Benutzer:Chief tin cloud/Keen Steamliner

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 Info: Keen Manufacturing Corporation stellte von 1948 bis 1968 zwei Prototypen her laut Beaulieu. Genauer prüfen.

Steamliner # 1 (ca. 1943)

Der Keen Steamliner findet sich in vielen Publikationen. Älteren Informationen zufolge handelte es sich um einen Anfang der 1950er Jahre auf Dampfantrieb umgerüsteten, verkürzten Plymouth von 1948. American Cars 46-75 p843

Neuere Quellen und Fotos belegen, dass das Fahrzeug bereits um 1943 begonnen wurde. Auch in den USA war in der Kriegszeit Treibstoff rationiert, teuer und teilweise gar nicht verfügbar. Etliche Autofahrer erinnerten sich noch an die Dampfwagen früherer Jahre, insbesondere Stanley Steamer. Deren Brenner funktionierten auch mit anderen Treibstoffen als Benzin

evans29

Der ursprüngliche Keen Steamliner war ein verkürzter 1946-1948er offener Plymouth mit einem V4-Dampfmotor im Heck, gebaut von Charles F. Keen in Madison, Wisconsin. Der Brenner im Fahrzeugbug verarbeitete auch Kerosin. Das Auto wurde von 1955 bis 1968 angeboten; schrader

Technik

Dampfantrieb

Ausser der Dampfmaschine fertigte Keen alle Komponenten selber an. Das Triebwerk ist eine aufbereitete Stanley V4-Zylinder Maschine.

Das Layout ist klassischer Dampfauto-Bau. Der zylinderförmige Kessel ist vorn unter der "Motorhaube" untergebracht. 1200 psi

American Cars 46-75 p843

Das Fahrzeug erhielt eine Dampfmaschine mit vier Kolben in V-Anordnung im Heck; der Heizkessel war unter der Motorhaube untergebracht. Der Verbrauch lag bei einem Liter Wasser auf 9 km und einem Liter Benzin auf 6 km.

16 mpg water 25 mpg kerosene kimes 843

Abner Doble war an den Arbeiten beteiligt, zog sich aber 1949 zurück weil er mit der Bezahlung unzufrieden war.

Karosserie

Keen verwendete Komponenten verschiedener Hersteller für sein Fahrzeug. Aufgebaut ist es auf dem Fahrgestell eines Willys. Der Vorderbau stammt tatsächlich von einem Plymouth von 1942, dessen Motorhaube wurde umgerüstet und ist jetzt seitlich statt hinten angeschlagen. Die Windschutzscheibe, Spritzwand, Türen und das Armaturenbrett wurden einem einem Chevrolet von 1939 entnommen und das Heck von einem Plymouth von 1940. Den mittleren Teil der Karosserie fertigte Keen selber an. Das Dach besteht aus einem mit Verdeckstoff bezogenen Gestänge. Es lässt sich nicht öffnen.

allpar

Charles Keen and his Steamliners. The original Steamliner # 1 was built on a Willys chassis, using 1942 Plymouth front fenders and hood, 1939 Chevrolet cowl, dash and doors, and the rear deck lid of a 1940 Plymouth. The engine remains a Stanley.

Nearly every owner who had driven the car remarked that it had lots of power but all complained about the inadequate brakes on the car.

The car ended up in the hands of Bud McGee, a California pharmacist and car collector. Mr. McGee was killed in a plane crash returning from the Hershey, PA swap meet some years ago and the car was sold to a gentleman in England.

The car has since been shipped to England where it is undergoing a complete restoration. Its present owner has restored both a Whitney steamer and a Canadian built Brooks steamer---a "progress report" photo is on this page.

Steamliner # 2 (1963)

Eine Weiterentwicklung entstand Mitte der 1950er Jahre in einem Fahrgestell unbekannter Herkunft. Das Fahrzeug erhielt eine Roadster-Karosserie aus Fiberglas von Victress.

Der ursprüngliche Keen Steamliner war ein verkürzter 1946-1948er offener Plymouth mit einem V4-Dampfmotor im Heck, gebaut von Charles F. Keen in Madison, Wisconsin. Der Brenner im Fahrzeugbug verarbeitete auch Kerosin. Das Auto wurde von 1955 bis 1968 angeboten; schrader

ein zweites Modell mit Kunststoff-Karosserie blieb ein Versuchsmodell. Im Jahre 1968 erwarb die Thermal Kinetics Corporation in Rochester, New York, die Rechte an dem Projekt. schrader

Keen verkaufte das Projekt samt Rechten und Fahrzeug an die Thermal Kinetics Company in Rochester (New York)

The Keen Steam Car (1963) This Magnificent Sports Roadster Achieves Outstanding Performance In Almost Complete Silence No Smoke – No Dirt – No Fumes Starts At The Turn Of A Switch – No Gears – Silent Travel

Here is a magnificent bright red, very sleek sports car of rakish design, losing nothing by comparison with the most expensive and illustrious of that ilk. The exterior has twelve coats of rubbed down lacquer, and has beautiful magnesium wheels.

Interior décor is in black and gold, the commodious cockpit having plenty of leg room and clean swept space. The impressive dashboard has a long array of gauges to inform the driver of what is going on with the reversing lever at the left. It desired a foot pedal could be substituted for this lever.

Performance:

A turn of the switch and the burner ignites with a slight puff. No smell and no smoke from oil fuel – lovely combustion. By my watch timing, steam pressure was raised and we moved away in just over one minute with full power available. When the power unit is warm, steam raising is practically instantaneous. We threaded our way through heavy city traffic and then out on to the open road.

Owner-driver, designer Charles F. Keen let her out and we rolled at sixty and then at seventy, which was all traffic conditions would allow. No fuss and no trouble. The monotube steam generator and automatic controls provide the steam when the engine requires it, all the driver has to do in normal running is use the accelerator pedal and footbrake.

To reverse, the engine rotation is reversed. There is no clutch or gearbox. Acceleration is brilliant, being best described by the remark, “…at average stop lights I am across the intersection before most cars get started.”

On a spurt, pressure once dropped to 800, but promptly came back and the rest of the time remained quite steady at 1000 to 1200. This type of steam generator, being inherently safe from all fear of explosion is not subject to insurance cover or inspection.

At 45-50 mph, the burner was frequently automatically switched off due to excess steam pressure, very rarely due to excess steam temperature, which proves the worth of the automatic control system. There are two power settings – a low fire position which gives about 85 mph top speed and the high fire with about 100 mph available.

Economy:

Cheap paraffin (kerosene) or furnace oil gives an economical 12-18 mpg (10-15 mpg American), depending on driving conditions, with improved economy envisaged for the future. Ordinary tap water is used and, with the steam condensed for re-use, the water tank need be only rarely filled.

Silence:

The engine and pumps are extremely quiet, comparing favorably with a perfectly tuned internal combustion engine. On a sudden hard pull, one is aware of a slight pulsation, but it is not very noticeable unless one is told to watch for it.

There are several positions for variation of cut-off (which is the fraction of the piston’s stroke during which steam is admitted to the cylinder).

Engine drive coupling contains 24 drive pins each surrounded by a rubber bush to give smooth, silent transmission. When riding along at 25-30 mph, it is impossible to know whether the burner is on or off.

Engine:

With four cylinders – the equivalent in power impulses of an eight cylinder internal combustion engine and 100 cubic inches (1639cc) capacity, the compact V4 design gives 130 horsepower, which can be increased if needed.

Steam distribution in the cylinders is on the uniflow principle, in which steam enters through a valve and exhausts through ports cut in the cylinder walls near the end of the stroke. Very high torque is available at very low rpm, so high that there was a danger of excessive wheel slip during acceleration.

For this reason, the engine is placed transversely behind the rear axle so that when power is applied going forward it throws more weight on the rear wheels, thus avoiding wheel spin. Also when the throttle (accelerator) is tromped on, the car hugs the road rather than creating a tendency for the front wheels to lift.

That this arrangement is of great practical use is made evident by the ease with which the rear wheels can be made to spin when reversing.

Steam Generator:

Gone are the days of the bucket of coal, belching smoke, and greasy rag. Steam is generated automatically, without noise, smoke or troublesome fumes. Combustion is so good that there is none of the noxious odor associated with the diesel and, to the lesser extent, with the petrol (gas) engine.

Air and oil spray are blown into a totally enclosed combustion chamber at the top of the steam generator, and the hot gases give their heat to closely wound coils of immensely strong tube before being allowed to escape from an exhaust duct beneath the body of the car.

Water is pumped into the coils of tube, turning to steam therein, which is admitted to the engine via a throttle valve operated by the accelerator pedal.

Steam pressure is automatically controlled at a maximum of 1200 lbs. per square inch by the action of a pressurestat, which switches the fire on and off to suit the engine’s demand for steam, as controlled by the throttle.

The normalizer allows a small spray of water to be admitted into the hot or superheated section of the coiled tube, cooling the steam before its exit to the engine and enabling the thermostat to maintain a steady steam temperature.

The whole nestles unobtrusively under the bonnet (hood). This is a very light-weight, compact steam producer, not to be confused with a heavy, cumbersome boiler. Starting is even more simple and reliable than an internal combustion car. You just turn a switch. There is no need to wait for the engine to fire.

Within the minute, stored power is available to make the car accelerate right up to the maximum speed as fast as the tires will allow, without a pause for gear changing. A familiar car in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, is the Keen Steamliner, but nevertheless one which rarely fails to merit excited comment. Preliminary arrangements for eventual manufacture on a commercial scale are being made.

Enquiries should be directed to:

The Keen Manufacturing Company 1602 Gilson Street Madison 5, Wisconsin USA

Summary:

We’re still researching whether Keen was finished with a Victress S4 body or a LaDawri Cavalier body. The dashboard on the Steamliner was not one used by Victress – and we’re still researching if LaDawri carried it thru or changed it when they brought the Victress S4 forward in ’61 as the Cavalier. Of course it could be custom to the car – too.

Time will tell.

It’s also interesting that the car only had a passenger door. This was much more indicative of early ‘50s sports cars, and not later ones. Perhaps the engineering of the car required this space where the driver’s door would be to be used for an alternative purpose. I’m sure Glenn Brummer will address this issue in his future write up on this car.

And good news is that both this car and another steam car using a Victress S4 body have survived. Glenn will share with us more detail as his story nears completion, so keep your fiberglass channels tuned to Forgotten Fiberglass!

Hope you enjoyed the story, and until next time…

Glass on gang…

Geoff

https://hsteamroadvehicle.wordpress.com/catley-and-ayres-of-york/

Literatur

  • Richard J. Evans: Steam Cars (Shire Album Nr. 153), Shire Publications Ltd (Dezember 1985), gebundene Ausgabe, ISBN 0852637748 resp. ISBN 978-0852637746 (ISBN-13) (Englisch)
  • Anthony Bird und Edward Douglas-Scott Montagu of Beaulieu: Steam Cars, 1770-1970, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd (22. März 1971), ISBN 030493707X resp. ISBN 978-0304937073 (ISBN-13) (Englisch)
  • Floyd Clymer und Harry W. Gahagan: Floyd Clymer's Steam Car Scrapbook, Literary Licensing, LLC (14. Juli 2012), ISBN 1258426994 resp. ISBN 978-1258426996 (Englisch)
  • John Heafield Bacon: American Steam-Car Pioneers: A Scrapbook, Newcomen Society of the United States; Taschenbuch; 1. Auflage (Dezember 1984), ISBN 9994065904 resp. ISBN 978-9994065905 (ISBN-13) (Englisch)
  • H. Walter Staner: The early days of motors and motor-driving - steam cars; Lightning Source UK Ltd., Milton Keynes UK, ISBN 978-14455-2487-0 ; undatierter Nachdruck einer Anleitung zum Betrieb von Dampfwagen vom Herausgeber der Fachzeitung Autocar, ca. 1900. (Englisch)
  • Richard v. Frankenberg / Marco Matteucci: Geschichte des Automobils (1973), Sigloch Service Edition / STIG Torino; ohne ISBN
  • Hans-Otto Neubauer (Herausgeber): Chronik des Automobils (1994), Chronik Verlag im Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, Gütersloh/München; ISBN 3-570-14338-4
  • G. N. Georgano (Herausgeber): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present; Dutton Press, New York, 2. Auflage (Hardcover) 1973, ISBN 0-525-08351-0 (Englisch)
  • Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader: Die internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie - 125 Jahre Marken und Modelle, PC-DVD, United Soft Media Verlag (2008), ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8, ASIN 3-8032-9876-8
  • Halwart Schrader (Herausgeber): Motor Men: Menschen, Mythen und Motoren der Automobilgeschichte. 1. Auflage. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-03202-6.

Weblinks

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