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Wow, that's wild. Never knew such a thing existed.
Neither did I
Rather neat, but not too practical since the idea didn't seem to take off...
Neat to finally know!
Ralph
Dunno who Besler was, but he is in the Keillty doodlebug books with a huge steam rail car. I HAD heard of steam plane experiments, but not the Besler. Like all the other stuff I want and won't get, I want both Baldwin and Unit-Stanley (yes, those Stanleys... the TCA Philadelphis Convention has a tour to a collection that includes a Stanley steam auto) steam rail cars. With oil fired steamers on the scene, I guess there was no longer a problem about the coal tender dragging on the rudder
. I had read that weight of water AND fuel was a problem.
How about that. Learn something new every day.
I had no idea such an aircraft existed.
Most interesting. Some quick research tells me that the Besler brothers carried on work started by Abner Doble, who built some advanced steam automobiles but ultimately failed to achieve commercial success.
Oh, okay...so Besler was associated with Doble, who built the last production (very
few and expensive, to maybe 1930) steam cars. While the Stanleys had a starting
ritual to go through, as I assume did the Whites, Locomobiles, and others, the Doble
had a flash boiler and appliances intended to make it as instantly startable and operable as competing gasoline automobiles. I am not sure I have seen a Doble,
even in the old Reno Harrah auto collection. One of the books this teenager found
in his high school library was "Story of a Stanley Steamer", which was about a 1950's
restoration of one by a New England college professor. Stanleys set the land speed
record at a very early time, and one went airborne and disintegrated while approaching 200 MPH in the early 1900's (wasn't aerodynamic). They had interesting
quirks such as instant reverse....reverse pedal was where the clutch is on gas cars,
so in a panic stop, if you slammed both feet to the floor, the car reversed instantly,
which could propel the driver over the windshield, which would lift your feet from
the pedals, and car returns to foward, slamming you back in the seat. The professor
discussed mounting a whistle on it and bringing down the gates on the Boston and
Maine.
Jay Leno has an operating 1925 Doble, which he drives and discusses in the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUg_ukBwsyo
If you're not acquainted with a series called "Jay Leno's Garage," take a look -- he talks about and shows off all sorts of great old cars.
