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History

Though, the steam coaches did everything that can be rationally considered wrong and funny but yet paved the way for one of the most amazing creation mankind had ever seen. The Automobile started a simple life, with a mere handful of mechanical components, which later grew to a full-fledged, extremely complex, and thoroughly exciting animal. By the end of the 21st century, setting benchmarks in every Department and also to a large extent responsible for the birth of yet another fascinating industry- ‘THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY.’

In 1831 a committee held hearings in the house of parliament to reduce tolls in favor of Steam coaches. But the committee failed and lost to the powerful forces against steam. By 1840 the steam carriages almost disappeared from the roads. In 1865 a new act further deteriorated the situation. The red flag act was imposed in 1865 and remained in force till 1869. The act Prevented any self propelled vehicle from travelling at speeds more than2 MPH in towns and 4MPH outside the town, and in the entire situation a man was supposed to carry a red flag walking along the vehicle, in front of it. Richard Dudgeon of United States of America built a steam-powered vehicle, though not too different from those of Reckett. Richard's first machine appeared in 1863. In 1869 Slyvester H. Roper of Roxbury built a stem velocipede and later a 4 wheeler steam carriage which still sits in Henry Ford museum in Deaborn, Michigan. In 1884 lucius D. Copeland fitted a 'penny farthing' bicycle with a light and compact stem engine. And later developed a three wheeled steam vehicle and formed a company to market his vehicles- The Moto-cycle manufacturing company of Philadelphia. Lucius wasn't very successful in his venture. The market just wasn't ready to accept personalized transport. The poor couldn’t afford it and it was a matter of great humiliation to the rich to maneuver their carriages themselves, a sparkling mustached coachman managing the horses was the fashion of the day. Amedee Bollee, count De Dion and Leon Serpollet were still building successful steamers. Serpollet was the first to use liquid as fuel to boil the water in the boilers. The years rolled by and the evolution of the automobile was passing through a very interesting phase, a phase where new inventions were to happen and new people to join the race to develop one of the most amazing steel creature mankind has ever seen.... THE AUTOMOBILE. Here at this point the automobile is just round the corner, and the time when history was bidding a goodbye to the era of steam coaches.

Siegfried Marcus

Siegfried Marcus was born in 1831, in Malchin, Germany. At the age of 12 he was apprenticed to a machinist and at the age of 17 joined Siemens and Halske firm, where he invented an electric relay system for telegraphy. He experimented with ignited benzene vapor to make light. There was no light but a mighty explosion that gave him another idea of burning benzene vapor in the cylinder that might make an engine run. He designed a 2-stroke engine and installed it in a handcart. This 'vehicle' had no clutch and the rear wheels had to be held by hand while cranking the engine and later dropped down so that it can move. Well! It did move, though the cart never had clutch and brakes. In 1874 9 years after his last tenure with self propelled carts, he turned his attention to motorcars again. This time he built 3 cars. He Himself built one in his shop and the other two under his direction. The car was single cylinder, 4 stroke, and 1570 cc of volume developing 3/4hp and could be driven at 4 miles an hour. The chassis was wooden, semi elliptic springs, a steering wheel, iron tires and a steel cone clutch with single speed transmission. Marcus called it Strassenwagen. Though Marcus drifted from the idea of the motorcar, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz nourished the idea, which from them grew the giant motor industry of the day. Thus started another era of personalized transport where the mighty steam coaches were giving way to the motorcar without the steam engine- for the first time in history.

Achieves - Article 1

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