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Robert William Thomsons Road Steamer (ca. 1867).

Thomsons „leichtes“ Dampf-Tricycle wog 5 sh. lb. Angetrieben von zwei liegenden 6 hp Motoren im Heck, hatte es einen mittig angebrachten, stehenden Kessel und Thomsons 1867 patentierte Vollgummiräder (ca. 1870).

Thomson Road Steamer ist die Bezeichnung für eine Reihe unterschiedlicher Dampf-Tricycles, die der schottische Ingenieur Robert William Thomson (1822–1873) 1867 patentierte und in kleinen Stückzahlen herstellte. Diese Dampfwagen dienten als Zugmaschinen im Schwerlast- und Personentransport und wurden zur Deckung der Nachfrage von mehreren Maschinen- und Lokomotivenherstellern in Lizenz nachgebaut.

Robert William Thomson“

→ Hauptartikel: Robert William Thomson

Robert William Thomson war das elfte von zwölf Kindern einer Familie, die ihr Geld mit einer Wollspinnerei verdiente. Robert, Jahrgang 1822, wurde im schottischen Stonehaven geboren. Seine ersten Erfindungen machte er mit 17 Jahren; das Patent für das Aerial wheel, das ihn historisch relevant macht, erhielt er im Alter von 23 Jahren. Zuvor hatte er eine Methode zur gefahrlosen elektrischen Auslösung von Sprengungen patentiert und mit respektive für bedeutende Persönlichkeiten des Eisenbahnwesens gearbeitet. Ab 1844 war er als beratender Ingenieur im Eisenbahnbau selbständig tätig. Von 1852 bis 1862 lebte er als Agent einer Engineeringfirma auf Java. Auch von dort reichte er Patente ein. Gesundheitshalber zurück aus Polynesien, entwickelte er ein weiteres Radsystem - diesmal aus Vollgummi - und baute die dreirädrigen Road Steamer als Dampfzugmaschinen für Personen- und Schwertransporte auf der Straße. Er starb 1873 an den Folgewn seiner Krankheit, die ihn zunehmend in seiner Gehfähigkeit eingeschränkt hatte.

Vorarbeiten

Das „elstische Rad“

Im März 1847 wurde das Thomson-Rad im Londoner Regent’s Park öffentlich vorgeführt und in der Folge an mehreren Kutschen angebracht mit positiven Ergebnissen bezüglich Fahrkomfort und Lärmreduktion. An einer Brougham-Kutsche hielt ein Satz Aerial wheels immerhin 1200 Meilen (ca. 2000 km). Für eine praktische Anwendung war es indes zu früh. Im Kutschen- und Fuhrwerksbau bestand bei einem Preis von GB£ 42.00 verständlicherweise kaum Nachfrage und für die schweren Dampfwagen mit oft über 5 Tonnen Gewicht scheint das Rad nicht geeignet gewesen zu sein.

Thomson bedauerte den Mangel an preisgünstigeren und besseren Materialien, insbesondere an dünneren Gummibelägen, die seinen Luftreifen praktikabler gemacht hätten. Dennoch ließ er ihn 1846 in Frankreich und 1847 in den USA patentieren. Seine Idee geriet rasch in Vergessenheit, obwohl er selber die weitere Entwicklung beobachtete. Später wandte er sich dem Vollgummi-„Elastikreifen“ zu, den er auch auf seinen Dampfwagen verwendete und zu dem er zwischen 1867 und 1873 nicht weniger als sieben Patent erhielt.

The resilience of the stout vulcanised rubber tyres allowed Thomson’s lightweight five ton steam engine to run on “hard or soft, wet or dry surfaces, over obstacles, uphill or downhill”. In addition, the thick rubber tyres did not damage the roads as did the iron wheels of heavy traction engines. Thomson's first road steamers, manufactured in his own small workshop in Leith, were fitted with three wheels, the small single wheel at the front being directly below the steering wheel. The tyres, which were 125 mm (5") thick, were corrugated internally and adhered to the wheel by friction.

For many years Thomson was frustrated by the lack of thin rubber and he turned to the development of his solid rubber tyres. It was not until 43 years later that the pneumatic tyre returned, when it was developed as a bicycle tyre by John Boyd Dunlop. Dunlop was granted a patent in 1888 but two years later was officially informed that it was invalid as Thomson's patent preceded it.

Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton Crompton

Nicholson: The Birth of the British Motor Car, 1769-1897, Bd. 2: Revival and Defeat, 1842-93. 1982, S. 241.

v

Thomson war frustriert von den materialtechnischen Einschränkungen seines Aerial wheel. Seine Grundidee des leisen, griffigen Reifens versuchte er nun über Vollgummiräder zu verwirklichen. Nachdem er bereits 1851 einen entsprechend ausgestatteten Rollstuhl an der Great Exhibition gezeigt hatte, begann er auf Java an der ernsthaften Umsetzung, ein Patent dazu erhielt er aber erst am 24. Oktober 1867 mit der Nr. 2986.

In 1867 he patented solid India-rubber tyres for his road steamers. The Scotsman described this application of vulcanised India-rubber to the wheels of road steamers as "the greatest step which had ever been made in the use of steam on common roads". The resilience of the stout rubber tyres allowed his lightweight five ton steam engine to run on hard or soft, wet or dry surfaces, over obstacles, uphill or downhill. In addition, the thick rubber tyres did not damage the roads as did the iron wheels of heavy traction engines. Thomson's first road steamers, manufactured in his own small workshop in Leith, were fitted with three wheels, the small single wheel at the front being directly below the steering wheel. The tyres, which were 125 mm (5") thick, were corrugated internally and adhered to the wheel by friction.

• Vollgummireifen („Elastic wheel“); Patent Nr. 2986 vom 24. Oktober 1867.

Folgepatente:

• Nr. 573 vom 26. Februar 1870
• Nr. 601 vom 1. März 1870
• Nr. 2630 vom 4. Oktober 1870
• Nr. 434 vom 18 Februar 1871
• Nr. 2409 vom 13 September 1871
• Nr. 775 vom 4. März 1873.

Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton Crompton

Benutzer:Chief tin cloud/Thomson Road Steamer

In Leith stellte er mindestens einen Dampfwagen nach eigenem Patent her. Der erste dieser Road Steamer war eine Zugmaschine und für den Transport von Zuckerdosen auf Java gedacht. Thomson griff dabei auf seine alte Idee mit elastischen Reifen zurück und entwarf dazu ein Radsystem, bei dem ein weicher Vollgummireifen nur durch Friktionskraft auf der Felge gehalten wird. Das hohe Gewicht des Wagens drückt die Felge nach unten, wodurch sich die Auflagefläche des Reifens auf dem Boden erhöht und die Last besser verteilt wird. Während sich die äußere Oberfläche dem Untergrund anpasst und weniger einsinkt, bildet die innere eine Art "endlose Kette", auf der sich das Fahrzeug bewegt. Auch darauf erhielt Thomson ein Patent, ausgestellt am 24. Oktober 1867 mit der Nr. 2986.

In den folgenden Jahren verbesserte er das Rad ständig und erhielt sechs Folgepazente. Das letzte erreichte ihn wenige Tage vor seinem Tod.

Back in Scotland, he developed and put into production a steam road vehicle that ran on solid rubber tires. Thomson’s machines were used to haul heavy loads on level and inclined ground and to provide omnibus service between Edinburgh and the port town of Leith.

mit Vollgummireifen, die zuerst zum Warentransport genutzt wurde ehe sie als Omnibus um Glasgow verwendet wurde.

The application of steam to urban transport involved some difficulties in placating public opinion. Locomotive developers required to make the engines silent, make sure that no smoke or steam was emitted, and that no exposed parts were visible, all to ensure that no danger or alarm was caused to horses or pedestrians. This was at the time where a boy was required to walk in front of any moving mechanical vehicle waving a red flag.

The resilience of the stout vulcanised rubber tyres allowed Thomson’s lightweight five ton steam engine to run on “hard or soft, wet or dry surfaces, over obstacles, uphill or downhill”. In addition, the thick rubber tyres did not damage the roads as did the iron wheels of heavy traction engines. Thomson's first road steamers, manufactured in his own small workshop in Leith, were fitted with three wheels, the small single wheel at the front being directly below the steering wheel. The tyres, which were 125 mm (5") thick, were corrugated internally and adhered to the wheel by friction.

The 1870 Report

In the 1870s anxiety was being expressed on the account of the work required by horses. A Parliamentary Paper was issued in August of 1870 suggesting the earlier invention by Thomson of a light weight road steamer was far more useful than any horse could ever be “except for hunting”.

Mr. Thomson design was a 6hp traction engine with a vertical boiler and weighing about 5 tons which he had built by T. M. Tennant and Co. of the Bowershall Works in Edinburgh. This was fitted with vulcanised rubber tyres to the wheels and the Scotsman Newspaper announced that the engine was "in advance of everything which had preceded it." The steam cylinder was 5 in. diameter, and 8 in. stroke. The engine was mounted upon three wheels, all of which were fitted with rubber tyres, the driving wheel tyres being 12 in. wide and 5 in. thick.

The Report came to the conclusion “that the question of steam traction on common roads is now completely solved”…; “…that the application of the india rubber tire is a perfect success, that it opens up an entirely new field, and that the application was more a discovery than an invention.” The wheel and tyre were described as having narrow flanges, upon which was placed a ring of soft vulcanized india rubber, “…that it about 12 inches in width and five inches in thickness, which thus surrounds the iron tire and is kept in its place by flanges, then over the india rubber there is placed an endless chain of steel plates which is the portion of the wheel that comes into contact with the rough road, the reticulated chain being connected by a sort of vertebra at each side of the wheel. The India rubber tire and this ring of steel plates have no rigid connection, but are at perfect liberty to move around as they please without consulting each other or even without the concurrence of the inner ring of the wheel which they both enclose. The reason for the efficiency is because the soft India rubber allows it to flatten upon the road whether rough or smooth. The wheel being a circle fit is a rigid structure, presents but a small surface, but this wheel conforms to every irregularity for a space of nearly two feet by the weight of the engine causing thee India rubber to collapse and so producing a change of form…” The tyre of rubber, the holding plate, all sat on a flanged steel wheel. The weight of the road steamer causing the rubber to flatten when it ran over the road, providing a smooth ride as it eliminated the changes in the road surface. The steel or wooden wheels which were generally in use at that time fell into all the holes and ruts left in the surface making the journey uncomfortable and slow.

The road steamer as invented by Thomson and using the solid tyres had a greater proportion of the weight, including the boiler, resting upon the rear two driving wheels, with the front single wheel used for guiding the direction of travel. The boiler had a copper pot for holding the water within the furnace and it was built so that if the boiler contained any water the pot would always have a full supply. This gave the road steamer a low centre of gravity and made it far more maneuverable, allowing the engine to run up a 1 in 10 hill, or travel at an angle up to 35 degrees.

Versuche in Leith

Early trials took place in Leith. On the first trial the contemporary reports state that the streets were very wet. “…A train of wagons containing 10 tons of flour besides their own weight were standing at the bottom of a slippery street with a gradient of about 1 in 17. To this train the little engine was attached and away it marched as if it had no load at all, went to the top of the hill and then down the other side with no brakes being required…”; “…after depositing the load in Leith it ran down to Portobello seashore at the rate off about 10 m p h. On surveying the sand it was thought impossible that it could travel in such soft inking ground, but on it rushed through all along its edge in every direction in the most wonderful manner. It then after returning from the seashore removed an old boiler from the docks to a yard some distance. The boiler and wagon with the fastenings chains weighed at least 22 tons and the boiler on the wagon stood at 25 feet high. For the cost of a few pounds of coal and water the job was done with ease.”

Numerous trials were run with this engine, drawing a large omnibus behind, at the rate of 10 to 12 miles an hour. It was found to be more practical to have a separate engine from the passenger carrying trailer. The general rule in Britain was to have one trailer, which was often a double decked affair, on two bogies or axles. One development was the engine and trailer shown in the accompanying illustration of a road steamer on trial between Granton and Leith in 1870.

Thomsons Road Steamer

From the illustration of the steamer it shows the horizontal engine and vertical pot boiler which were mounted upon a wrought-iron frame of channel iron, presenting a neat and compact appearance. This engine was subjected to trials with two 6-horse power engines, under Mr. Thompson's directions, which exhibited their tractive power and speed in a remarkable manner. The Scotsman Newspaper quoted these "One of the 6 ton road steamers was harnessed to four wagons of pig iron, weight of iron and wagons 34 tons, which it drew without an effort or any stoppage from the foot to the top of Granton Road, a distance of a quarter of a mile, with inclines of one in eighteen. Arrived at the top, it turned with its train and ran back to its starting point.” It should be pointed out that the drawing of 34 tons, besides the engine's own weight, up one in twenty, is equal to drawing about 100 tons or more on a level road.

The other road steamer was attached to an omnibus which conveyed a party of gentlemen from Granton to Leith. The distance is two and three-quarter miles, and the journey was performed at the rate of over eight miles an hour, that being the highest speed at which it was deemed safe to run through a town."

Soon the first omnibus was in service between Edinburgh and Leith. This light and compact road steamer had been built specially for omnibus traffic by Tennant & Company at their Bowershall works in Leith. Mr. A Ritchie was a local transport operator and he thought this machine might be an improvement on his horse buses that were in use between Edinburgh and Leith. The image shows the passenger carrying trailer built by Drew and Burnett. This passenger trailer vehicle was unusually carried on a single axle only, with space for 21 passengers inside and 44 passengers on top.

A passenger service was run between Portobello, which was a separate district from Edinburgh at this time, and Edinburgh which commenced on 2 June 1870. Engines were exported to Java, India, Canada and Australia, and by 1871 were being manufactured under licence due to demand in both the UK and the US by companies such as Tennants of Leith, Charles Burrell in Thetford and Robey in Lincoln.

Literatur

• Richard J. Evans: Steam Cars (Shire Album No. 153). Shire Publications Ltd, 1985; ISBN 0-85263774-8.
• Anthony Bird, Edward Douglas-Scott Montagu of Beaulieu: Steam Cars, 1770-1970. Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, 1971; ISBN 0-30493707-X.
• Floyd Clymer, Harry W. Gahagan: Floyd Clymer's Steam Car Scrapbook. Literary Licensing, LLC, 2012; ISBN 1-258-42699-4.
• H. Walter Staner: The early days of motors and motor-driving - steam cars. Lightning Source UK Ltd., Milton Keynes UK, undatierter Nachdruck einer Anleitung zum Betrieb von Dampfwagen vom Herausgeber der Fachzeitung Autocar, ca. 1900; ISBN 978-14455-2487-0.
• Jack Norbeck: Encyclopedia of American Steam Traction Engines. Crestline Publishing Co., Crestline Series, 1984; ISBN 0-91261-209-6.

• T.R. Nicholson: The Birth of the British Motor Car, 1769-1897, Bd. 2: Revival and Defeat, 1842-93. Palgrave Macmillan, 1982; ISBN 0-33323764-1 (liegt nicht vor)

Weblinks

Commons: Robert William Thomson – Sammlung von Bildern, Videos und Audiodateien

Wikisource: Robert William Thomson – Quellen und Volltexte

• Stonehaven: Robert William Thomson. (engl.) (Webarchiv, abgerufen am 26. April 2017)
• Enzyclopedia Britannica: Robert William Thomson. (engl.) (abgerufen am 26. April 2017)
• Historic-UK: Robert William Thomson. (engl.) (abgerufen am 26. April 2017)
• Grace's Guide: Robert William Thomson. (engl.) (abgerufen am 27. April 2017)

• Grace's Guide: Charles Burrell and Sons. (engl.) (abgerufen am 27. April 2017)
• Grace's Guide: T. M. Tennant and Co. (engl.) (abgerufen am 27. April 2017)
• Grace's Guide: Robey and Co. (engl.) (abgerufen am 27. April 2017)

• Grace's Guide: Ariel (engl.) (abgerufen am 27. April 2017)

• Hemmings.com, Jim Donnelly (August 2014): Robert William Thomson. (engl.) (abgerufen am 21. April 2017)
• Hemmings.com, Kurt Ernst (10. Dezember 2013): This Day in History, 1845: Robert William Thomson patents the pneumatic tire. (engl.) (abgerufen am 21. April 2017)
• European Patent Office, Original document: US5104 (A) ― 1847-05-08: ''Robert William Thomson, Aerial Wheel; US-Patent Nr. 5104 vom 5. August 1845. (engl.) (abgerufen am 21. April 2017)
• Edinburgh Trams: Inventor of air filled tyre - R W Thomson. (engl.) (abgerufen am 26. April 2017)
• BBC online: Robert William Thomsons House. (engl.) (abgerufen am 26. April 2017)
• WDR: Stichtag 07. Dezember 2008 - Vor 120 Jahren: John Dunlop erhält Patent für luftgefüllten Reifen. (abgerufen am 26. April 2017)
• Spiegel online (18. März 2003): Reifen-Historie, Teil 1: Gib' Gummi! (Webarchiv, 26. April 2017)
• Lazar Backovic in Spiegel online (6. Dezember 2013): Reifenpionier John Boyd Dunlop: Der Mann, der das Rad neu erfand. (abgerufen am 26. April 2017)

Einzelnachweise

Kategorie:Dampfwagen Kategorie:Dampfwagenmodell Kategorie:Fahrradreifenhersteller