HORSELESS CARRIAGES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1264, 21 May 1896, Page 11

HORSELESS CARRIAGES.

London, March 28. Under the auspices of the Motor Car Club an invitation trial trip was lately given of the, locomotion of the future, in the grounds and galleries of tho Imperial Institute. The object of the meeting was to convince our legislators of the virtues of the horseless carriage, in view of a Bill in Parliament for the introduction of tho motor car as a vehicle of ordinary traffic in our streets. As tho law now stands, horseless carriages can only travel in public places at the same rate as a man can walk, and must bo preceded by a herald carrying a red flag, in the familiar manner of a steamroller. A largo contingent of members of the Lords and Commons responded to the invitation, and I was pleased at having the opportunity of sharing their experiences. In a preliminary lecture we were initiated into the merits of the motor cars—their safety, their freedom from vibration, and their great cheapness in working, calculated nt :jd a mile. Tho trial trips offered convincing proof that these mechanical cars were reassuringly safe. In the open ground a variety of gradients had been established, and the cars climbed up and down with ease and .steadiness. Moreover, in the middle of a steep incline wo wore able to bring ourselves to a standstill without the least dillieulty. Each of the four cars exhibited was the product of a different patent, but the lack' of variety in their construction offers a wide field to the imaginative inventor. There is no reason whatever why a horseless carriage should proclaim loudly the absence of the horse. Rather should it have an original design of its own, artistic while serviceable. The specimens on view were all more or less like an ordinary barouche or victoria, from which the pole has keen removed. I found in travelling that the shaking was very slight, and the way the machine answered to the steering-gear immediate and satisfactory ; but the noise, and worse still, the smell of the petroleum, were unspeakably disagreeable; and unless some means bo devised for remedying those drawbacks, I, for one, should be very sorry to exchange tho locomotion of tho present for the locomotion of the future.

In France, however, the “ to bo or not to 1)0 ” of motor cars i.s no longer in the balance ; they stand already on tho ranks for hire, and, as everything resolves itself into a question of L.S.D., wo have only to bo convinced of their inexpensiveness in use to see tho native conservatism of tho English character go down before them. Therefore it is to the improvement in their conditions and designs—instead of to their suppression- that the thoughts of practical men should be directed. A huge fortune awaits the inventor of a device for neutralising tho smell of the oil, or locating it so as not to inconvenience travellers. This ought to bo easy. Personally, if equal safety and cheapness can be guaranteed, I

think tho future is with cars driven by electricity. The appearance of tho new vehicle is already becoming familiar in the streets of Birmingham by means of one or two pioneer specimens. These are allowed to be driven through the sanction of the Chief of Police, and on Wednesday permission was obtained by Messrs L’Hollier, Gascoine and Co. to run one of their motor carriages in Cannon Hill Park. Tho vehicle selected was not far different in shape from an ordinary landau, although the sitting accommodation is more elevated by reason of the mechanism underneath, and there is no box-seat-, the vehicle being controlled from the centre. With a dogcartseat added at the back, there is loom altogether for six persons. Locomotive-power is supplied by tho Roger motor, the principle of which is, briefly, that air is “ aspirated” through a petroleum tank, and the vapour thus formed, after receiving an atmospheric addition, is conveyed to a cylinder, where an electric spark producing an explosion gives the necessary propulsion to the vehicle. The motor is quite independent, the power being conveyed by belting to tho driving-wheel, and thence by differential chain gear to the axles. Tho strength cf tho motor is between four aud five horse-power, aud tho tank will store four gallons of petroleum, enough for a journey of about 130 miles. The carriage weighs l-i-cwt, and is balanced on tho hind axle. The )>elts connecting tho motor with tho driving - gear grapple two pulleys of different circumference on the same shaft, securing in this way two distinct grades of speed, which are interchangeable by a very simple mechanism, and which are varied in themselves by a trigger, which regulates the petroleum supply. 'The samo trigger, by cutting off the supply altogether, produces a brake action, as tho cylinder then becomes filled with compressed air. The steering is manipulated by a light horizontal key which tho driver holds from the left-hand seat of tho carriage, tho other regulators being also conveniently within his reach. By utilising tho principle of supplementary angles, the steering is made exceptionally smooth, the front axle and wheels moving as a whole, and thus preventing any lateral strain in sharp turning. There is no steam or smoke, thanks to a system of water-cooling, reinforced by an arrangement of atmospheric currents. The wheels are tired with solid rubber. In tho journey to the park along Bristol road the carriage—driven by M. Courtois (said to bo one of the most export “coachmen” in Franco), and attended by Mr L’Hollior—showed perfect adaptability to street traffic, and, although moving at a high speed, was subject to instant control. The few revolutions necessary to start tho motor before setting out cause a certain vibration to be experienced by the occupants, but this decreases as speed is attained, and cannot bo described as a source of discomfort. Several circuits of the park were made, and to those who enjoyed the use of tho novel conveyance were both pleasant and interesting. A speed of about IS miles an hour was attained with ease, and tho carriage is understood to be quite capable of this average rate in country travelling. The motion was smooth and regular, and tho rate of progress most invigorating. The speed could bo changed instantaneously, and yet without jerking ; and tho brake action of tho motor itself when deprived of petroleum appeared so effoctivo as to render tho hand and foot- brakes with which tho carriage is supplied almost superfluous. The dexterity of tho steering apparatus was almost a revelation to onlookers. The sharpest corners could bo turned at high speed without any visible tendency to overbalance, and —-whether all the credit is due to tho inventor, or part of it to tho agility of M. Courtois’s coachmanship—some of tho performances in this department approached the startling. If there was any hint of weakness, it seemed to bo a dillieulty in carrying a full complement of passengers up a stiff gradient which had been rendered soft by tho rain ; upon sound road tho hills presented no obstacle. The mechanism and working of the new carriage were lucidly and interestingly explained by Mr L’Hollier and M. Courtois.