Clarkson.
Page 37
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A New Steam Wagon Chassis.
STAND No. 32.
THE two chassis on this stand provide much food for thought for all who are interested in the economies of road transport. It has often been urged that the manufacturers of steam-driven vehicles have not advanced with the times, nor taken advantage of modern metallurgical developments to the extent
that the makers of petrol-driven vehicles have done. This cannot be said of Mr. Thomas Clarkson, the eminent engineer, whose latest conception of the steamdriven vehicle is here represented.
. From stemto stein these chassis ex.
hibit the most modern tendencies in construction, combined with an ingenuity and resourcefulness in general lay-out and arrangement, which strikes an entirely new note in steam vehicle design, and which will undoubtedly give many petrol designers "furiously to think." Not only has Mr. Clarkson embodied a very novel combination of steam and petrol vehicle practice, but he has done what very many other makers have not —he has given careful attention throughout the design to the elimination of all weaknesses which were brought to light in the miscellaneous collection of vehicles used by the Army in the war.
Roughly speaking, the chassis, from the clutch backwards, resembles accepted " petrol " practice,, and forward of that component—which Li a particularly neat single-plate desigie=is the balanced "V" two-cylinder compound, fixed cut-off, condensing steam engine. The condenser occupies the place of the usual radiator, which it very much resembles, and between it and the engine, under the bonnet, is carried the famous patent " thimble tube " boiler. The construction of this is well worth careful study, which a separate, partially finished unit on the stand permits. The inner and outer shells are both of solid drawn steel, and tube 'leakage is rendered impossible by reason of the fact that the higher the steam pressure the tighter
are they held in position. A feed water heater and also a steam super-heater are fitted. A special feature is the exceptionally well-arranged forced lubrication system, the large oil reservoirs and the excellent spring-locked lids , which close them. The gearbox provides three forward speeds and a reverse, as the engine is non-reversing. The controls are all identical with those of a normal petroldriven vehicle, so that no special skill, so necessary in the case of the average steamer, is required from the driver. The inclusion of the gearbox has the added advantage of enabling the engine to work always most efficiently, and at the same time eliminates complicated reversing mechanism and linking-up gear.