Waltham Steam
The Waltham Automobile Company is a former short-lived and U.S. American manufacturer of steam cars. Compounds are known neither to the American Waltham Automobile Company (steam cars from American Waltham Steam) or to the Waltham Watch Company ( brand watches Waltham Watch).
George M. Tinker and John W. Piper were employees of the Waltham Manufacturing Company in Waltham (Massachusetts ); Tinker had previously developed a ball bearing for the competitors Comet. The managing director of the company, Charles Herman Metz, provided them with 1898 space is available so that they could build a light steam buggy. This was completed in the same year and named Waltham Steam. The vehicle had a 3 hp ( 2:24 kW) twin-piston steam engine that could run forward or backward. She weighed only 50 lbs ( 22.68 kg), the condenser made of copper 110 lbs ( 49.9 kg). The complete vehicle was 600 lbs (272 kg) very easily. Was steered by means of a vertically positioned lever. The vehicle had wire spoke wheels. Tinker and Piper put their steam buggy 1898 from the Boston Automobile Show.
Two other steam car followed under the brand Tinker & Piper. At the request of the biggest investor in the Waltham Manufacturing they also built a lightweight electric car with a General Electric engine and a wheelbase of 1524 mm (60 inches). This prototype was as Orient Electric on the New York Cycle & Automobile Show 1899 shown but still pursued neither of Waltham Manufacturing of the two builders.
Early 1900 left Tinker and Piper, in agreement with the Metz Waltham Manufacturing Company and set to the Newton Street 130-136 at the site independently. Your Waltham Automobile Company produced here until 1902 (according to another source: 1903 ) is an unknown quantity of Waltham Steam Stanhope with "Victoria" - hood (now known as a " stroller " - hood ). This was a further development of the buggy. The selling price was moderate U.S. $ 750 One source also specifies a four-seat Vis -à-vis version in which the passengers sit with their backs to the direction of travel.
On February 6, 1901, a report appeared in the Waltham Free Press Tribune about a ride, which was allowed to join a reporter in a Tinker & Piper steam car. Previously, it had been snowing heavily and the vehicle had to drive by 15-30 cm thick snow around a broken-down trolley around. It has been achieved a speed of 15 km / h ( 9 mph). If applicable, which was under these circumstances a considerable achievement.
The Waltham Steam was known for a short time as the American Steam.
A copy still exists.
Note
In Waltham no less than four manufacturers were engaged in the construction of steam-powered vehicle around the turn of the 20th century. One of them was the Waltham Automobile Company as described herein. Furthermore, there was the New England Motor Carriage Company, the Stanton Manufacturing Company and the American Waltham Manufacturing Company. The different designations of Waltham Automobile Company occasionally lead to confusion with the vehicles of the latter company, which had bekanntb as American Waltham Steam. In the below-mentioned work of GN Georgano (ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present, it is evidently led to such confusion.