1887 Oldsmobile Steam Carriage

Young Ransom Olds constructed his horseless carriage using 3/4-inch white wood with an oak frame, using steel tired carriage wheels and leaf springs. A steering fork and tiller were used to steer the single front wheel. He machined wood patterns to cast a one horsepower steam engine, then added a reduction transmission built from lathe gears. A ratchet lock drive was used on the axle driven by a handmade sprocket and chain. The steam boiler was made using 6-inch pipe feeding small pipe tubes known as a 'porcupine boiler' surrounded by a fire chamber using gasoline burners for heat.

This full-scale reproduction was built by the Joseph J. Merlie Carriage Manufacturing Co. in New York. Using only an artist's sketch and transcripts from historical documents, this non-functional vehicle has been replicated to give a general perspective of the actual 1887 steam car that was built, test driven, then, unfortunately, dismantled sometime before 1893 when Olds completed his second steam car.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2016