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General Steam Car topics
Did quiet Stanley Steamers cause accidents 100 years ago?
Posted by: Marjorie Lundquist (IP Logged)
Date: August 04, 2005 03:59PM
<HTML>Most automobiles a hundred years ago (the gasoline-powered kind with an internal combustion engine) were very noisy, but the Stanley Steamer was comparatively quiet. I seem to recall reading something that gave me the idea that because people at that time expected an automobile to be very noisy, the quiet Stanley Steamer took them by surprise, "sneaking up" on them, as it were. I am wondering if any accidents in the early 20th century were attributed to the Sanley Steamer's relative quiet, compared to gasoline-powered cars.
I am interested in obtaining either documentation, or possibly personal recollection of a specific incident.
Anyone wanting to mail me anything may send it to P. O. Box 11831, Milwaukee, WI 53211-0831 USA.</HTML>
I am interested in obtaining either documentation, or possibly personal recollection of a specific incident.
Anyone wanting to mail me anything may send it to P. O. Box 11831, Milwaukee, WI 53211-0831 USA.</HTML>
Re: Did quiet Stanley Steamers cause accidents 100 years ago?
Posted by: Ben in Maine (IP Logged)
Date: August 04, 2005 06:49PM
<HTML>Mufflers fell off as the roads were bad enough to cause muffler braket failure,,Some cars had a valve called cutout,, that allowd the exhaust to dump before the muffler,,,,most of the early cars were not noisy, if driven properly,,,Like present day motorcycles w/ no muffler or modified and illeagal,,they are still there,,,what else is new???The electric cars were silent,,Reading the newspapers of the day,,,the runaway horses, pulling what was left of a busted wagon were something to contend with too,,,,reading the papers of the day is the best way to get a handle on the terror of the day,,,and the lament of the passing of the 1/4pound firecrackers being made illeagal,,,the 4th will never be the same,,oh,,for the good ole days,,,,hmm,,,Think I'll stay on the porch a while longer,,,Ben</HTML>
Re: Did quiet Stanley Steamers cause accidents 100 years ago?
Posted by: SSsssteamer (IP Logged)
Date: August 05, 2005 05:15AM
<HTML>Up until about 1904, the majority of the cars on the roads were steamers. The noisy IC gas car was not the normal car to expect on the road before then. I find today, that horses spook very easily from my vapor cloud that follows our Stanleys.</HTML>
Re: Did quiet Stanley Steamers cause accidents 100 years ago?
Posted by: Peter Brow (IP Logged)
Date: August 05, 2005 10:01AM
<HTML>Having recently taken rides in a couple of early Stanleys, I can say that they are not silent. Maybe quieter than my '69 VW Bug, which ain't saying much, but you can definitely hear that locomotive "chuff chuff" coming. Not to mention a bit of burner "hum" now and then. It sure does turn heads, and attracts some quizzical attention from livestock.
The spooky ones are the condensing cars, 1915 and later. Now those will sneak up on you. Completely chuffless.
Peter</HTML>
The spooky ones are the condensing cars, 1915 and later. Now those will sneak up on you. Completely chuffless.
Peter</HTML>
Re: Did quiet Stanley Steamers cause accidents 100 years ago?
Posted by: Peter Brow (IP Logged)
Date: August 05, 2005 10:23AM
<HTML>In 27 years of reading every piece of literature I could find about steam cars, I have not seen any reports of steam car silence leading to accidents. Not one. Almost all pedestrians and motorists today go by sight rather than sound, and this has probably always been the case. The occasional non-sighted pedestrian was probably alerted by noisier traffic accompanying steam cars, or (thanks to more-acute hearing) by the faint burner hiss or tire sound of otherwise silent steamers. The old saw "look both ways before crossing" goes way back.
In the references I have seen, steam car silence was universally noted for its desireability to passengers and bystanders, not for any danger.
Peter</HTML>
In the references I have seen, steam car silence was universally noted for its desireability to passengers and bystanders, not for any danger.
Peter</HTML>
Re: Did quiet Stanley Steamers cause accidents 100 years ago?
Posted by: Arnold walker (IP Logged)
Date: August 06, 2005 09:05PM
<HTML>I think steamer is right ....the noise was the oddity in that day.
Both horses and steamcars didn't backfire or any of the other things that went with gas cars.....Not sure if I would want to be near a horse that did
backfire.</HTML>
Both horses and steamcars didn't backfire or any of the other things that went with gas cars.....Not sure if I would want to be near a horse that did
backfire.</HTML>
Re: Did quiet Stanley Steamers cause accidents 100 years ago?
Posted by: Peter Brow (IP Logged)
Date: August 07, 2005 03:02AM
<HTML>Hi Arnold,
Both horses and vaporizing burners will "backfire" under some conditions. Yes, you don't want to be around either when it happens. :)
An old cowboy once told me a tale about a guy lighting a cigarette behind a horse. The horse "backfired" and set his hat on fire.
Peter</HTML>
Both horses and vaporizing burners will "backfire" under some conditions. Yes, you don't want to be around either when it happens. :)
An old cowboy once told me a tale about a guy lighting a cigarette behind a horse. The horse "backfired" and set his hat on fire.
Peter</HTML>
Re: Did quiet Stanley Steamers cause accidents 100 years ago?
Posted by: Arnold walker (IP Logged)
Date: August 07, 2005 03:59AM
<HTML>This thread reminded me of something I learned while bowhunting with area tribe members.
Settlers and "indians" worryed about American and Mogel locomotives scaring off the game in that area.Because you could heard them coming from 8 miles away.
The background sound level is now high enorgh that one is hard pressed to heard a
museum train from a 1/4 mile away.</HTML>
Settlers and "indians" worryed about American and Mogel locomotives scaring off the game in that area.Because you could heard them coming from 8 miles away.
The background sound level is now high enorgh that one is hard pressed to heard a
museum train from a 1/4 mile away.</HTML>
Re: Did quiet Stanley Steamers cause accidents 100 years ago?
Posted by: Howard Randall (IP Logged)
Date: August 08, 2005 12:30PM
<HTML>A good source of stories of the automobile's affect on horses and other accidents can be found in copies of Horseless Age (?) before1900. In these early years, internal combustion automobiles are referred to as “explosion engine” vehicles.
In my collection of these magazines, I recall reading one article in which a horse was startled by an automobile causing destruction of a front porch and personal injury to the driver of the horse drawn buggy. I am not sure if it was noise that caused it to bolt, or the simple fact that the horse was not used to seeing a wagon moving WITHOUT a horse attached! Assessing blame was one of the key issues of the article.
Reading multiple issues over several years, one can see the relatively quick institution of licensing and regulation of automobiles, and the birth of the automobile insurance.
My dog starts barking when I am ¼ mile from the house in my Stanley’s. My guess it is the burner noise.</HTML>
In my collection of these magazines, I recall reading one article in which a horse was startled by an automobile causing destruction of a front porch and personal injury to the driver of the horse drawn buggy. I am not sure if it was noise that caused it to bolt, or the simple fact that the horse was not used to seeing a wagon moving WITHOUT a horse attached! Assessing blame was one of the key issues of the article.
Reading multiple issues over several years, one can see the relatively quick institution of licensing and regulation of automobiles, and the birth of the automobile insurance.
My dog starts barking when I am ¼ mile from the house in my Stanley’s. My guess it is the burner noise.</HTML>
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