A Road Vehicle of 1769.
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A small model of Cugnot's road vehicle, which was built in 1769, the actual machine now being in the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, in Paris (the model belonging to the Royal Automobile Club) is being shown on the Commercial Motor Users Association's stand at the present Commercial Vehicle Exhibition at Olympia, the number of the stand being 31. The model originally formed part of the Motor Museum which was founded by The Motor, and which is now distributed amongst various museums in the country, including the Science Museum at South Kensington.
The engine and boiler of Cugnot's road vehicle are supported on the single driving wheel, the boiler overhanging forward of the wheel. There are two single-acting cylinders, each 13 ins, in diameter, and a four-way tap controls the distribution of steam. As one piston descends, the piston rod draws with it a crank and pawl. The pawl, on each downward stroke, drives the road wheel a quarter revolution through the ratchet on the same side, the other piston meanwhile being raised by• suitable gearing in order to be ready for its turn of work.
The original vehicle is very unstable, and its motion is stated to have been in a series of jerks at the rate of about three miles an hour.