Engineering:High wheeler
A high wheeler is a car which uses large diameter wheels that are similar to those used by horse-drawn vehicles.[1] These cars were produced until about 1915,[2] predominantly in the United States .
Design
High wheelers were derived from horse-drawn wagons,[3] and often were conversions of these. Similarly to these wagons, they often had wood-spoke wheels, suspensions, and boxy wooden bodies.
The large-diameter slender wheels provided ample ground clearance on the primitive roads of the late 19th century, and frequently had solid rubber tires.[3]
These cars were produced in many body styles. The most common were the motorized wagon (utility vehicle)[4][5] runabout, roadster[6][7] and buggy,[8][9] some with detachable tonneaus.
- Examples of high wheelers
International Harvester Auto-Buggy
1911 International Harvester Auto Wagon
International Harvester Auto Wagon
Sears Model L
Patent drawing for the Duryea Road Vehicle, 1895
George B. Selden driving an automobile in 1905
Lenoir Hippomobile, 1863
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History
Before gasoline engines became widely available, high wheelers were powered by electric motors or steam engines.
The decline of the high wheeler began when standard automobiles became more sophisticated and inexpensive. The end came with the popularity of the Ford Model T.[10] The last high wheelers were built around 1915.[2]
Manufacturers
The following companies produced high-wheeler cars:
- ABC
- Anchor Buggy
- Åtvidabergs Vagnfabrik
- Best
- Black
- Buckeye
- Cole*
- Columbia Electric*
- De Schaum
- DeWitt
- Duryea
- Electrobat
- Eureka
- Fuller*
- Hatfield
- Haynes-Apperson*
- Hobbie Accessible
- Holsman
- Holyoke
- International Harvester*
- Jewell/Jewel*
- Keystone
- Kiblinger
- King*
- Lindsley[11]Lindsley Auto Chassis Company
- Luverne*
- McIntyre*
- Reliable Dayton
- Schacht*
- Sears
- Single Center
- Sperry Electric[12]
- Staver
- Success
- Vaughn Manufacturing Company [13][14]
- Waverley Electric* [15]
- Woods*
* Companies which also produced cars other than high wheelers
References
- ↑ Clough, Albert (1913). A Dictionary of Automobile Terms. pp. 161. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofauto00clourich. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "1915 International MA: High-wheeling into history". http://autoweek.com/article/1915-international-ma-high-wheeling-history.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Haajanen, Lennart W. (2003). "High-wheeler". Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles. Jefferson, NC USA: McFarland. p. 85. ISBN 0-7864-1276-3.
- ↑ "Car of the Week: 1910 IHC Auto Wagon". http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/collector-cars/pre-war-classics/car_of_the_week_1910_ihc_auto_wagon.
- ↑ "IHC Delivery Car". http://www.classiccarweekly.net/2013/09/23/ihc-delivery-car/.
- ↑ "A Pair of Schachts". http://www.classiccarweekly.net/2013/09/24/a-pair-of-schachts/.
- ↑ "1908 Holsman High-Wheel Runabout". http://www.classiccarweekly.net/2015/10/07/1908-holsman-high-wheel-runabout/.
- ↑ "Car of the Week: 1908 Sears Motor Buggy". http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/car-of-the-week/car-of-the-week-1908-sears-motor-buggy.
- ↑ "1908 Chicago Motor Buggy Type 112". http://www.classiccarweekly.net/2013/08/27/chicago-motor-buggy/.
- ↑ G.N. Georgano, G.N. (1985). Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886–1930. London: Grange-Universal. p. 65. ISBN 1-59084-491-2. https://archive.org/details/worldofwheels0000unse/page/65.
- ↑ Lindsley
- ↑ Sperry Electric
- ↑ Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr.: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805–1942. Digital Edition. 3. Publisher: Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2, Page 1494
- ↑ Marián Šuman-Hreblay: Automobile Manufacturers Worldwide Registry. McFarland & Company, London 2000, ISBN 978-0-7864-0972-3, Page 293
- ↑ Waverley Electric
Sources
- Kimes, Beverly Rae and Clark Jr, Henry Austin. Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942 (Third Edition). Iola, WI: Krause. 1996. ISBN:0-87341-428-4
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