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I'm wondering how many other speed records remain unchallenged????
We'll have to pick a break off year. Lets say 1955. OR, someone else mite pick a better break off point.

John

I'm going to try to post some pictures of the Stanley Rocket. It was clocked at 127.659 mph at Ormond Beach, Fl in 1906. It came back with modifications in 1907, but didn't finish the attempt, for reasons outlined below.

The picture you posted, I'm afraid, was taken in France about the same time. Perhaps the book or magazine you have wasn't closely proofread. The American LSR attempts were done on Ormand Beach, as American roads were basically non existant at that time. The picture is taken on one of the ancient French tree lined routes. The excellence of the French roads explains a large part of why the French lead auto technology in the beginning. The passenger car in the background is a small Renault. I think the race car is a 1905 Darracq, although I'm flying by the seat of the pants on this one.

The salient characteristic of steam cars is almost unlimited torque all the way through the speed range of the engine. They have rapid accleration and high top speed , to the point of foolhardiness. This was exploited many times by the Stanley twins, ( known as F.E and F.O.) who amassed a large gallery of speeding tickets.

These qaulities were recognized by the affluent men who imported expensive gas cars from Europe and wrote the rules for the races they held. Steam cars got written out of these rules almost immediately.

So F.E. Stanley went after the Land Speed Record. The engine is a 30 HP Stanley engine. This is nominal horsepower based on displacement. It is a two cylinder acting engine (i.e. 4 power strokes per revolution). Thus the power is really equivalent to a 8 cylinder engine. Developed torque is 985 ft lbs (!). The car had the largest boiler ever put into a Stanley, with a total area of 285 sq ft. They were running it up to 1300 psi. The gearing was .5 to 1-the engine running at half wheel speed!

If the pictures post, you will see that it looks like an upside down canoe. F.E. towed commercially available canoes behind his bike on a cart tied to a fish scale to measure drag. The one with the lowest drag was used. You will notice it also resembles an airfoil.

This brings us to 1907. The car was modified, and F.E. and Fred Marriott, the driver form 1906 and their most trusted employee returned to Florida. The weather was terrible, and they did not run until the last day.

Marriott buiit up steam, got the boiler hot, and wound up the car for 7 miles before he entered the traps. He hit a bump. He hit a second one, and was caught by a gust of wind. The car took off, flew for at least 100 feet, hit the beach, and traveled some more. The car was pretty much destroyed. Fred Marriott suffred a broken rib, eye socket and dislocated eye.

The car was going about 155 MPH at takeoff. As Fred Marriott got older and retold the story, this speed got higher and you will read that he was doing 197..

The Stanleys were aghast that they put their employee's life in danger. They never raced again. In some respects they lost interest in further perfecting the steam car. They did not however lose interest in collecting speeding tickets.

F.E was killed in 1917 at high speed trying to avoid a farm wagon, by his usual expedient of diverting into a field.

Here is a photo of Fred Marriott at speed, and the color picture is of Sarah Stanley Davison, a mild acquaintence, in replica of the Rocket at Ormond Beach in 2006. (She is a direct descendent .) She didn't go above 30MPH.


Regards


John Harley

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John

Reference is The Stanley Steamer, by
Kit Foster, published by the Stanley Museum.

The picture of the crash is too big to upload. If you google "Stanley Rocket" under images it will come up.


Regards


John Harley

JHH: Thank You for correcting my big screw up. When I have time I am going to get on my other computer upstairs and find out how the picture I posted was listed as the Stanley Steamer record holder. I made that posting from my other computer.

John F. Shireman

I did a Google search tonight this is what I came up with.

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john

Cool picture. That's F.E. in the Rocket outside the factory just after it's finished,

Interesting that the 2009 record is still about 20 mph slower than the Rocket was going in 1907

Regards


John Harley

JHH, is this the picture you wanted to post?

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Here's a link to the first land speed record. Once again, France comes up. This one's electric of all things-- and read the caption to re-ignite the great "first steering wheel" debate.

Not bad for 1898-99. Note the progress in breaking their own record.

http://www.megawattmotorworks.com/display.asp?dismode=article&artid=181

And here's a couple of links to more current electric powered speed records

http://www.dwra.net/

http://www.canosoarus.com/04LSRcar/LSR01.htm

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The earlier comment about the tremendous torque throughout the RPM range of steam engines holds for electric motors as well. This kind of torque, even in low hp motors, remains beyond the means of any internal combustion engine. It's what makes electric power drills so good at driving those tough-to-turn fasteners.

However, due to the laws of thermodynamics (I think it's the 3rd), it's pretty easy to see that external combustion motors will never be as efficient as internal combustion engines.

BTW, the steam engine is technically a "motor" as it gets it's power from an outside source, as does the electric motor. The internal combustion engine, burning its fuel directly as the power source, gives it an automatic advantage in efficiency. (I used to know the numbers regarding the loss of energy when outside power is used. Maybe somebody has the textbook and can supply more info.)

If what I've posted is all or partly erroneous, I blame bad memory and our education system. Although I think I learned this stuff in Popular Science.

Here is the a record holder that that broke the sound barrier on land which happend on October 15, 1997. The new record speed that was set that day 763 mph, which still stands today.

John F. Shireman

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