, in the Smithsonian Institution's United States National Museum. _ Of the numerous American automotive pioneers, perhaps among the bestknown are Charles and Frank Duryea. Beginning their work of automobilebuilding in Springfield, Massachusetts, and after much rebuilding, theyconstructed their first successful vehicle in 1892 and 1893. No soonerwas this finished than Frank, working alone, began work on a secondvehicle having a two-cylinder engine. With this automobile, sufficientcapital was attracted in 1895 to form the Duryea Motor Wagon Company inwhich both brothers were among the stockholders and directors. A shorttime after the formation of the company this second automobile wasentered by the company in the Chicago Times-Herald automobile race onThanksgiving Day, November 28, 1895, where Frank Duryea won a victoryover the other five contestants--two electric automobiles and three Benzmachines imported from Germany. In the year following this victory Frank, as engineer in charge ofdesign and construction, completed the plans begun earlier for a morepowerful automobile. During 1896 the company turned out thirteenidentical automobiles, the first example of mass production in Americanautomotive history. [1] Even while these cars were under constructionFrank was planning a lighter vehicle, one of which was completed inOctober of 1896. This machine was driven to another victory by FrankDuryea on November 14, 1896, when he competed once again withEuropean-built cars in the Liberty-Day Run from London to Brighton. Thedecision to race and demonstrate their autos abroad was the result ofthe company's desire to interest foreign capital, yet Frank later feltthey might better have used their time and money by concentrating onbuilding cars and selling them to the local market. Subsequently, in thefall of 1898, Frank arranged for the sale of his and Charles' interestin the company, and thereafter the brothers pursued separate careers. [Illustration: FIGURE 2. --WORKMEN IN THE DURYEA FACTORY in Springfield, Mass. , working on some of the thirteen 1896 motor wagons. (Smithsonianphoto 44062. )] Frank, in 1901, entered into a contract with the J. Stevens Arms andTool Company, of Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, which built automobilesunder his supervision. This association led in 1904 to the formation ofthe Stevens-Duryea Company, of which Irving Page was president and FrankDuryea was vice president and chief engineer. This company producedduring its 10-year existence a number of popular and well-known models, among them a light six known as the Model U, in 1907; a larger4-cylinder called the Model X, in 1908; and a larger six, the Model Y, in 1909. In 1914 when Stevens withdrew from the company, Frank obtainedcontrol. The following year he sold the plants and machinery, liquidatedthe company, and, due to ill health, retired. Charles, in the meantime, located in Reading, Pennsylvania, where hebuilt autos under the name of the Duryea Power Company. [2] Here, andlater in Philadelphia under the name of the Duryea Motor Corporation andother corporate names, he continued for a number of years to buildautomobiles, vacuum cleaners and other mechanical devices. Until thetime of his death in 1938, he practiced as a consulting engineer. = Department of the Interior U. S. PATENT OFFICE, April 1, 1887 Admit Mr. Charles E. Duryea to this Office on all business days between the hours of 2 and 4 P. M. Until otherwise ordered. [Signature] Chief Clerk Countersigned, [Signature]= [Illustration: FIGURE 3. --ADMITTANCE CARD of C. E. Duryea to theU. S. Patent Office, 1887. (Gift of Rhea Duryea Johnson. )] Early Automotive Experience Born in 1861 near Canton, Illinois, Charles E. Duryea had learned thetrade of a mechanic following his graduation from high school, andsubsequently turned his interests to bicycle repair. He and his brotherJames Frank, eight years younger, eventually left Illinois and moved toWashington D. C. , where they were employed in the bicycle shop of H. S. Owen, one of that city's leading bicycle dealers and importers. While inWashington, Charles became a regular reader of the Patent OfficeGazette, [3] an act which undoubtedly influenced his later work withautomobiles. A short time later, probably in 1889, Charles contractedwith a firm in Rockaway, New Jersey, to construct bicycles for him, buttheir failure to make delivery as promised caused him to go to Chicopee, Massachusetts, where he contracted with the Ames Manufacturing Companyto do his work. Moving there in 1890, he obtained for his brother aposition as toolmaker with the Ames Company. Thus, Frank Duryea, as hewas later known, also became located in Chicopee, a northern suburb ofSpringfield. [Illustration: FIGURE 4. --CHARLES E. DURYEA, about 1894, as drawn byGeorge Giguere from a photograph. (Smithsonian photo 48335-A. )] During the summer, 1891, Charles found the bicycle business left himsome spare time, and the gasoline-powered carriages he had read ofearlier came constantly into his mind in these periods of idleness. [4]He and Frank studied several books on gasoline engines, among them oneby an English writer (title and author now unknown);[5] this describedthe Otto 4-stroke cycle as now used. Some engineers, however, wereconcerned because this engine, on the completion of the exhaust stroke, had not entirely evacuated all of the products of combustion. TheAtkinson engine, patented in 1887, was one of the attempts to solve thisas well as several other problems, thus creating a more efficient cycle. This engine was designed so that the exhaust stroke carried the pistonall the way to the head of the engine, while the compression stroke onlymoved the piston far enough to sufficiently compress the mixture. Theunusual linkage necessary to create these unequal strokes in theAtkinson engine made it seem impractical for a carriage engine, wherecompactness was desired. =_Agents Want{d}_ SYLPH CYCLES RUN EASY Pneumatics not enough; springs necessary for comfort & safety Sylphspring frame saves muscle & nerves & is perfection. All users delighted. Investigate. We also make a 30 lb. Rigid Sylph. Cata. Free. Rouse-Duryea Cycle Co. _Mfrs. _ 16 G st. , Peoria, Ill. = [Illustration: FIGURE 5. --ADVERTISEMENT of Duryea bicycle company, _Scientific American_, September 9, 1893. ] Going to Hartford, Connecticut, possibly on business relating to hisbicycle work, Charles visited the Hartford Machine Screw Company wherethe Daimler-type engine was being produced, [6] but after examining it hefelt it was too heavy and clumsy for his purpose. Also in Hartford hetalked over the problem of a satisfactory engine with C. E. Hawley, anemployee of the Pope Manufacturing Company, makers of the Columbiabicycle. Hawley, searching for a way to construct an engine that wouldperform in a manner similar to the Atkinson, yet would have thelightness and compactness necessary for a carriage engine, suggested anidea that Charles believed had some merit. This idea, involving the useof what the Duryeas later called a "free piston, " was eventually to beincorporated in their first engine. [7] [Illustration: FIGURE 6. --J. FRANK DURYEA, about 1894, as drawn by GeorgeGiguere from a photograph. (Smithsonian photo 48335. )] Construction Begins Back in Chicopee again, Charles began planning his first horselesscarriage. Frank later stated that they leaned heavily on the Benzpatents in their work;[8] but while the later engine and transmissionshow evidence of this, only the Benz manner of placing the engine andthe flywheel seem to have been employed in the original Duryea plan. Charles reversed the engine so that the flywheel was to the front, rather than to the rear as in the Benz patent, but made use of Benz'vertical crankshaft so that the flywheel rotated in a horizontal plane. Previously most engines had used vertical flywheels; Benz, believingthat this practice would cause difficulty in steering a propelledcarriage, explained his reason for changing this feature in his U. S. Patent 385087, issued June 26, 1888: In motors hitherto used the fly-wheels have been attached to a horizontal shaft or axle, and have thus been made to revolve in a vertical plane, since the horizontal shaft is best adapted to the transmission of power. If, however, in this case we should use a heavy rotating mass, corresponding to the power employed and revolving rapidly in a vertical plane, the power to manage the vehicle or boat would become very much lessened, as the flywheel continues to revolve in its plane. I therefore so design the apparatus that its crank shaft x has a vertical position and its fly-wheel y revolves in a horizontal plane. .. . By this means the vehicle is not only easily controlled, but also the greatest safety is attained against capsizing. To the Duryea plan, Benz may also have contributed the idea forpositioning the countershaft, though its location is sufficientlyobvious that Charles may have had no need for copying Benz. Charleswisely differed from Benz in placing the flywheel forward, thuseliminating the need for the long driving belt of the Benz carriage. Yethe did reject the bevel gears used by Benz, which might well have beenretained, as Frank was later to prove by designing a workabletransmission that incorporated such bevel gears. The initial plan, asconceived by Charles, also included the details of the axles, steeringgear, countershaft with its friction-drum, the 2-piece angle-iron frameupon which the countershaft bearings were mounted, and the free pistonengine with its ignition tube, since hot-tube ignition was to beemployed. No provision was made, however, for a burner to heat the tube;nor had a carburetor been designed, though it had been decided not touse a surface tank carburetor. The plans called for no muffler orstarting arrangement. [9] Many engines of the period were started simplyby turning the flywheel with the hands, and Charles felt this method wassufficient for his carriage. [Illustration: FIGURE 7. --DRAWING SHOWING PRINCIPLE of the Atkinsonengine; this feature is what the Duryeas were trying to achieve withtheir free-piston engine, by substituting the free piston for theunusual linkage of the Atkinson. (Smithsonian photo H3263-A. )] [Illustration: FIGURE 8. --DRAWING OF 1885 BENZ engine, showingsimilarity in general appearance to Duryea engine. From Karl Benz undsein Lebenswerk, Stuttgart, 1953. (Daimler-Benz Company publication. )] The Ames plant customarily had a summer shutdown during August; thus, during August of 1891 Charles and Frank had access to a nearly emptyplant in which they could carry on experiments and make up workingdrawings of the proposed vehicle. It cannot now be conclusively statedwhether any parts were made for the car during August or the remainderof the year. It is more likely that the brothers attempted to complete aset of drawings. Frank Harrington, chief draftsman at Ames, may havehelped out at this time; from Charles' statement of April 14, 1937, itis learned that he did prepare drawings during 1892. =C. BENZ. SELF PROPELLING VEHICLE. No. 385, 087. Patented June 26, 1888. = [Illustration: FIGURE 9. --ILLUSTRATION FROM U. S. Patent 385087, issuedto Carl Benz, showing the horizontal plane of the flywheel, a featureutilized by the Duryeas in their machine. ] The first contemporary record of any work on vehicles is a bill, datedJanuary 21, 1892, for a drawing made by George W. Howard & Company. Thisdrawing was made in the fall of 1891 by Charles A. Bartlett, a member ofthe Howard firm and a neighbor of Charles Duryea, according to astatement by Charles in the _Automobile Trade Journal_ of Jan. 10, 1925. He was then also of the opinion that this drawing may not have hadanything to do with the carriage they were about to assemble, but anotation found by Charles at a later date has led him to believe that itpossibly concerned a business type vehicle he had discussed with anunidentified Mr. Snow. By early 1892 Charles needed capital to finance his venture, an oldcarriage to attach his inventions to, a place to work, and a mechanic todo the work. On March 26, he stopped by the Smith Carriage Company andlooked over a selection of used buggies and phaetons. He finally decidedon a rather well-used ladies' phaeton which he purchased for $70. Theleather dash was in so deplorable a state it would have to be recoveredbefore the carriage went onto the road, and the leather fenders it oncepossessed had previously been removed; yet the upholstery appeared to bein satisfactory condition, and the candle lamps were intact. [Illustration: FIGURE 10. --PHANTOM ILLUSTRATION of Benz' first automobile. (From _Carl Benz, Father of the Automobile Industry_, by L. M. Fanning, New York, 1955. )] Two days later, Charles was able to interest Erwin F. Markham, ofSpringfield, sufficiently to obtain his financial aid in the project. Acontract was drawn up between the two men, which stated that Mr. Markham was to put up $1000 for which he received a five-tenths share ofthe venture. When the $1000 had been used, he then had the option tocontinue his aid until the project had been carried to a successfulclimax, and retain his half share, or to refuse further funds andrelinquish four of his five-tenths interest in the business. [10] Had heeventually chosen the latter, Charles would obviously have had to seekassistance elsewhere. [Illustration: FIGURE 11. --THE HOWARD & CO. BILL showing the first workperformed toward a motor vehicle. While this may not refer specificallyto the machine now in the museum, it is evidence of early work. ] [Illustration: FIGURE 12. --THE SHOP OF JOHN RUSSELL & SONS. It was onthe second floor of this building that Charles and Frank Duryea builttheir first motor vehicle. (Courtesy of the _Springfield Union_. )] That same day, March 28, Charles found working space and machineryavailable at John W. Russell & Sons Company in Springfield. [11] TheRussells had recently completed a large government order of shells forthe famous dynamite guns later used on board the cruiser _Vesuvius_ inthe Spanish-American War, and this left an entire second floor, approximately 35 × 85 feet, virtually unoccupied, according to anaffidavit of William J. Russell of April 30, 1926. Now ready to beginthe actual work, Charles hired his brother Frank to start construction. Frank started about the first of April, receiving a raise of about 10percent over the salary he had received at Ames. Before the vehicle wascompleted a number of other men performed work on some of the parts, among them William Deats who had been hired by Charles primarily to workon bicycles in the same area, but who occasionally assisted on thecarriage. Russell Company records show time charged against CharlesDuryea by six other Russell employees: W. J. Russell, P. Colgan, C. E. Merrick, T. Shea, L. J. Parmelee, and A. A. Poissant. [Illustration: FIGURE 13. --J. FRANK DURYEA looking over the Russell shoplathe on which he turned parts for the first Duryea vehicle. Photo takenabout 1944. (Courtesy of the _Springfield Union_. )] It is Frank Duryea's remembrance that he started work on Monday, April4. He first removed the body, with its springs, and placed it on a pairof wooden horses where it remained until the summer of the followingyear. The next step was to remove the rear axle and take it to ablacksmith shop where the old axle spindles were cut off and welded to anew drop-center axle. Following this the front axle spindles wereremoved, the ends of the axle slotted, and a webbed, C-shaped piececarrying the kingpin bearings was fitted into each slot, braced fromunderneath by short brackets which were riveted and brazed in place. Theold spindles then were welded to the center of offset kingpins which inturn were mounted in their bearings in a manner similar to that in whichthe frame of the Columbia high-wheeled bicycle was mounted in its fork. Arms welded to the lower end of the kingpins were connected by the tierods to an arm on the lower end of the vertical steering column, locatedon the center of the axle. [Illustration: FIGURE 14. --A PORTION of the Russell shop records showingcharges made against Charles Duryea during 1893-1894. ] While work on the running gear advanced, some progress was made in theconstruction of the engine. Patterns for the castings were fabricated, most of them by Charles Marshall on Taylor Street, [12] and castings werepoured. The body or main casting of the engine resembled a length ofcast-iron pipe: it had no bosses or lugs cast on, nor any water jacket, for they thought the engine would be kept cool merely by being placed inthe open air. The front end of the engine was secured to the vehicle byfour bolts which passed through the halves of the bearings and onto fourprojections on the open end of the engine. As the crankshaft of thisengine was retained in constructing the present engine, it is logicalto assume that the bearings were the same also. The head was cast as athick disc, with both intake and exhaust valves located therein, and wasbolted onto the flanged head end of the engine. Inside the cylinder was the strange arrangement previously suggested byC. E. Hawley. To the connecting rod was attached a rather ordinaryringed piston, over which was fitted a free, ringless piston, machinedto fit closely the cylinder bore. This floating piston could move freelya distance equal to the compression space. The intention was that on theintake stroke, suction would open the intake valve, which had nopositive opening arrangement, and draw in the mixture which then wascompressed as in a regular Otto engine. Fired by the hot-tube ignitionsystem, the force of the explosion would drive both pistons down, forcing the outer one tight against the head of the smaller one, and atthe end of the stroke the longer wall of the outer piston would strikean arm projecting into the cylinder near the open end, moving forwardthe exhaust valve rod to which the arm was attached, thus pushing openthe valve in the head. [13] On the exhaust stroke the unrestrained outerpiston moved all the way to the head, expelling all of the products ofcombustion and pushing the exhaust valve shut again. With a bore of fourinches or less, this engine, Charles believed, should develop aboutthree horsepower and run at a speed between 350 to 400 revolutions perminute. [14] As no ignition system had yet been provided, they prepared a 4-1/2-inchlength of one-quarter inch iron pipe, closed at one end, and screwed theopen end into the head. Heating this tube with an alcohol burner wouldcause ignition of the mixture when a portion of it was forced into theheated tube toward the end of the compression stroke. No attempt wasmade at this time to use the electrical make-and-break circuit used intheir second engine, as the free piston would have wrecked the igniterparts on the exhaust stroke, and the push rod located on the end of thepiston would have prevented the piston from closing the exhaust valve. After keying the flywheel to the lower end of the crankshaft, Charlesand Frank decided to make an attempt to run the engine. Carrying itinto a back room, probably during July or August, 1892, they blocked itup on horses. A carburetor had not yet been constructed, so theyattempted to start the engine by spinning the flywheel by hand, at thesame time spraying gasoline through the intake valve with a perfumeatomizer previously purchased at a drugstore in the Massasoit House. Repeated efforts of the two men to start the engine resulted in failure. [Illustration: FIGURE 15. --CONJECTURAL drawing of the free-piston engineused in the Museum vehicle prior to the present engine. (Drawing by A. A. Balunek. )] In the belief that the defects, whatever they might be, could beremedied after the engine was installed, the Duryeas went ahead andmounted the engine in the carriage. To do this they shortened theoriginal reach of the carriage, allowing the engine itself to become therear continuation of the reach. The four ears on the front, or open endof the engine, were bolted to the centrally located frame, with thebearing blocks in between. This frame, the same one now in the vehicle, was constructed of two pieces of angle iron, riveted and brazedtogether. Greater rigidity was obtained by a number of half-inch ironrods running from the frame to both front and rear axles. Because of theabsence of any mounting brackets on the engine casting itself, a woodenblock with a trough on top to receive the body of the engine was fittedbetween the engine and the axle, while two U-shaped rods secured it withclip bars and nuts underneath. Beneath the flywheel was mounted the friction transmission of Charles'design. This consisted of a large drum, perhaps 12 inches in diameter, equal in length to the diameter of the flywheel and keyed to a shaftdirectly under the center of the crankshaft and parallel to the axles. (Diameter of drum estimated by examination of existing features. ) Inview of the four projections of the frame extending downward and just infront of the jackshaft position, it is likely that these supported thefour jackshaft bearings. Being a bicycle manufacturer, Charles saw theneed for a differential or balance gear. Accordingly, he purchased fromthe Pope Manufacturing Company a very light unit of the type formerlyused on Columbia tricycles, and installed it somewhere on the jackshaft. A small sprocket on each end of the shaft carried a chain from thelarger sprockets clamped to the spokes of each rear wheel. The lowersurface of the flywheel had been machined so as to form a friction disc, with a one-quarter inch depression 3 inches in diameter turned in thecenter. The drum was positioned so that its upper surface wasone-quarter inch below the face of the flywheel. Hanging loosely aroundthe drum was an endless belt, one and one-half inches wide, first madeof rather soft rubber packing material. The belt lay on the drum surfacebetween the fingers of a shipper fork. While it lay under the 3-inchdepression in the center of the flywheel, the belt and the drum were atrest, but when it was moved away from that depression the belt wedgeditself tightly between the drum and flywheel, the resulting frictioncausing the drum to turn and setting the vehicle into motion. Thefarther the belt was moved toward the outer edge of the wheel, thefaster the drum and the vehicle moved. In September 1892, Charles, who had contracted with a Peoria, Illinois, firm to have bicycle parts manufactured, decided to move to that city. Departing on the 22d of September, he did not return to Springfield forover two years, and thus was not able to participate in the completionand testing of the carriage. At the time of his departure several unitson the carriage were incomplete. A carburetor had not been built, norhad a satisfactory burner or belt-shifting device. Charles hadexperimented with various shifting levers just before leavingSpringfield: however, as he reported later, he did not succeed indesigning a workable mechanism. [15] Frank Duryea, now left to finish thework unassisted, continued the experiments with the belt shifter. Hefinally worked out a fork mounted on a carriage that was supported bytwo rods, each of which slid in two bearings. Although the shortdistance between the two bearings caused the shifter carriage to bindoccasionally, the device was thought to be sufficient and was installedjust in front of the frame. Connected to a system of cables, arms, androds, possibly similar to the present cam-bar shifter, the shipper-forkcarriage was moved from side to side by raising or lowering the tiller. [Illustration: FIGURE 16. --DRAWING of the carburetor used on both Duryeaengines, 1893-1894, showing sight feed on left and choke mechanism onright. (Smithsonian photo 13455. )] Turning now to an efficient burner for heating the ignition tube, Frankstarted with an ordinary wick-type kerosene lamp with a small metaltank. Wishing to use gasoline in the lamp, he found it necessary tofabricate a number of burner units before he found a type that gave hima clean blue flame. He then found the flame to be very sensitive todrafts and easily extinguished, and devised a small shield or chimney toafford it some protection. Early in October, while still working with the burner, Frank developed asevere headache. He felt the fumes of the lamp had probably caused it, and went to his room in the home of a Mr. And Mrs. Patrick on FrontStreet in Chicopee. After he noticed no improvement, a doctor'sexamination showed he had typhoid fever, and on October 5 he wasadmitted to the Springfield Hospital. Here he remained for one month, being discharged on November 5. Returning to his room he was informedthat because of the fear that he might be a typhoid carrier, thePatricks preferred him to find other lodgings. He readily accepted theinvitation of Mr. And Mrs. D. H. Nesbitt of Chicopee to take a room withthem. After several weeks recuperation in their home, he leftSpringfield to visit his mother in Wyoming, Illinois. After a restful visit at home Frank Duryea returned to Springfield andfinished the work on his burner. Now only the lack of a carburetorprevented a trial of the vehicle. He recalls that he studied severalgasoline-engine catalogs and in one of them, a Fairbanks catalog hebelieves, [16] he saw a design that seemed to suit his needs. He decidedto simplify the construction and operation of his carburetor and had asmall bronze casting made to form the body of it. Inside was a gasolinechamber with two tapped openings, one to receive a pipe from the2-gallon gasoline tank mounted above the engine, the other taking a pipeto the overflow tank underneath the engine, thus maintaining thegasoline level without the use of a float valve. This latter tank had ahand pump on one end so that the overflow gasoline could at times bepumped again into the main tank. Gasoline passed from the carburetorchamber through a needle valve, adjusted by a knob on top, then througha tiny tube that entered the pipe leading to the intake valve. It is notcertain whether this intake pipe was at first fitted with the chokearrangement later used with the second engine. Frank, hoping at last to be rewarded for his efforts by the sound ofexplosions from the engine, was ready to give the carriage an indoortrial. Standing astraddle of the reach and facing to the rear, he spunthe flywheel with both hands, taking care not to get his hands caughtbetween the wheel and the frame. His efforts were in vain, as there wascomplete failure to obtain ignition. He then made a new ignition tube, nearly twice as long as the original 4-1/2-inch tube, and turned downits wall as thin as he thought safety allowed. The thinner wall did notconduct the heat off so rapidly and thus kept the tube hot enough topermit ignition. After this slight change, he was able to get a fewoccasional explosions but he does not now believe that the engine everoperated continuously. Each explosion was accompanied by a loud knock, due, undoubtedly, to the movement of the free piston. Had the engineoperated continuously, it is likely that the action of the free pistonwould have shortly wrecked the engine. Further efforts appearedunwarranted until alterations could be made. = ALL AGREEMENTS CONTINGENT UPON STRIKES, ACCIDENTS AND OTHER CAUSES BEYOND OUR CONTROL CABL ADDRESS "MOTODURYEA, " PHILADELPHIA WESTINGHOUSE AND W. U. CODES DURYEA LABORATORIES CHAS. E. DURYEA, CONSULTING ENG'R WE SOLV MECHANICAL AND OTHER PROBLEMS TESTS, SEARCHES, OPINIONS, EXPERT IN PATENT SUITS. DEVELOP INVENTIONS, ASSIST INVENTORS 35 YRS EXPERIENS. HEATING, GAS ENGIN, AUTO, ETC. FOR THINGS TO MAKE OR SEL CONSULT US A PRIDEWORTHY RECORD OF THINGS ACCOMPLISHT PHILADELPHIA, PA. 3528 N. 18TH ST. Dear Mr Mitman 24 Nov 1920 On the train I had some time to puzzle over that car. Been workingnights to make up time lost in the day so did not hav much. I made a sketch for you but did not show the spring that holds thecircuit breaker in contact with the spark point. That thin finger waspart of it. A spring was wound spirally--not helically--around theprojecting end of the breaker pivot and the end of the spring hookt overthe thin finger. See sketch herwith. Just how the central end of the spring wire was fastened to the squareof the pivot I do not kno. We did in some cases bore a hole thru andsimply stick the spring thru but this put most of the action right atthe bend in the wire and it broke quickly. So in other cases we fitted alight grooved spool or pulley and wound the spring around this and soavoided a sharp bend. If this was used it has been lost with the spring. A couple generations of boys playing in that barn was too many. The Haynes steering sketch also worries me. If that vertical post cameup thru that slot in the floor the crank had to be long as the sketchshows in order to get over to the driver conveniently. Then if he triedto make a complete circle with it he could not reach far enuf forward todo it easily. And he had to make a turn or two be cause H shows bevelgears of about same size so the post had to make same number of turnsthe worm made. Sketch herewith to illustrate my thought. Yrs for the historical facts Chas. E. Duryea= [Illustration: FIGURE 17. --LETTER EXPLAINING the circuit breaker springand the brass projection on top of the ignition chamber. Mr. Mitman was, at the time, curator of engineering in the U. S. National Museum. ] The two pistons were first pinned together into a single unit which wasprobably ringless, since it is believed the walls of the outer pistonwere too thin to admit rings. Because the piston no longer struck theexhaust valve, a short rod had to be screwed into the pistonhead; thispushed the valve shut at the completion of the exhaust stroke. Theremaining problem, the opening of the exhaust valve, was solved byscrewing a device to the side of the cylinder which operated from thesidewise motion of the connecting rod. This device shifted a smallspacer between the piston and the striker arm of the exhaust-valve rod, permitting the piston to push open the exhaust valve. On alternatingstrokes the spacer shifted back out of the cylinder; therefore, nocontact was made between piston and striker arm. Sometime in February1893, the altered engine was successfully started. At last the transmission could be tested. Will Russell had come upstairsto watch the trial, and according to a statement by him, given April 30, 1926, Frank, standing to the right of the engine and behind the rearaxle, reached forward and with the combination tiller-belt-shifter, moved the belt into driving position. The carriage started forward, butas it approached the wall of the building Frank discovered that he couldnot get the belt back into the neutral position. In desperation, hegrasped the rear axle with both hands and was dragged a short distance, attempting to stop the machine, before it struck the wall. He had, however, sufficiently retarded it so that no damage was done. This short trial demonstrated some of the weaknesses in the frictiontransmission. Since the speed of the surface of the flywheel, in feetper second, increased in proportion to the distance of the point ofcontact from the center, the outer edge of the belt attempted to runfaster than the inner edge. This conflict of forces not only put anundue load on the motor causing a great loss of power, but it alsocreated a tendency for the belt to work towards the outer edge of theflywheel. Conversely, when the operator desired to return the belt toneutral, it strongly resisted any efforts to slide it toward the centerof the wheel, as Frank had learned from the wall-bumping incident. Furthermore, the rubber belt on the friction drum had worn so badlythat it had to be replaced at least once during the brief experiments. [Illustration: FIGURE 18. --IGNITION CHAMBER, switch, and breaker contactsof the present Duryea engine. ] At this point, Frank and Markham felt that the carriage was anything butsatisfactory. While they were trying to decide what steps should betaken next, Frank added one last improvement to the engine. Fearing thatthe uncooled cylinder might suffer damage from the excessive heat, heconstructed a copper water jacket in two halves, drew them togetheraround the cylinder with clamping rings and soldered the seams. Asbestospacking sealed the end joints where the jacket contacted the cylinder. Thinking back, Frank does not recall that he ever used a water tank withthis engine, though he does remember adding water through the upperjacket opening. The engine was run only for a few brief periodsfollowing this addition. Obviously this collection of patchwork could not fulfill their needs foran engine. First, it would be next to impossible to start if the bodywas placed on the running gear, as the flywheel then would bepractically inaccessible. The absence of rings on the piston caused afurther loss of power to the already overloaded engine. The flywheel wastoo light. The absence of any form of governor left the operator with nocontrol over the engine speed. Ignition was poor, partly owing to thehot-tube arrangement, and partly to the excessive distance between theengine and the carburetor. Frank wrote his brother Charles on February6[17] that in his opinion the mixing chamber was so far from the enginethat the gasoline could not be drawn into the cylinder as liquid, and itwas too cold to vaporize and go in as gas. Thus he had difficulty ingetting the engine started. When it did start the explosions wereunmuffled. Less important to him than these defects, however, was theawkward and unsightly wooden engine mount. Description of the Automobile Sometime in the early part of March, Frank convinced Markham that hecould construct a new and practical engine, using only previously triedmechanical principles. [18] Drawing up new plans for this engine, he tookthem to Charles Marshall who began work on the patterns for the newengine castings. After the patterns had been delivered to the foundry, Frank left Springfield for a short vacation in Groton, Connecticut, where he visited with his fiancée. On May 17, 1893, several weeks afterhis return to Springfield, they were married. The engine castings were undoubtedly received from the foundry prior toFrank Duryea's marriage, and the work of machining and assembling theparts went on through the spring and summer. This engine, still on thecarriage in the Museum of History and Technology, is cased with a waterjacket, and has bases on top to support the front and rear bearings ofthe starting crankshaft, and a base with port on the upper right sidewhere the exhaust-valve housing was to be bolted. On the underside aretwo flanges, forming a base for seating the engine on the axle. Aseparate combustion chamber is cast and bolted to the head. Inside thischamber are located the igniter parts of Frank's electric ignitionsystem. The fixed part, an insulated electrode, is screwed into theright side of the chamber and is connected with the ignition switchoutside, to which one of the ignition wires is attached. A breaker arminside is pinned to a small shaft extending through the top of thechamber. Around the breaker-arm shaft is a small coil spring (originallya spiral spring, according to the letter of Charles Duryea shown in fig. 17), anchored below to a thin brass finger extending toward the rightside of the car, and above to a nut screwed tightly onto the shaft. Thisnut is also the terminal for the other ignition wire. The action of thespring keeps the breaker arm and the electrode in constant contact untilthe push rod on the end of the piston strikes the arm and separates thetwo parts. Breaking contact then produces the ignition spark. Since themechanism would spark at the end of both the exhaust and compressionstrokes, the battery current is conserved by a contact strip, on theunderside of the larger exhaust-valve gear, by means of which the flowof current is cut off during the greater part of the cycle. On the left side of the combustion chamber is bolted the housingcontaining the tiny intake valve. A comparatively weak spring seats thisvalve in order that the suction created by the piston can easily pull itopen. Clamped onto the valve housing is the intake pipe, enclosing thechoke and carrying the carburetor on its forward side. The chokeconsists of two discs which block the pipe, each with four holes at theedges and one in the center. Turning one disc by means of a small handleoutside, so that the four outer holes cannot coincide with those in theother disc, decreases the flow of air and causes all air to rush throughthe center hole, where the tiny carburetor tube passes through. Thepresent carburetor was transferred over from the first engine. WhenFrank later installed the engine on the carriage he noticed the closeproximity of the intake pipe to the open end of the muffler. Believingthat the fumes might choke the engine, he attached a long sheet-metaltube to the intake pipe so that fresh air would be drawn in from a pointfarther forward on the vehicle. Moving to the right side of the engine brings the exhaust-valve assemblyinto view. This valve is contained in a casting bolted over the exhaustport in the side of the cylinder, and from the casting a pipe leads tothe muffler underneath. The valve is pushed open by a rod connected to acrank which is pinned to the lower end of a shaft carrying an iron gearon top. This gear is in mesh with a fiber gear, keyed to the upper endof the crankshaft, with half the number of teeth. This ratio permits theopening of the exhaust valve on every other revolution. The crankshaft of the first engine was retained for the new engine, thusgiving the two engines the same stroke of 5-3/8 inches, but the bore wasincreased slightly to 4-3/8 inches. With this larger bore and with theengine speed increased to 500 rpm, Frank rated this engine at 4 hp. [19]A heavier flywheel, with a governor resting in the upper recess, waspressed onto the crankshaft. As the operator of the vehicle had nocontrol over the carburetor once he climbed into the seat, this governorwas necessary to maintain regular engine speed. Its function was to movea slide on the exhaust-valve unit to prevent the valve from closing. Thus the engine, with the suction broken, could not draw a charge on thenext revolution. During the recent restoration of this carriage it wasfound that while most parts are still intact, nearly all of thegovernor parts are missing. A description of them must therefore bebased on the recollections of Frank Duryea, along with certain evidencesseen on the engine. [Illustration: FIGURE 19. --UNDER SIDE of exhaust valve mechanism showingelectrical contacts that give spark only on every other revolution. ] Just on top of the flywheel, and surrounding the crankshaft, rest tworings, 3-7/8 inches in diameter. Into the opposing surfaces of theserings are cut a series of small inclined planes, appertinent to eachother. On the outer circumference of the upper ring two pins passthrough a pair of lugs mounted in the flywheel, causing the ring torotate with the flywheel, yet permitting vertical movement. Underneath, the other ring is allowed to turn slightly when, by means of twoconnecting links, the arms of the governor push against them. These twoarms, each constructed like a right angle and pivoted at the apex, arearranged directly opposite each other far out in the flywheel recess. Asa weight on one angle of the arm presses outward by centrifugal forceagainst a spring, the other angle presses inward against the connectinglink mentioned above. The turning of the lower set of inclined planesagainst the fixed set above raises the upper ring and the fork restingon it. The upward movement of this fork, which is a continuation of anarm pivoted to a bracket midway between the crankshaft and the slidecarrying the exhaust valve stop, causes the other end of the arm todrop, pulling the slide down with it. In this manner the closing of theexhaust valve is blocked, preventing the intake of the next charge, andtherefore the engine misses one or more explosions until it slows to itsnormal speed. A starting shaft is mounted above the engine casting by a cast-ironbracket on either end. The front end of the shaft has a bevel gear whichis held by a coil spring behind the front bracket, just out of contactwith a bevel gear pressed onto the upper end of the crankshaft. Theshort rear portion of the shaft is a tube which slides over the mainshaft. Fitting the removable handcrank to the squared end of the hollowshaft and turning the crank clockwise, will advance the forward sectionof shaft through the medium of a pair of inclined collars. With thebevel gears now engaged the engine may be cranked. When ignition begins, the inclined collars slide back down each other's surfaces, the shaft isagain shortened, and its bevel gear springs free of the one on thecrankshaft. [Illustration: FIGURE 20. --PISTON AND CONNECTING ROD of second engine. Screw on rod is where oil is poured into connecting rod to lubricate wristpin and crankshaft. ] While Frank worked on his engine, he realized that certain parts of theold running gear would need to be altered or replaced. In view of theheavier and more powerful engine, he felt the old wheels, probablyhaving compressed band hubs, were inadequate. He procured a set of new, heavier wheels[20] with Warner-type, cast-iron reinforced hubs. Theangle iron frame, apparently sturdy enough to carry the added weight, was retained, but it was decided to install a heavier rear axle. [21] Thefront axle assembly was at first allowed to remain unchanged, as was thesteering apparatus. A short time later when the engine and frictiontransmission were bolted in place on the running gear, Frank saw thatthe rigidity of the framework had an undesirable effect. When thevehicle passed over any unevenness in the shop floor, the framework wasdistorted and caused the jackshaft bearings to bind tightly enough onthe shaft to prevent its being turned by hand. In order to provide the3-point suspension necessary to eliminate this distortion, Frankattached the forward parts of the framework to an extra wooden springbar, installing between this bar and the front axle a vertical fifthwheel of the type ordinarily used in a horizontal position in any lightcarriage. Frank next calculated that with the faster running engine the speed ofthe vehicle would be about 15 miles an hour, too much for the heavilyloaded wheels. As he intended to make use of the original transmission, he decided to decrease the speed by increasing the size of the frictiondrum. He accomplished this by sliding a heavy fiber tube over theoriginal drum, bringing its diameter to approximately 14 inches. Theoriginal shipper fork carriage was improved by separating the originalbearings to a greater distance, and eliminating one of the two bearingson one end. This permitted a smooth and free operation of the smallsliding carriage. In August 1893, possibly as a result of indoor experiments, Frankdiscovered that the chains running from the small 5-tooth[22] jackshaftsprockets to the large, bronze, wheel sprockets were tight at some timesand loose at others. This caused considerable unnecessary noise. Thedifficulty apparently was the result of the sprockets being cast and notmachined. The patternmaker had said he believed he could make thepattern accurately enough so that no machining of the castings would benecessary. Nice castings were produced, but "these sprockets were thereason why an unusual construction was put on the crankshaft [meaningjackshaft], " explained Frank Duryea during an interview at the NationalMuseum on November 9, 1956. Elaborating further, in reply to the queriesof E. A. Battison, of the Museum's division of engineering, Duryea toldof the problem and the solution when he explained that the sprockets hadplaces where the shrinkage was not even. The hot metal, contracting asit cooled, did not seem to contract uniformly, creating slightly unequaldistances between teeth. This resulted in the chain hanging quite loosein some places and in others the tightness prevented adjustment. Hecontacted Will Russell, foreman of the Russell shop, where theautomobile was made, and Russell showed him a device, built by GeorgeWarwick, who had made the Warwick bicycle. It was an internal-cut gear, according to Duryea's description, with sprocket teeth on its periphery. With sprockets outside and normal teeth inside, the wheels were about 6inches in diameter, externally. These little internal-gear sprockets were hung on double-shroudedpinions secured to each end of the jackshaft. A solid disc or housingfitted against both ends of the pinion to prevent the internal gearfrom working off sideways. Duryea explained the function of theseunique little parts: "as soon as tension came on that ring gear that wetalked about, it not only tightened the chain hanging on this sprocketon the upper side, but it tightened it on both sides. [The sprocket]rocks right out: both sides of the chain are tight. " This feature is one rarely encountered elsewhere, and Duryea, later inthe interview said, "To tell you the truth, I think I was just a littlebit ashamed about the thing, because I had to pull it off. I didn't likethe looks of it after I got it on. " Two small tanks, each with a capacity of approximately two gallons, weremounted over the engine in the positions they still occupy, the one onthe left for gasoline, [23] the other for water. The small fitting underthe gasoline tank has a thumbscrew shutoff and a glass-sight feed tube, leading to the carburetor. The water tank, an inch longer than thegasoline tank, communicates with the water jacket of the engine throughtwo pieces of half-inch pipe, entering the jacket from above and below. The overflow tank, holding just over a gallon, is suspended between therear axle and the flywheel. A number of mufflers were constructed for the engine. [24] The firstexperimental one was built of wood, being a box 6 × 6 × 15 inches with ahole for the exhaust pipe in one end and a series of small holes in theopposite end. Inside, Frank arranged metal plates which were somewhatshorter than the depth of the box. Every other one was attached to thebottom of the box; the intermediate plates were fastened to the top. This contrivance muffled the sound considerably, but, as might beexpected, soon began to smoke. There can be little doubt that it wasreplaced before any of the outdoor trials began. Another type consistedof a cylindrical metal shell, perhaps six inches in diameter and ten ortwelve inches long. Here a series of perforated baffle plates wereinserted, with alternating solid plates having parts of their externaledges cut away. Two bolts running the length of the muffler held on thecast-iron heads in a manner quite similar to the Model-T Ford mufflersof later years. Though partially satisfactory, Frank, in a November 6, 1957, interview, complained that it made a metallic sound. Perhaps thiswas the muffler he used from September to November 1893. [Illustration: FIGURE 21. --ILLUSTRATION OF THE NO. 2 SAMSON BATTERY usedby the Duryeas in their vehicle. (Smithsonian photo 46858. )] On August 28 Frank wrote to Charles saying the carriage was almost readyfor the road and that he hoped to take it out for a test on the comingSaturday, "off somewhere so no one will see us. .. . "[25] There is noevidence showing whether the amount of remaining work permitted theproposed trial on September 2. The body was finally replaced on therunning gear, at which time it was found necessary to raise the seatcushion several inches by the insertion of a framework made of oldcrating boards. This allowed sufficient room between the seat and theframe to suspend the batteries and coil. Six no. 2 Samson batteries werecontained in this space, three on each side, in rows parallel to theside of the vehicle. The Samson battery consisted of a glass jarcontaining a solution of ammonia salts and water, with a carbon rod inthe center, housing a zinc rod. It is difficult to understand why theyused Samson batteries rather than dry cells; perhaps they were concernedwith the mounting cost of the machine and were making use of partsalready on hand. [26] A coil, possibly from an old gaslight ignitersystem, accompanied the Samson batteries under the seat. This originalcoil is now missing. The iron dash frame, previously recovered and provided with a rain apronto be pulled up over the knees in the event a heavy rain blew in underthe carriage top, was bolted back in place. Frank and Mr. Markham gavethe carriage a quick painting; later Frank admitted, "the machine neverhad a good job of painting. "[27] Before the motor wagon actually gotonto the road, a reporter on the _Springfield Evening Union_ got somestatistics on it and an item appeared on September 16, giving the firstpublic notice of the machine. =NO USE FOR HORSES. Springfield Mechanics Devise a New Mode of Travel. Ingenious Wagon Now Being Made in This City for Which the Makers ClaimGreat Things. A new motor carriage, which, if the preliminary tests prove successfulas is expected, will revolutionize the mode of travel on highways, anddo away with the horse as a means of transportation, is being made inthis city. It is quite probable that within a short time one may be ableto see an ordinary carriage in almost every respect, running along thestreets or climbing country hills without visible means of propulsion. The carriage is being built by J. F. Duryea, the designer and B. F. Markham, who have been at work on it for over a year. The vehicle wasdesigned by C. E. Duryea, a bicycle manufacturer of Peoria, Ill. , and hecommunicated his scheme to his brother, who is a practical machanic inthis city. The propelling power is furnished by a two-horse power gasoline motorsituated near the rear axle and which, when started, runs continuouslyto the end of the trip, notwithstanding the number of times the carriagemay be stopped. The speed of the motor is uniform, being about 500revolutions a minute, and is so arranged that it gives a multipliedpower for climbing hills and the lower the rate of speed the greaterpower is furnished by the motor. The slowest that the carriage can bedriven is three miles an hour and the speed can be increased to fourteenor fifteen miles an hour. The power is transferred from the drivingwheel of the motor, which runs horizontally with the main shaft by anendless friction belt running on a drum wheel. The belt is controlled bya lever within easy reach of the driver and is shifted along the drumwheel to increase or decrease the speed. The driving wheel is abouttwenty inches in diameter, having in its center a depression to whichthe belt is shifted to stop the carriage. The carriage can be reversed by shifting the belt from the end of thedrum, which gives the forward motion to the opposite side beyond thedepression in the driving wheel. The power which has been transferred tothe driving shaft from the motor is in turn transferred to the two rearwheels of the carriage by a combination gear and sprockets. An endlesschain connects the sprockets on the carriage wheels to the sprocketwheels on the driving shaft. All of the motive power is located underthe body of an ordinary phaeton, the hight of which is not increased bythe machinery. The motor is started by a crank which is easily appliedto a shaft in the rear of the carriage and the gasoline is ignited inthe cylinder by electricity. An automatic device stops the flow ofgasoline into the cylinder when the motor ceases running. The gasolineis carried in tanks, which hold about two gallons, and which will runthe carriage for about eight hours. The wagon is guided by a bicyclebar, and the speed is also controlled by this bar. The method employed in this is as follows: To start the carriage pressthe lever down; to reverse it throw the lever up and to guide the wagonturn the lever either to the right or left. The front axle instead ofturning horizontally plays up and down, in order that the machinery maybe on a level with the rear wheels, while the front wheels are set onthe axle by a pivotal joint and are connected with the guiding lever bybars with ball bearings. The carriage complete weighs about 220 pounds, and the essential features are already covered by patents while othersare pending. It is estimated that the carriages can be sold for about $400, and astock company will probably be formed to manufacture them. = [Illustration: FIGURE 22. --FROM THE _Springfield Evening Union_, September 16, 1893. ] Toward the latter part of the following week, Frank was ready to givethe product of his labors its first road trial. On September 21 thecompleted carriage was rolled onto the elevator at Russell's shop. Seeing that the running gear was too long for the elevator, they raisedthe front of the machine, resting the entire weight of 750 pounds on therear wheels. Once outside the building, they pushed it into an areabetween the Russell and Stacy buildings. After dark, "so no one willsee, " Will Bemis, Mr. Markham's son-in-law, brought a horse and theypulled the phaeton out to his barn on Spruce Street. [28] There, onSpruce and Florence Streets the first tests were made. The next dayFrank wrote his brother saying, "Have tried it (the carriage) finallyand thoroughly and quit trying until some changes are made. Belttransmission very bad. [29] Engine all right. " He did admit the engineseemed to be well loaded most of the time. He also had an idea in mindto replace the poor transmission, explaining the plan to Charles: "Thethree gears[30] on secondary shaft have friction clutches, the two bevelgears on same shaft are controlled by a clutch which frees one andclutches the other at will. This provides a reverse. " =PRIMARY SPARK COILS. FOR ELECTRIC GAS LIGHTING. Cat. No. 48304. 8 inch Price, each, $3 20 " 50304. 10 " " 3 70 " 52304. 12 " " 4 30 " 54304. Detached Gas Lighting Relays " 2 75 For Spark Coils with Relay Attachment, add $2. 50 to price for Spark Coil. = [Illustration: FIGURE 23. --TYPE OF SPARK COIL the Duryeas are believed tohave used in their electrical circuit, as shown in a catalog illustration. (Smithsonian photo 46858-A. )] The _Springfield Evening Union_ of September 22 carried a notice of thetrial. This report, too, commented on the faulty transmission and theplan already in Frank's mind for the new transmission. . .. The friction belt allowed of the speed being steadily increased or diminished at the will of the driver and caused no sudden forward motion of the carriage, but while this arrangement has many advantages it uses up the power so that the two-horse power furnished by the motor [somewhat less than the rating Frank gave the engine] was reduced to less than three-fourths horse power on reaching the main shaft. This would not be sufficient to propel the carriage up steep grades but would be sufficient to run the carriage on level road. The inventors will do away with this belt in favor of a clamp gear and will make the drum wheel smaller. By this means there will be very little power lost in transmission to the shaft and by a patented arrangement the carriage may be started gradually but the speed must be increased by shifting the clamp gear to a succession of gears on the driving wheel of the motor. The speed of the carriage will be fixed permanently according to the size of the gear that the smaller one is shifted to. The test of the machine with the gear arrangement will be made soon. In October Frank decided on another vacation and went to Chicago to seethe Columbian Exposition. Charles had come up from Peoria to see thefair and the two talked over the progress on their motor wagon, anddiscussed the transmission problem. They gave particular attention toeverything relating to engines and motor carriages, and Frank recallsseeing a Daimler quadricycle that impressed him with its performance. [31]Just what decisions the two might have made there are unknown, yet it islikely that they agreed to give the old transmission one more chance toprove itself. Returning to Springfield, probably in the first week of November, Frankgave the friction drive its final test, this time substituting a leatherbelt for the rubber one first used. [32] Mr. Markham, though intenselyinterested in the experiments, apparently was dubious concerning thesafety of the carriage. It had no brakes, and fearing failure of thetransmission on a downgrade, he was reluctant to ride in the machine. OnNovember 9 he asked Will Bemis to try it for him. The following day the_Springfield Morning Union_ gave a description of the run: Residents in the vicinity of Florence street flocked to the windows yesterday afternoon astonished to see gliding by in the roadway a common top carriage with no shafts and no horse attached. The vehicle is operated by gasoline and is the invention of Erwin Markham and J. F. Duryea. It has been previously described in The Union and the trial yesterday was simply to ascertain the practical value of a leather friction surface which has been substituted for the rubber one previously used. The vehicle, which was operated by Mr. Bemis, started from the corner of Hancock avenue and Spruce street and went up the avenue, up Hancock street and started down Florence street, working finely, but when about half-way down the latter street it stopped short, refusing to move. Investigation showed that the bearing had been worn smooth by the friction and a little water sprinkled upon it put it in running condition again. The rest of the trip was made down Florence and down Spruce street, to the residence of the inventors. They hope to have the vehicle in good working condition soon. [Illustration: FIGURE 24. --RUNNING GEAR OF DURYEA VEHICLE, showing thesecond engine and other parts as used in January 1894. ] The same evening, the late edition ran a brief paragraph stating that"the test was made to determine the value of a leather friction surfacefor propelling the wagon, that had been substituted in place of therubber surface, used in the former test. " Bemis, according to FrankDuryea's recollection, was not impressed with the performance of themachine, saying "the thing is absolutely useless, " and for a time itappeared that further support from Markham would not be forthcoming. Frank, believing eventual success to be near, drew up plans showing hisgeared transmission, and with these managed to gain Markham's partialsupport. Money for material and use of the shop was to continue, butFrank was to complete the work on his own time. Now receiving no salary, Frank worked hurriedly on the transmissionthroughout late November, December, and the first two weeks of January. First discarding the old friction drum and shaft, and the shipper-forkcarriage, he bolted a rawhide bevel gear to the lower surface of theflywheel. This turns two bevel gears, in opposite directions, on acountershaft directly underneath, approximately in the position of theold jackshaft. The right bevel gear is secured to the main countershafton which two clutches are mounted, one on each side of the crankshaft. On a sleeve turning freely around the countershaft is mounted thereverse bevel gear and clutch. Three free-running clutch drums, theright one carrying the high-speed gear, the two on the left carrying thecombination low speed and reverse gear between them, complete thecountershaft assembly. The clutch assemblies are of Frank Duryea'sdesign, having internal arms, expanding outward to press leather-facedshoes against the inner surface of the drum, thus securing the drum andits gear to the shaft. Behind this machinery is the jackshaft with itssmall differential on the right, two laminated rawhide gears[33] meshingwith the iron gears of the countershaft, and the internal-gear sprocketshanging on the small pinions at either end. A sliding cam bar, mountednearly in the position of the former shipper-fork carriage, is operatedby the vertical movement of the tiller handle to engage any one of thethree clutches. With the tiller depressed, the vehicle is in reverse. Elevating it slightly puts it into low gear, and raising it still higherruns the machine at its highest speed. [Illustration: FIGURE 25. --HALF OF JACKSHAFT, showing rawhide gears, double shrouded pinion and half of the Columbia differential. ] [Illustration: FIGURE 26. --HALF OF JACKSHAFT showing double-shroudedpinion and half of the Columbia differential. [Illustration: FIGURE 27. --CAM BAR IN FOREGROUND, operated by tiller, actuates the various clutches of the transmission. The overflow gasolinetank with the hand pump can be seen in the rear. ] = UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. CHARLES E. DURYEA, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS. ROAD-VEHICLE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 540, 648, dated June 11, 1895. Application filed April 30, 1894. Serial No. 509, 466. (No model. ) _To all whom it may concern_: Be it known that I, CHARLES E. DURYEA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements 5 in Road-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification. The object of this invention is to produce a road vehicle which shall be self-propelled, not unduly heavy, simple and easy of control and 10 comparatively inexpensive, together with such minor objects as will become hereinafter apparent. The invention more particularly relates to the construction and arrangement of parts for 15 constituting the driving gearing and to the means for controlling the action thereof; to an improved manner of mounting the front, or steering, wheels upon the front axle, and of mounting the said axle relative to the running 20 gear frame, and to the means for effecting the steering; to the appliances for the support of the motor and driving mechanism in an advantageous and efficient manner, and, generally, to improved and simplified details 25 of construction throughout the vehicle, all as will hereinafter be rendered more apparent, and the invention consists in constructions and combinations of parts, all substantially as will hereinafter fully appear and be set 30 forth in the claims. Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation from front to rear of the improved road-vehicle. Fig. 2 is 35 a plan view of the running and driving gear, the vehicle-body being understood as removed. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the vehicle. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the support and suspension devices for the driving mechanism. 40 Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view, longitudinally, through the shiftable driving-gear, the controlling devices employed in conjunction with this mechanism being seen in side elevation. Figs. 6 and 7 show the above-mentioned 45 controlling devices as in operative relations differing the one from the other and also from that of Fig. 5. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the views. 50 The parts will now be described in detail with reference to said drawings, and A represents the body which is spring supported on the frame, B, of the running gear. This frame, as shown, is rectangular, and has the 55 body-supporting springs, B{2}, similar to those found in common carriages. This frame has, affixed thereto, at its rear ends, sleeves, _a_, _a_, which loosely embrace the rear wheel axle, D, which is the driven axle of the vehicle. The 60 axle, E, for the front wheels is centrally secured to the running gear frame, B, by the horizontal king-bolt, _b_, whereby such axle may have a swinging movement relative to the frame in a vertical plane, but it has no 65 swinging movement horizontally, the wheels being swivel-mounted on the ends of this axle peculiarly, as will shortly hereinafter be set forth. The body, as shown, is in the form of an 70 inverted box, the motor, H, and driving gear being accommodated within the downwardly opening inclosure constituted thereby, and the body also has the upwardly open box-like forward extension, or pit, A{2}, for the accommodation 75 of the feet of the rider, the rider's seat being constituted by the top forward portion of the box body. Some other suitable design of body may, of course, be used in lieu of this one shown. 80 The front wheels, _d_, _d_, are hung to the front axle, E, so that the center of each wheel base is in a line coincident with the axis of the pivotal connection which is provided between the journals for the wheels and the axle, which 85 arrangement practically destroys any tendency to deflection from the course that might otherwise arise from striking an obstacle, and so renders the steering easier. In order to effect this the axle is formed with yoked 90 ends, the yoke members, _f_, _f_, being above and below the longitudinal line of the axle. The short journal, _g_, shown for each wheel, has at its inner end an upwardly and downwardly extended arm, _h_, which is return-bent to be 95 loosely embraced by the axle yoke, _f_, _f_. The cone pointed screws, _c_, passed through the yoke members, _f_, and into sockets therefor in the arms, _h_, of the journals, _g_, constitute the means for the swivel connection between said 100 parts. The lock-nuts, _c_{2}, manifestly, are employed with utility in this connection. It will be perceived that inasmuch as in the arrangement shown, the pivotal connections= = (No Model. ) 4 Sheets--Sheet 2. C. E. DURYEA. ROAD VEHICLE. No. 540, 648. Patented June 11, 1895. _Fig. 2. _ _Witnesses_: J. D. Garfield K. I. Clemons _Inventor_, Chas. E. Duryea by Chaprictlo Attys. = [Illustration: FIGURE 28. --A DRAWING AND THE FIRST PAGE of thespecifications of the first patent issued to C. E. Duryea. It can bereadily seen that this drawing was not made after the plan of the firstvehicle. ] As the work moved nearer completion Frank realized that the final testswould have to be conducted on roads made icy by falling snows. He hadconsiderable doubt whether the narrow iron tires would have enoughtraction to move the phaeton. Soon he devised an expedient for thissituation, communicating to Charles on December 22 that he was "havingJack Swaine [a local blacksmith] make a couple of clutch rims so we canget over this snow and ice. .. . Our detachable rims referred to will beof 1/8 iron 1-3/4 wide and drawn together at one point by two screws, one on either side of felloe. It will be studded with calks in tworows. "[34] [Illustration: FIGURE 29. --MR. AND MRS. FRANK DURYEA examining vehiclein the Smithsonian Institution before restoration. ] January 18, 1894, was a day of triumph for Frank Duryea. Writing Charlesabout his success the next day he said, "Took out carriage again lastnight and gave it another test about 9 o'clock. " The only difficulty hementioned was a slight irregularity in the engine, caused by the tinyleather pad in the exhaust-valve mechanism falling out. [35] Speaking ofthis trip, Frank recalled in 1956: When I got this car ready to run one night, I took it out and I had a young fellow with me; I thought I might need him to help push in case the car didn't work. .. . We ran from the area of the shop where it was built down on Taylor Street. We started out and ran up Worthington Street hill, [36] on top of what you might call "the Bluff" in Springfield. Then we drove along over level roads from there to the home of Mr. Markham who lived with his son-in-law, Will Bemis, and there we refilled this tank with water. [At this point he was asked if it was pretty well emptied by then. ] Yes, I said in my account of it that when we got up there the water was boiling furiously. Well, no doubt it was. We refilled it and then we turned it back and drove down along the Central Street hill and along Maple, crossed into State Street, dropped down to Dwight, went west along Dwight to the vicinity where we had a shed that we could put the car in for the night. During that trip we had run, I think, just about six miles, maybe a little bit more. That was the first trip with this vehicle. It was the first trip of anything more than a few hundred yards that the car had ever made. = DURYEA AUTOMOBILE BUILT BY J. F. AND C. E. DURYEA 1893 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM CAT. #307, 199 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION SEPT. 1960 A. A. BALUNEK= Now Frank could give demonstration rides with the motor carriage, hopingto encourage more investors to back future work. Cautious Mr. Markhamfinally got his ride, though Frank had to assure him that the engine ofthe brakeless vehicle would hold them back on any hill they woulddescend. The carriage on which he had spent so many hours was to seelittle use after that. Its total mileage is probably less than a hundredmiles. Little additional work is known to have been performed on thecarriage after January 1894; there is, however, a letter[37] Frank senthis brother on January 19 which tells of contemplated mufflerimprovements. Another message was dispatched to Charles on March 22, mentioning the good performance of the phaeton on Harrison Avenuehill. [38] This was possibly the last run of the machine, for no furtherreferences have been discovered. Frank spent the months of February and March in preparing drawings, someof which accompanied their first patent application, [39] while otherswere to be used in the construction of an improved, 2-cylinder carriage. Work on the new machine started in April. The old phaeton, in theabsence of used-car lots, was put into storage in the Bemis barn. [40]Later, on the formation of the Duryea Motor Wagon Company in 1895, itwas removed to the barn of D. A. Reed, treasurer of the company. [41]There it remained until 1920, when it was obtained by Inglis M. Uppercuand presented to the U. S. National Museum. U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1967 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. GovernmentPrinting Office Washington, D. C. 20402--Price 30 cents Footnotes: [1] S. H. OLIVER, _Automobiles and Motorcycles in the U. S. NationalMuseum_ (U. S. National Museum Bulletin 213, Washington: SmithsonianInstitution, 1957), p. 24. [2] G. R. DOYLE, _The World's Automobiles_ (London: Temple PressLimited, 1959), p. 67. [3] Recorded interview with Frank Duryea in the U. S. National Museum, November 9, 1956. [4] Charles Duryea's statement to _Springfield Daily Republican_, April14, 1937. [5] FRANK DURYEA, _America's First Automobile_ (Springfield, Mass. :Donald Macaulay, 1942), p. 4. [6] Letter from Charles Duryea to Alfred Reeves, March 25, 1920; copy inMuseum files. [7] History notes dictated by Charles E. Duryea in the office of DavidBeecroft, editor of _Automobile Trade Journal_, on January 10, 1925. Copy in Museum files. Hereinafter, these notes are referred to as"history. " [8] Frank Duryea in statement made to the Senate Committee on PublicAdministration of Massachusetts, February 9, 1952. [9] DURYEA, op. Cit. (footnote 5), p. 6. [10] Copy of contract in Museum files. [11] Affidavit of William Rattman, March 19, 1943, states that theRussell ledgers give that date. [12] Recorded interview with Frank Duryea in U. S. National Museum, November 6, 1957. [13] Letter from Frank Duryea to David Beecroft, November 15, 1924; copyin Museum files. [14] Letter from Charles Duryea to C. W. Mitman, March 21, 1922; copy inMuseum files. [15] See "history" (footnote 7), p. 6. [16] DURYEA, op. Cit. (footnote 5), p. 8. [17] Copy of letter in Museum files. [18] DURYEA, op. Cit. (footnote 5), p. 12. [19] Letter from Frank Duryea to Charles Duryea, November 3, 1893, states that the engine could be run at 700 as well as 500 rpm. Copy inMuseum files. [20] DURYEA, op. Cit. (footnote 5), p. 14. Also in letter from CharlesDuryea to C. W. Mitman, January 11, 1922; copy in Museum files. [21] Letter from Charles Duryea to C. W. Mitman, January 11, 1922; alsoletter from Frank Duryea to David Beecroft, November 15, 1924. Copies inMuseum files. [22] Letter from Charles Duryea to F. A. Taylor, December 5, 1936, sayshe "thought" they had five teeth. Copy in Museum files. [23] Frank later wrote his brother, January 1894, that he fixed the tankso it would not draw sediment from the bottom. Copy of letter in Museumfiles. [24] The number of mufflers Frank Duryea constructed is not known. Hewrote Charles, December 22, 1893, that he "will try a new muffler also. " [25] Selden Patent Evidence, vol. 9, p. 110. [26] See "history" (footnote 7), p. 2. Charles wrote, "Some parts ofthese [referring to the batteries], like the jars, I had on hand for sixor eight years, and did not need to buy. " [27] Ibid. , p. 15. [28] Ibid. , p. 15 [29] Frank stated in this letter that the friction drum originally hadtwo belts, forward and reverse, but since they tended to foul eachother, he removed the reverse belt and left the other to serve for bothdirections. How the shipper fork might have handled two belts is notunderstood. [30] As actually constructed there are only two gears on the secondaryshaft. He obviously discovered that one gear secured to two clutcheswould serve for both forward and reverse. Space was also limited. [31] Recorded interview with Frank Duryea in U. S. National Museum, November 9, 1956. [32] Letter from Frank Duryea to Charles Duryea, November 8, 1893. Copyin Museum files. [33] Frank Duryea, in a recorded interview in the U. S. National Museumon November 6, 1957, said that he believed these had been purchased fromRochester Rawhide Company. [34] Letter from Frank Duryea to Charles Duryea, December 22, 1893. Alsoletter from Frank Duryea to David Beecroft, November 15, 1924. Copies inMuseum files. [35] Telling of the first use of the car in later days, Frank Duryeamentions the many noises and vibrations that accompanied the trip: thevibrating tiller, the tinny sounding muffler, the clattering chains. Helater reported speeds of 3 mph in low gear and 8 mph in high gear. [36] Letter from Frank Duryea to Charles Duryea, Jan. 19, 1894, saysthey went up hill via Summer and Armor Streets, then out Walnut toBemis' at Central Street School. [37] The letter read: "I have designed a new muffler and we will proceedto make it before long, in a day or two. Instead of one shell 1/8-inchthick I shall put a shell 1/16-inch thick inside another of equalthickness, but about 1 inch greater diameter i. E. , one chamber withinanother so as to cause sound to turn corners to get out. Still anothershell will be added if it prove insufficient, making it turn aboutagain--taking care in each case to give ample room for expansion--outerone need not be more than 1/32 inch possibly. Will let two threaded rodswith nuts hold heads on both or on three cases, if the 3d be essential. " [38] This letter gives further proof that the car never had a brake. Frank said the car came back down the hill with no brake, but that theengine held the vehicle back. [39] DURYEA, op. Cit. (footnote 5), p. 37. [40] It is possible that a few parts were removed at this time to beused on the two-cylinder car. The muffler may have been one of these, and even more likely, the governor parts. Charles Duryea wrote to C. W. Mitman December 27, 1921, stating that his younger brother Otho and aHenry Wells had put in a battery and gasoline in 1897 and started theengine. Because the chains were not on the car they could not attempt tooperate it; but the engine ran too fast, and finally something broke, probably the engine frame, found to be broken during the recentrestoration. Charles thought the engine ran too fast because some of thegovernor parts were already missing. [41] Recorded interview with Frank Duryea in the U. S. National Museum, November 9, 1956. On the formation of the Duryea Motor Wagon Company, Mr. Markham was rewarded for his part of the venture. He had investednearly $3000 in the work, and sold out his rights in the company forapproximately a $2000 profit. Transcriber's Notes: Passages in italics are indicated by _underscore_. The text contained in several of the illustrations, which has been transcribed for this text file, is indicated by =text=. Superscript characters are enclosed in brackets {x}. Additional spacing after some of the quotes is intentional to indicate both the end of a quotation and the beginning of a new paragraph as presented in the original text. Letters printed upside down were corrected silently. Misprint " he" corrected to "the" (page 8).