Vehicle

Vehicles are non-living means of transportation. They are most often man-made (e.g. bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, and aircraft), although some other means of transportation which are not made by man can also be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks.

Vehicles may be propelled by animals, e.g. a chariot or an ox-cart. However, animals on their own, though used as a means of transportation, are not called vehicles. This includes humans carrying another human, for example a child or a disabled person.

Most land vehicles have wheels. Please see the wheel article for examples of vehicles with and without wheels.

Movement without the help of a vehicle or an animal is called locomotion. The word vehicle itself comes from the Latin vehiculum.

AVL stands for Automatic Vehicle Location.

Mechanical Road-Vehicles

Bicycle

Tricycle

Electric Road Carriages

Steam Road Carriage

After the period of the steam road coach ended by 1840, interest in mechanical road transport then lapsed, and it was many years before any serious attempts where made to develop further the use of steam power on ordinary roads. The steam driven locomotive from this epoch no doubt influenced them, and convinced them that steam-driven private carriages were feasible.

Thomas Rickett of Buckingham

Hence, in 1858, Thomas Rickett of Buckingham built the first of several steam carriages. Instead of looking like a carriage it resembled a small locomotive. It consisted of a steam-engine mounted on three wheels; two large driven rear-wheels and one smaller front wheel by which the vehicle was steered. The whole was driven by a chain drive and a maximum speed of twelve miles per hour was reached. The weight of the machine was 1.5 tonnes and somewhat lighter than Rickett's steam carriage.

Two years later, in 1860, Rickett built a similar but heavier vehicle. This model incorporated spur-gear drive instead of chain. In his final design, resembling a railway locomotive, the cylinders where coupled directly outside the cranks of the driving-axle.

H.P. Holt

H.P. Holt constructed a small road-steamer in 1866. Able to reach a speed of twenty miles per hour on level roads, it had a vertical boiler at the rear and two separate twin cylinder engines, each of which drove one rear wheel by means of a chain and sprocket wheels.

Catley and Ayres of York

In 1869, a small three wheeled vehicle propelled by a horizontal twin cylinder engine which drove the rear axle by spur-gearing; only one rear wheel was driven, the other turning freely on the axle. A vertical fire-tube boiler was mounted at the rear with a polished copper casing over the fire box and chimney; the boiler was enclosed in a mahogany casing. The front wheel was used for steering and the weight was only 19 cwt.

J.H. Knight of Farnham

1868 - 1870, John Henry Knight of Farnham built a four wheeled steam carriage which originally only had a single-cylinder engine.

R.W. Thomson of Aberdeen

1871, The road-steamer of R.W. Thomson of Aberdeen became famous because of wheels were shod with heavy solid rubber tyres.

Charles Randolph of Glasgow

1872, a steam-coach by Charles Randolph of Glasgow was 15 feet in length, weighed four and a half tons, but had a maximum speed of only 6 miles per hour; somewhat underpowered. Two vertical twin-cylinder engines where independent of one another and each drove one of the rear wheels by spur-gearing. The entire vehicle was enclosed and fitted with windows all around , carried six people, and even had two driving-mirrors for observing traffic approaching from behind; the earlier recorded instance of such a device.

R. Neville Grenville of Glastonbury

In 1875, R. Neville Grenville of Glastonbury constructed a a 3 wheeled steam vehicle and is still in existence. It traveled a maximum of 15 miles per hour. This vehicle is preserved in the Bristol city museum.

Amedée Bollée of Le Mans

In 1880, Amedée Bollé of Le Mans built a steam-coach. It display an interesting modern lay-out which closely resemble that of much later motor cars.

Steam Tricycle

At the other end of the scale much lighter steam vehicles where being constructed such as the steam tricycle from the Comte de Dion in 1887.

Petroleum Motor-Carriages

See motor-carriage

See Fords model T

See Automobile