Locomobile

If you ever run in to me at a show, let me know and I'll take you for a ride. -Ron

Never going to happen, not in the US. When even more people join the present exodus from California, they will realize nobody wants to live in their liberal Utopia, and allow people again to drive whatever they want. The people that are leaving are the job creating business owners and working taxpaying citizenry, the back bone of any economy. This sort of thing is going to accelerate the looming bankruptcy of California. Nope, sorry this is just another bad idea that will be shelved. hide and watch. -Ron

You should try a steamer some time. Basic elements of fire and water. no electricity involved. Quiet smooth natural power. -Ron

I disagree. The new wild west known as the internet is on the fast track to being tamed. Sectors of the US Government is doing everything it can to take full control of the internet. Not sure where you get your news, but the US and many other countries have passed several bills regarding cyber related issues. The UK as I understand it have some of the strictest laws. Nope, this big playground we've all enjoyed for the last 20 years is about to become another exclusive politically correct media mouthpiece. They already have AI software that scans webpages and transcribed voice recordings for "hate speech", you know, anything that runs counter to the liberal agenda? And that is why, no more of this subversive free thinking malarkey, they will control what the "young" read and hear just as is happening with our schools and universities. -Ron

I worked for a large company that got bought out, immediately the new owners began cutting and taking away everything they could, I complained, they said "The problem is, you don't like change" I replied "I welcome change as long as it's for the better, this isn't" I quit soon afterwards. I had one of those jobs that was very intricate and took about two years to learn, they begged me to come back. Last I heard, they gave the employees everything back and more, they were losing too many trained people. As far as change being the only constant, when I was younger I used to say that as well, I don't now though. Read books as old as the Bible, people haven't changed at all in 2000 years, we've been using the fossil fueled piston engine since the late 1700's invented by Newcomen and will most likely continue to do so for many centuries, "better" ideas have came and went, but the best idea has survived. Sure there has been an array of gadgets like cell phones and computers, but none has really changed anything in a significant way, a significant fundamental change in mankind. When it comes right down to basic life, not much has really changed, because we humans never do. We just have more things to play with now. I have a feeling these "new generations" have a rude awakening coming. We Americans don't like to be told what to do. This Republic was founded on individual sovereignty and liberty. It's not a Democracy, it's a Republic. As soon as the AOC gestapo shows up at our homes and tells us we have to upgrade or move, or tries to take our guns, the fight is going to be on. -Ron

Yep, there is always a reason these programs or something close to it will work in those countries. The folks that push this socialist movement like to use these Nordic countries as an example. Sweden officials issued a statement a while back for these progressives regarding what they are suggesting here in the US that it is nothing like what they have there. In reality what they have is more capitalistic than socialist. The biggest problem with the validity of these comparisons, none of these countries suggested have the social ills that the US is enduring. Our major cities are poverty ridden drug infested havens of crime, I live next door to Detroit, border is like five minutes away, it is an entirely different world over there. 60 years of socialistic policies have destroyed that city. Another example of where socialism didn't work. The people of California need to stand up to this oppressive nonsense. -Ron

Oh most definitely. I don't have (but plan to have) a steam automatic which automatically controls the burner, so I have to control the burner manually. I have my burner detuned with a smaller burner orifice so it is not as erratic, I did this for driving around shows at less than 10 mph. This fall I plan to take a tour, so I will put the larger orifice in, with it, I should be able to maintain 20-25 mph, doesn't sound like much, but on of these, that is about safe top speed for cruising. A water automatic is important as well, I don't have one and these cars never did. A water feedpump automatic feeds water to the boiler at a more controlled constant rate. It goes along with the old firemen's motto on the Locomotive "Little and often" for coal and water for the best performance. These "blokes" explain it quite well: -Ron

Al, If my car was all original, which just about none of them are, I would go back with the firetube just to keep it stock. I built mine to drive, so externally and the power train it is near exact, but with the steam system, it is much higher output. the most frustrating issue with operating a steamer is one that will not keep up with steam demand, and the driver has to pull over every so often and build head pressure or simply limp along. That is where the White, the Serpolet and the Doble especially had it over the Stanleys. With their water tube boilers and sophisticated automatic controls they could drive at speed and maintain steam production. A 6000 pound Doble E-20 etc can run 70 mph on the expressway. A good running White, about 35 -40 maintained speed. The Stanley was faster, but for only a short distance. That is the key to a successful steamer. -Ron

Never going to happen with any sort of success. All it takes is to go out near any busy expressway and count the cars that go by in a five minute period, now imagine all of these cars need to stop and hook up to a recharging station every few hours for four hours. It would require massive recharging complexes every 20 miles to accommodate all of these vehicles. The naivety that drives this alternative fuel movement is fueled by ignorance of just how much energy is exists in a gallon of gasoline. It's going to be a very difficult fuel to replace with equal practicality and safety. I agree with above poster, we will eventually transition away from fossil fuels, but it won't be with the electric car as we know it today. The globalist progressive politicians that push this nonsense know it would never work with our capitalistic economy, their aim is socialism, universal basic income, small government provided housing and mass transit. In other words, they want control over every aspect of our lives. The frightening thing is. how many folks in this country are willing to let them do that. These globalists need to be ran out of the country. Now get off my lawn -Ron

I don't think there was any winnings, it was just a quiz thing I think. That is impressive that you know what that is. -Ron

Concourse just sent me an email and have a contest to guess this car name and year. I'm guessing an early Triumph or Karman Ghia prototype. Any ideas? -Ron

I'm about to get mine out of storage soon and de-winterize it which is just flushing the antifreeze out of the system. I'm in the process of getting it registered to drive with an antique plate on the street for tours, so far so good, I will report here how I did that without a title or previous registration, works with any car. These cars never had titles. -Ron

Hi Al, First let me write, no boiler is perfect, each type consists of a groups of trade-offs of advantages and compromises. The Locomobile and virtually all other production vehicles at that time used firetube boilers. These are the boilers consisting of a shell, lower crownsheet and upper sheet with a various number of tubes which the products of combustion pass through. I'm writing this off the cuff, so I may miss a few things. Firetube Advantages: ¶High reserve capacity ¶Traditional type for vintage vehicles ¶Stable generation ¶Slow reacting which is better for the manual controls these early cars used. Easier for novice operators to stay ahead of. ¶Good base of contemporary knowledge and experience with this boiler type in the steam community ¶Excellent response in the sight glass that reads boiler water level. Firetube Disadvantages: ¶Heavy, two to three times heavier than a comparable water tube boiler with equal or less steam generation. ¶Slow firing, some of the large Stanley touring cars took over a half hour to fire up, much more water to heat. ¶Lower steam generation per square foot of heating surface, theoretically with a non induced draft wood fire a firetube boiler will produce one -horsepower per 10 square feet of heating surface, the water tube types, about one horsepower per 5 square feet of heating surface. These -values vary wildly with fuel type, burner and venting/draft configuration and are only a rough guide. ¶A moot point as all boilers should be built to withstand the service, but the hoop stresses on the large boiler shell make the firetube boilers -more prone to catastrophic failure. Although there is not one recorded incident of this ever happening in a steam car. ¶Easily damaged, they typically used rolled in copper tubes, if the copper is overheated, the tube can collapse, this can happen even in a low -water/hard firing condition. The upper portion of the tubes are exposed and provide some superheating in the steam space, but this is at risk -of overheating the tubes. ¶Expensive to purchase and manufacture. ¶Thermal expansion, this has been a known issue with these types of boilers since their inception, Sylvester Roper wrote about it in the mid -1800's. The issue is the thermal expansion rates of copper versus steel and how heat is applied inherent to the design. It is important to fire a -firetube boiler up completely full, this prevents the tubes from over heating in the upper portions during fire up. What happens is the tubes over -heat and elongate and exert physical force on the upper and lower tube sheets, which can cause loosening of the rolled in tube joints. The shell -is cold during fire up and does not expand. Steam Locomotives take many hours to start and shut down, it is purpose driven practice, they are -allowing the whole boiler to heat slowly and evenly to mitigate thermal stress related issues. ¶Poor internal circulation, another factor related to lower steam generation. Water tube boiler types encompass many different design types, a common type in vehicles is the Ofeldt which consists of a vertical center drum and an array of vertical coils about it's circumference. There are other types like the Derr boiler that many later Stanley's and others used, but we're focusing on early steamers. The Ofledt boiler was sold as a whole steam system that many early steamers were retrofitted with. The advantages are many and disadvantages few, one most important advantage was the Ofeldt Blue Flame burner which would run reliably on Kerosene, most early steamers would only burn gasoline which is much easier to vaporize and burn, the problem was, no insurance company would cover a garage where a gasoline burning steamer was housed. In the winter time it was common practice to leave the pilot light burning and throw a horse blanket over the car - a recipe for disaster. Apparently it was common for vehicle fires with the much more volatile gasoline, which incidentally in a steam car is a more serious safety concern versus the steam system. I only use stainless braided high pressure fuel lines, many folks use copper for fuel lines which I deem dangerous, copper can work harden and fracture easily. Copper fuel lines are illegal per the DOT regs. As are copper hydraulic brake lines for this very reason. Advantages: ¶Quick steaming due to the high steaming rate and low water capacity of typically only one gallon. I can fire my car up making steam in a bout five -minutes. A friend of mine uses an Ofeldt with a different burner configuration, he can make steam in about three minutes. ¶Light weight about one half to one third the weight of a comparable firetube type. ¶Less expensive to build ¶Less easily damaged, an all welded steel Ofeldt can withstand being ran completely out of water while under fire without harm. ¶Excellent internal circulation owing to the much higher steam generation. This can be most easily explained by water on a hot griddle, where -heat is applied to a griddle underside, the water on top will be pushed away, this is called "Departure from Nucleate Boiling" or DNB. Boilers -with low internal circulation have little defense against this condition which results in exposed internal hotspots that aren't creating steam. -High circulation, keeps water moving over these areas and generating steam. Getting the most out of the heated surface. This is one of the -reasons in the steam community one will often hear about "forced circulation", whereby a pump is used to force the water at high velocity -through the generating coils, this is theoretically a superior design, however, I do not know of one operating. ¶Some reserve for more stable operation compared to other water tube types like the Derr boilers that use no accumulator drum. The Ofeldt -can be operated manually, the low -reserve types need automatic controls as water and fire demand are very frequent. ¶Less prone to carry over. Carry over is when under high demand water is carried in to the steam line. This is a problem with water tube types -that have no reserve. Water going to a steam engine can be catastrophic, water will not compress so the engine is usually damaged, i.e. broken -or bent rods, broken cylinder heads etc. The D-valve type engines are less susceptible to being damaged as the valve can lift off the face and -release trapped water, if this happens with a piston valve engine, better dust off the lathe ¶Thermal expansion issues are virtually non-existent, the coils which are similar to a coil spring can elongate and contract without damage to -the joints. Disadvantages: ¶A bit less water reserve vs the firetube, which means firing and water tending is more frequent. Typically running, once off and on for each per -mile. ¶Less reliable reading sight glass, the internal circulation is turbulent which results in occasional erratic readings, but overall the readings are -reliable. ¶More difficult to repair. All welded steel construction and difficult to reach weld joints. As one can see, there are not many disadvantages to the Ofeldt, and of those they are of little concern in normal operation. Added some pictures of my Ofeldt. I run it at 250, but the components have a working pressure of 2400 psi. and burst rates of 10,000 psi. -Ron

Dave, That is a nice looking Loco. Looks to be fairly original. Some things have been changed like the wheels, the original wheels did not work well as the tires were glued on like early bicycles and the tires are crazy expensive in that size. 28 x 2-1/2 I heard like 600 each. Also that crank bearing and rod bearings have been swapped out with modern sealed ball bearings, another good thing to do, the original bearing in the crank were like those used in the neck of a bicycle, very problematic in that service. I did the same to my engine and the crank bearings are trouble free. I have no trouble with my engine. All the trouble I've had is with the burner which leads me to the next paragraph. I'm not sure what burner you have, but I'm thinking it is original with the rivets. I attached a few pics of what the Locomobile burner looks like. I don't have any experience with them, but they do work. I'm using an Ofeldt style burner. Running on Propane is possible and you're right it is much easier, the problem with it is, it's a very cold flame in comparison to Gasoline and Kerosene. Diesel is hotter than all three, but the fumes from it can be intolerable. Running on Propane will just be sticking a delivery tube with properly sized jet at the mouth of the mixing tube and light it. Which might be difficult without a pilot of some sort and of course, it would n't be able to be shut off. I'm going to stop right there, sorry, I have a big day tomorrow and I have to get to bed. I'm a two fingered typist and I type slowly, I'll have some time this weekend and I can provide more info when I'm not so rushed. -Ron

Al,there is supposed to one floating around, but I've not located a copy of it. If I find one, I'll let you know. -Ron

Al, I would enjoy your pictures very much. Running my little steamer fast (40 mph) is exhilaration mixed with fear. I can't imagine running 80 mph on that big beast, bouncing around on our rough tracks, the medal creaking, squeaking, the roar of the fire - Fred Dibnah a well known in the UK and passed on now steam man once stated "If you've never gone fast on the footplate of a steam locomotive, you haven't lived'. I've never had the opportunity. I don't know what the top speed of 844 is but I'm thinking it's like 90? The UK steam Locomotive Mallard set the world speed record of 126 mph for steam which still stands I think, it is a very tall driver'd streamline Locomotive built for high speed passenger service and the UK had and has much better tracks than we do. I'm not sure a train could run that fast on ours, maybe? A little known fact about the Mallard speed run, the videos always show it streaking across the country, three miles out from the depot, they cut the throttle and started braking and when it went through the depot they were still trying to stop it, and it went down until it slammed in to the trackstop. No damage, but they way underestimated the stopping distance. Have a look on Youtube for "Fred Dibnah" A very interesting fellow. Another one is Mark Williams on the rails: Mark Williams covers some of the US train history. Edited to add: The Mallard had to be completely rebuilt after this high speed record setting run. The conrods were stretched and warped and many of the bearings and surfaces were damaged. FredDibnah : start with this one and watch the whole series: Start here and watch the whole series with Mark Williams. -Ron

Sounds like it's more trouble for Tesla today, investors are getting tired of hearing about autonomous vehicles and robotaxis and want to see some sales numbers instead. -Ron

Hi Al, Yes I have been following the 4014 engine restoration for years along with many others in the steamisphere. I was absolutely enamored and thrilled when she backed out of the shed. I've had that same feeling on a much smaller scale of course when my projects are in steam for the first time. Its Alive!! I just can't imagine what it must be like to run that engine on the line. Ive been up in the cab of the big Allegheny locomotive at the Henry Ford museum which is a bit smaller than Big Boy physically but actually has more horsepower. Standing in the engineers position, there is just a little window to look down the side of the boiler all the way out to the front of the smokekbox. It had to be scary as H running 80 mph, anyone or anything on the tracks was pretty much hit. Fueling the coal was pretty interesting, no man could keep up with a shovel, you probably know this, but the coal was auger'ed up and pulverized and them blown in to the firebox with a jet of steam. Impressive pieces of machinery and it's mind boggling to think these were built - drawn up with pencil, paper and a slide rule and machined with no CNC equipment. I'm a machinist and I am often in awe of the workmanship and talent that these folks had. Lots of lost art. -Ron

That is the exact combination we are putting in the 01 Conrad, she howls a bit, but not too much and the operation is pretty straight forward.. That is a nice looking Surrey. I'm using an Ofeldt inspired burner and boiler. It's a good steam maker. I run on Kerosene and white fuel for the pilot. Al, I'll try to do that with some explanation as I go along. -Ron

Yep, the early ones, that is how they were, around early 1902 they added a standing pilot light, then the burner was shut completely off and relit by the pilot. Of course many of those cars were retrofitted with aftermarket burners that used a standing pilot light, like the Kelly Handlebar, Ofeldt etc. -Ron

Hi Al, Not yet this year. The weather has finally broke and we are getting some decent days. Really looking forward to driving the steamer soon. She's pretty much ready to go, just have to dump the little bit of antifreeze and flush the pumps out. I'm also going to add an automatic burner control, mine doesn't have it and I have to operate the burner manually, not a huge inconvenience, but these cars originally had one. -Ron

To throw another ingredient in to the stew regarding EV's Is it discussed or mentioned about the effects of Electromagnetic forces or EMF's on the human body? Sitting atop all that stored energy and the associated draw/current flow has to be exposing the occupants in the vehicle to dangerous levels of EMF's. EMF's can cause tumors and damage to the nervous system. Harmful to infants. If you are sensitive to EMFs, you may experience symptoms like:1 Nervous system symptoms, like fatigue, stress and sleep disturbances Skin symptoms, like facial prickling, burning sensations and rashes Body symptoms, like pains and aches in your muscles Eye symptoms, such as burning sensations Foggy thinking and depression A variety of less common symptoms, like ear, nose, and throat symptoms and digestive disorders Infertility Leukemia in children, breast cancer or cancer clusters have been linked to high exposure to EMFs2 It's strange on this page they mention many electric things to avoid, but oddly have left out the electric cars. https://bodyecology.com/articles/little-known-dangers-of-emf-php/ -Ron

That truck looks like a real option for many, light local delivery service etc. I'll bet that battery is crazy expensive to replace though. i.e. 480 mile range 10,000 pound tow capacity, of course they didn't mention them together, pulling 10k is probably more like 100-150 miles. With my truck, pulling that kind of weight cuts the fuel economy in half. A long trip is a great way to clean out the checking account. -Ron

I think that goes for everyone, but first we it must be known there is a real problem and from what I can tell, that hasn't happened. It reminds me of what my Dad said about my first car "Son, your car is running fine, stop fixing it" There are only statistics that suggest there may be a problem. Anyways, I try to keep an open mind about it and when I see some hard science and am convinced, then I will be joining the charge, as it is right now, the lack of cause and effect evidence and the way it's presented. Nahh. -Ron

No, I was asking in earnest and without slant or bias, I try to keep an open mind on every subject, I can be convinced with credible evidence. Ya see, the problem is when they start talking about Climate change, it's packaged with socioeconomic issues. I mean seriously if all of mankind is going to be wiped out in as little as ten years, who gives a beep about a Federally guaranteed job or guaranteed income etc? I mean, c'mon we're talking about all of mankind here, on orders of priority, mankind, vs a job and income, free college, the latter would fall pretty low on the list. -Ron