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The First Passenger Car'– England 1801

As an Englishman born and bred and a fan of history of steam buses I thought it may be of interest to write an article about the history of the earliest steam busses. By the early 1800s, heavy steam powered automobiles were in use in England but were bared by the British Laws from public roads and forced the owners to run them on private tracks like the train.

On Christmas Eve 1801 in West Cornwal (UK) an engineer called Richard Trevithick took his new steam vehicle, ( or the "Puffing Devil" as it became known) out for its first test run. After a number of years research, Trevithick had developed a high-pressure engine powered by steam. His vehicle was no more than a boiler on 4-wheels but it took Trevithick and a number of his friends half a mile up a hill. The vehicle's principle feature was a cylindrical horizontal boiler and a single horizontal cylinder let into it. The piston propelled back and forth in the cylinder by pressure from the steam. This was linked by piston rod and connecting rod to a crankshaft bearing a large flywheel.

The vehicle was used for several journeys until it turned over on the unsuitable trails that were used for pack horses in Cornwall at that time. After having been righted, Trevithick and crew drove it back to Camborne and retired to a hostelry.

The water level dropped in the boiler and the fusible plug melted, sending a jet of steam into the furnace where it blew embers all around, setting fire to the surroundings and the wooden parts of the engine.

In 1802 a steam-powered coach designed by British engineer Richard Trevithick journeyed more than 160 km from Cornwall to London.

The "Puffing Dragon" was the world's first passenger car. Despite the disaster of losing his first vehicle, undeterred, Trevithick built a 3-wheeled steam carriage but this time complete with seats and a real carriage like appearance. In 1803, he drove it through London's Oxford Street on demonstration runs and reached speeds of 8-9 mph (13 - 14 km/h). Despite the runs, nobody was interested and so when he ran out of funds, he sold the power unit to a local Miller. Trevithick's vehicle was the first self-propelled carriage in the capital and in essence the first London bus.

Regular intercity bus services by steam-powered buses were also pioneered in England in the 1830s by Walter Hancock and by associates of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney among others, running reliable services over road conditions which were too hazardous for horse-drawn transportation. Steam carriages were much less likely to overturn, did not "run away with" the customer as horses sometimes did. They travelled faster than horse-drawn carriages (24 mph over four miles and an average of 12 mph over longer distances). They could run at a half to a third of the cost of horse-drawn carriages. Their brakes did not lock and drag like horse-drawn transport (a phenomenon that increased damage to roads).

According to engineers, steam carriages caused one-third the damage to the road surface as that caused by the action of horses' feet. Indeed, the wide tires of the steam carriages (designed for better traction) caused virtually no damage to the streets, whereas the narrow wheels of the horse-drawn carriages (designed to reduce the effort required of horses) tended to cause rutting.

However, the heavy road tolls imposed by the Turnpike Acts discouraged steam road vehicles and left the way clear for the horse bus companies, and from 1861 onwards, harsh legislation virtually eliminated mechanically-propelled vehicles altogether from the roads of Great Britain for 30 years, the Locomotive Act of that year imposing restrictive speed limits on "road locomotives" of 5 mph in towns and cities, and 10 mph in the country.

In 1865 the Locomotives Act of that year (the famous Red Flag Act) further reduced the speed limits to 4 mph in the country and just 2 mph in towns and cities, additionally requiring a man bearing a red flag to precede every vehicle. At the same time, the act gave local authorities the power to specify the hours during which any such vehicle might use the roads. The sole exceptions were street trams which from 1879 onwards were authorised under licence from the Board of Trade.

Please visit my Vintage Classic Cars on Art Prints Collection 1900-1913 @ http://www.fabprints.com/CARS.html

My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com

To visit the list and links to my other Blogg articles: http://bloggs.resourcez.com

The Chinese call England "The Island of Hero's" which I think sums up what we English are all about.

Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved

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How to Train Your Dragon Poster Movie I (11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cm) Jay Baruchel Gerard Butler America Ferrera Craig Ferguson Jonah Hill Christopher Mintz-Plasse List Price: $19.99 Sale Price: $3.25 You save: $16.74 (84%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days See Reviews For This Product Description How to Train Your Dragon Reproduction Poster Print Style I 11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cmPop Culture Graphics, Inc is Amazon's largest source for movie and TV show memorabilia, posters and more: Offering tens of thousands of items to choose from. Customer satisfaction is always guaranteed when you buy from Pop Culture Graphics,Inc Features 11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cm Size is provided by the manufacturer and may not be exact Please enlarge the image in the listing before purchasing - The Amazon image in this listing is a digital scan of the poster that you will receive How to Train Your Dragon Style I Poster Packaged with care and shipped in sturdy reinforced packing material - Guaranteed Customer Satisfaction

How to Train Your Dragon Poster Movie D (27 x 40 Inches - 69cm x 102cm) Jay Baruchel Gerard Butler America Ferrera Craig Ferguson Jonah Hill Christopher Mintz-Plasse List Price: $29.99 Sale Price: $17.99 You save: $12.00 (40%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 4-5 business days See Reviews For This Product Description How to Train Your Dragon Reproduction Poster Print Style D 27 x 40 Inches - 69cm x 102cmPop Culture Graphics, Inc is Amazon's largest source for movie and TV show memorabilia, posters and more: Offering tens of thousands of items to choose from. Customer satisfaction is always guaranteed when you buy from Pop Culture Graphics,Inc Features 27 x 40 Inches - 69cm x 102cm Size is provided by the manufacturer and may not be exact Please enlarge the image in the listing before purchasing - The Amazon image in this listing is a digital scan of the poster that you will receive How to Train Your Dragon Style D Poster Packaged with care and shipped in sturdy reinforced packing material - Guaranteed Customer Satisfaction

NEW POSTER - Dragon Sentinel Of Mountains 22x34 List Price: $11.99 Sale Price: $2.47 You save: $9.52 (79%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days See Reviews For This Product Description Dimensions: 22.5" inches x 34" inches Series & Type: Wall PosterCondition: Mint - This is a brand new item.Additional Products: This is just one of the many posters we have to offer. Features 22x34 Shipped Rolled in Sturdy Tube Wall Poster

Dragon Ball Z (Group) TV Poster Print - 22x34 Sale Price: $7.69   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days See Reviews For This Product Description Dragon Ball Z (Group) TV Poster Print - 22x34 Features decorate your walls with this brand new poster easy to frame and makes a great gift too ships quickly and safely in a sturdy protective tube measures 22.00 by 34.00 inches

How to Train Your Dragon Poster Movie H (11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cm) Jay Baruchel Gerard Butler America Ferrera Craig Ferguson Jonah Hill Christopher Mintz-Plasse List Price: $19.99 Sale Price: $4.66 You save: $15.33 (77%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days See Reviews For This Product Description How to Train Your Dragon Reproduction Poster Print Style H 11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cmPop Culture Graphics, Inc is Amazon's largest source for movie and TV show memorabilia, posters and more: Offering tens of thousands of items to choose from. Customer satisfaction is always guaranteed when you buy from Pop Culture Graphics,Inc Features 11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cm Size is provided by the manufacturer and may not be exact Please enlarge the image in the listing before purchasing - The Amazon image in this listing is a digital scan of the poster that you will receive How to Train Your Dragon Style H Poster Packaged with care and shipped in sturdy reinforced packing material - Guaranteed Customer Satisfaction

Ed Hardy (Dragon) Art Poster Print - 24x36 List Price: $9.99 Sale Price: $2.31 You save: $7.68 (77%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days See Reviews For This Product Description Dimensions: 24" inches x 36" inches Series & Type: Wall PosterCondition: Mint - This is a brand new item.Additional Products: This is just one of the many posters we have to offer. Features Decorate your walls with this brand new poster. Easy to frame and makes a great gift too! Ships quickly and safely

How to Train Your Dragon Poster Movie C 11x17 Jay Baruchel Gerard Butler America Ferrera List Price: $24.99 Sale Price: $6.29 You save: $18.70 (75%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 4-5 business days See Reviews For This Product Description How to Train Your Dragon reproduction Approx. Size: 11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cm Style C mini poster print Pop Culture Graphics, Inc is Amazon's largest source for movie and TV show memorabilia, posters and more: Offering tens of thousands of items to choose from. We also offer a full selection of framed posters.. Customer satisfaction is always guaranteed when you buy from Pop Culture Graphics,Inc Features Approx. Size: 11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cm Size is provided by the manufacturer and may not be exact The Amazon image in this listing is a digital scan of the poster that you will receive How to Train Your Dragon 11 x 17 Inches Style C Mini Poster Packaged with care and shipped in sturdy reinforced packing material

Dragonball Z Poster Print, 34x22 Sale Price: $9.75   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days See Reviews For This Product Description Decorate your home or office with high quality posters. Dragonball Z is that perfect piece that matches your style, interests, and budget. Features Print Title: Dragonball Z Size: 34 x 22 inches Please visit www.amazon.com/artdotcom to check for promotions from time to time.

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Dragon Spell - Wizard, Art Poster Print - 24x36 Sale Price: $3.06   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days See Reviews For This Product Description Dragon Spell - Wizard, Art Poster Print - 24x36 Features decorate your walls with this brand new poster easy to frame and makes a great gift too ships quickly and safely in a sturdy protective tube measures 24.00 by 36.00 inches