Steampunk LSR

[Weaver]

Okay, I might not get time to do this one, but my intention is to make a steampunk steam-land-speed-record car out of the red one of these:



Think two tall black funnels and hand-beaten copper bodywork........

The actual scale will depend on what top-hatted and parasol-twirling gentlefolk I can get to stand alongside it....

[puddingwrestler]

Eureka Miniatures of Australia does a line of steampunk/victorain gentlefolk in 28mm scale... that'd mean it'd be a fairly big machine, but then again, steam takes a lot of space!

[Daryl J.]

Gotta love that!



Daryl J.

[Weaver]

Splendid day chaps! Just popped into the local plastic model emporium with the thought that since they are biased towards the decendents of Mr. Stephenson's finest, they might be a good source of stout and suitable components such as spoked wheels, pistons and the like, although I will admit to a little apprehension at the prospect of revealing that I intended to purloin said items for a project which is not merely historically inaccurate, but doesn't even proceed via the Permanent Way. However, no such confrontation became neccessary, because no sooner had I crossed their threshold than I spied a perfect and inoffensive source of such material, namely an Airfix 1/32nd scale 1904 De Dietrich automobile, whose spoked wheels were not only of the perfectly correct diameter, but which also sported a pair of exposed chains to drive them which Mr. W.Heath Robinson would have been proud to present as his own concoction!

Having purchased said model kit for the significant but affordable sum of six pounds, I proceeded homewards with all haste to begin my experiments. On matching the spoked wheels to the Alky Saltzer body, I found that though they fitted well enough, they were almost completely concealed by the extensive bodywork. Since this effect would render their purchase superfluous, I resolved to cut away the centre of the wheel arches to reveal them in all their Victorianity. A goodly time spent in the careful and tedious application of a circle cutter to the sturdy plastic produced the result herewith:



Please take note that the funnels shown in the electro-numeric photographs are mere facsimilies of those I intend to construct, being made from felt-tipped pen caps of approximately suitable dimensions. The real funnels will be shorter and have flared tops, if I can summon the skill to reproduce my ideas to a suitable standard.



The good gentleman alongside is there merely to show scale, his being 1/72nd, or 20mm in the parlance of the wargaming fraternity. I think that figures of upto 28mm will be suitable for the final diorama. The De Dietrich automobile came complete with a splendid figure of a driver in overcoat, flat cap and goggles, but I fear that, at 1/32nd scale, he has the effect or making the Alky Saltzer body shell look more like a child's go-cart than anything propelled by means other than gravity, and I fear that the glazed canopy would be such a close fit as to inflict upon him the profoundest claustrophobia.

After a light supper, I shall endeavour to open up more of the wheel arches. Any  comments, observations or advice that you care to offer would be most cordially received, indeed, may I be so bold as to positively solicit you to offer them?

Salutations and the very best of luck with your own splendid and varied efforts! 

[puddingwrestler]

Have a squiz at this:

The spikey flared-funnel top stuff is plasticard with holes punched at 1cm intervals with a single hole hole punch, then a bit of slicing and dicing. Now you would be after a smaller version I am sure, so regularly spaced drill holes would work. Then just wrap 'em round your funnel.

[rallymodeller]

WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH SERVICE
SARNIA ONTARIO 22 JAN 1908

VIEWED YOUR PHOTONUMERIC REPRODUCTION OF SPEED RECORD LAND STEAMER STOP WAS IMPRESSED WITH BOTH DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION STOP YOUR DESIGN IS A CREDIT TO YOU STOP ALL POWER TO YOU STOP LOOKING FORWARD TO ITS COMPLETION AND YOUR ATTEMPT ON THE RECORD STOP

YR FTHFL SRVNT JEREMY END

[jcf]

Cool concept.

Are ya sure about using flared top cylindrical stacks?

Parson's Turbinia of the 1890s, the first steam turbine powered vessel and the
fastest vessel afloat at the time, had a parallel sided stack:



Torpedo boats of the '90s also had unflared stacks, some cylindrical some parallel sided.





The torpedo boats and fast steam yachts with their long and narrow streamlined hulls were the epitome of speed in the period.

Also, generally speaking, two stacks = two fireboxes = two boilers = two engines = more weight, complexity and synchronization difficulties.
Engine synchronization is a relatively minor issue with a twin shaft boat, but could be a serious problem with a land vehicle.

BTW the 1904 De Dietrich is classified as Edwardian rather than Victorian. Victoria died in 1901.

Jon

[Hobbes]

To: Weaver, Esq.

Sir, while I applaud your efforts and am looking forward to the completion and trialing thereof, I must voice my concerns over the proposed design for the funnels of your velociconveyance. Surely you are aware that at the speeds you are proposing to attain, a contrivance as you are suggesting would be a significant impediment to progress. A quick perusal of the remainder of your design suggests you have at least a passing familiarity with the (admittedly newfangled) theory of Aero-dynamics. My I suggest an alternative practice or two, either of which would gain you valuable top speed:
- one could venture to run the funnels horizontally, thereby decreasing the frontal area and thus, drag, while simultaneously taking advantage of the propulsive force left in the exhaust steam.
- another solution has been proposed by sir Nigel Gresley (you may be familiar with him, the designer of the A4 locomotive);

as you can see, the funnel on the A4 is truncated, again limiting its drag.

I dare say that neither of which would be objectionable to the Victorian mind.

Looking forward to your solution,

Hobbes, B.Sc. EE

[jcf]

Cayley wrote about the ideal streamlined aerodynamic form in 1804 and studied the matter for decades.
Streamlining was also a known concept in the field of hydrodynamics and was used in hull design by the 90s.
The first wind tunnel was designed by Francis Wenham and installed at Greenwich in 1871.

Jon

[Weaver]

Have a squiz at this:

The spikey flared-funnel top stuff is plasticard with holes punched at 1cm intervals with a single hole hole punch, then a bit of slicing and dicing. Now you would be after a smaller version I am sure, so regularly spaced drill holes would work. Then just wrap 'em round your funnel.

It is evident that great minds think alike Sir, for that is indeed the very technique which I had in mind! I have, in fact, produced a test-specimen of the funnel this very night, working directly upon a section of aluminium tubing. Regrettably, it will itself be unuseable due to imperfections resulting from the difficulties inherent in marking out with precision upon a tube measuring a mere 9/32nds of an inch in diameter, but nevertheless, it has demonstrated the potential of the technique. I may now attempt to replicate the exercise with the  precision which is made possible by more exacting preparation or alternatively, I may experiment with your suggestion of making the pattern "on the flat" as it were, and then wrapping it around the tube proper.

May I offer my thanks for your suggestion, and wish you continued success in your epic battle with the dastardly pudding!

[Weaver]

WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH SERVICE
SARNIA ONTARIO 22 JAN 1908

VIEWED YOUR PHOTONUMERIC REPRODUCTION OF SPEED RECORD LAND STEAMER STOP WAS IMPRESSED WITH BOTH DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION STOP YOUR DESIGN IS A CREDIT TO YOU STOP ALL POWER TO YOU STOP LOOKING FORWARD TO ITS COMPLETION AND YOUR ATTEMPT ON THE RECORD STOP

YR FTHFL SRVNT JEREMY END

GPO INTERNATIONAL TELEGRAPH
STOCKPORT CHESHIRE GB
26 JAN 2008

YR SUPPORT MUCH APPRECIATED STOP FURTHER ELECTRONUMEROGRAPHS TO FOLLOW STOP ANOTHER WHEEL ARCH CUT AND BOTH EDGES THINNED STOP COCKPIT OPENED BUT AWAITING PERSONNEL BEFORE PROCEEDING FURTHER STOP DESPITE HEAVY WKLOAD EFFORTS SHALL NOT STOP STOP

YRS WEAVER END

[Weaver]

To Mssrs Joncarrfarrelly & Hobbes,

Gentlemen,

My thans to you both for your generous advice, which I have pondered at some considerable length. Were this an exercise in the authentic reproduction of Victorian technology, such as might be required by a model railway project or a naval wargame invoving ironclads say, then your arguments would carry much weight with me, for they are well researched and supported by a body of evidence.

However, I must point out that this is not, in fact the nature of my undertaking. My poor effort lies in the genre commonly characterised by the term "Steampunk" which is an aesthetic rather than an engineering movement, one of who's principal endeavours consists of taking products who's basic nature would be utterly beyond the state of the nineteenth century engineer's art and giving them the character of Victoriana by the use of the design features of that period. Thus, an interrogation of the World Wide Web using the term "Steampunk" will rapidly uncover examples of such wonders as "steampunk electric guitars" replete with cogs and pistons which contribute nothing to their function but everything to their style, "steampunk calculators" and "steampunk computers" clad in polished oak and brass despite the fact that their contents are entirely the products of the twenty-first century, and even "steampunk spaceships" and "steampunk death-rays" whose underlying technology remains elusive still, yet whose cast iron, leaded glass and copper tubing combine to create the indelible impression that they do indeed originate in some parrallel nineteenth century.

Steampunk is not the study and application of the acheivements of Brunel and Stephenson to alternative applications, rather it lies firmly in the realm of Jules Verne, where plucky adventurers are fired to the Moon from giant cannon in complete disregard of the limitations of contemorary metalurgy, in capsules replete with quilted armchairs, huge brass instruments, china tea services and pictures of Her Majesty the Queen. Rather than a harmonious blending of real nineteenth century to a credible end, it is the very dissonance between the fundamental nature of a Steampunk artifact and it's Victorian style that gives it it's unique character, and thus I am of the opinion that the contrast between my automobile's streamlined bodyshell and it's paddle-steamer smokestacks is the very key to it's aesthetic success. I regret that I shall not, therefore, be adopting your suggestions for more streamlined  funnels, although I thank you again for your consideration in proffering them.

I am yours faithfully,

Weaver Esq.



p.s. On some specific matters raised by Mr. Joncarrfarrelly:

1. Two funnels do indeed imply two boilers, but there is not neccessarily a direct relationship between the number of boilers and the number of engines a vehicle possesses, since steam can be fed from any number of the former to any number of the latter. My working hypothesis for my car has it that there are two boilers, located between the wheels on each side, feeding a single multi-stage turbine ahead of the driver. The power of this turbine is transmitted via a shaft to a differential gearbox, out to sprockets at each side, and finally by chains to the rear wheels. Is this the most logical layout for such a car? Probably not, but then many things are built with illogical layouts: regard the Firestreak missile, for example. Land Speed Record cars are very much the product of single-minded, and by definition eccentric, individuals who also frequently have to use parts reclaimed from other applications due to financial extingencies. Perhaps a single boiler of sufficient power would not fit into a car of the desired dimensions, or perhaps the components were all scavenged and this was the the only way to fit them together?

2. You are quite correct to point out that the de Dietrich car is Edwardian rather than Victorian, but it's wheels and chains drives would hardly have been significantly different had it been produced a few years earlier. I should also point out that I misquoted it's date, for which I most humbly apologise. It does, in fact, date from 1902, rather than 1904.

[jcf]

I'm aware of what Steampunk is and is not, and using Mississippi-style stack crowns will definitely keep the pigeons off.

A turbine setup with two boilers is conceivable.
So automatic stoking and water feed, or a pre-loaded firebox with just enough coal for two runs?
Ditto on the water, just enough and no condensing? Total loss on the exhaust? 

Jon

[Weaver]

I'm aware of what Steampunk is and is not, and using Mississippi-style stack crowns will definitely keep the pigeons off.

An excellent point Sir! The courting of publicity, nay notoriety, is a regrettable neccessity for those attempting to break the Land Speed Record, and it would hardly be helpful to have one's transport of delight despoiled by avian depositions, would it?

A turbine setup with two boilers is conceivable.
So automatic stoking and water feed, or a pre-loaded firebox with just enough coal for two runs?
Ditto on the water, just enough and no condensing? Total loss on the exhaust? 

Jon

I fear that my limited grasp of external combustion technology will become apparent all too soon, alas. My inclination is to specify a pre-loaded firebox and a total loss water system, however, it occurs to me that a pedantic official could object to part of the propulsive mechanism, i.e the stokers and their supply of coal, being external to the vehicle rather than combined and transported therein.

I also had it in mind that perhaps an alternative fuel such as oil or gas might be appropriate: what is your opinion on the matter? Aesthetically speaking, I feel that it would not do violence to the vehicle's conception for one or two barrel-shaped excressences, implicit of tanks of some kind, to be added at the rear.

[Hobbes]

To: Weaver, Esq.

Dear sir,

I stand corrected on the esprit of Steampunk viz. mere Victorian technology.
Your suggestions as to alternative fuels are applaudable and would (in my opinion) be well within the spirit of Steampunk; they would also offer technological advantages over coal in that they would more rapid changes in steam production.
Might I suggest an arrangement for the aforementioned excressences?