Henry Seth Taylor steam buggy
{{Short description|First known car built in Canada}}
File:Henry Seth Taylor Steam Buggy at 2015 CIAS.JPG.]]
The Henry Seth Taylor steam buggy is the first known car built in Canada. It was built by Henry Seth Taylor, a watchmaker and jeweller in Stanstead, Quebec in 1867. It was unveiled at the Stanstead Fall Fair that year.{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20150212-old-gold-the-henry-seth-taylor-steam-buggy |title=Old gold: The Henry Seth Taylor steam buggy |last1=Schultz |first1=Jonathan |date=February 12, 2015 |website=BBC Autos |publisher=BBC |access-date=February 23, 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitDa.do;jsessionid=B5086890A2F909D2AC1506313FF3759E?method=preview&lang=EN&id=19537 |title=Henry Seth Taylor Steam Buggy, 1867
|author= |date=2011 |website=Virtual Museum |publisher=Canada Science and Technology Museum.
|access-date=February 23, 2015}} The vehicle was crashed into a creek shortly thereafter.{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/66151649@N02/16604841716/ |title=Steam Buggy sign |author=Canadian Museum of Science and Technology sign, photo taken by the uploader |date=February 22, 2015 |website=flickr |publisher= |access-date=February 23, 2015}}
Description
File:Henry Seth Taylor Steam Buggy detail 3.JPG
The Buggy was modeled after a US-built steam car Taylor had seen in 1864. It was designed by Taylor to have a coal-fired boiler for the carriage. Fully pressurized, the steam was used to move a piston attached to the rear axle, producing forward motion. The vehicle does not have a reverse gear or brakes. It was able to travel at a sustained {{Convert|20|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}. The vehicle features thin strips of metal bent around the edge of the wheels in place of rubber tires. It is powered by a two-cylinder boiler mounted behind the driver. Steam is generated in the vertical coal-fired boiler, which is connected by rubber hoses to a six-gallon water tank located between the front wheels. {{cite web |url=http://www.autofocus.ca/news-events/auto-retro/the-story-of-canada-s-first-car |title=The story of Canada's first car
|last1= Bubbers|first1=Matt |date=November 9, 2012 |website=AutoFocus.ca |publisher=Bell Media |access-date=}} The vehicle lacks a coal box, but has a storage nook for lump coal or wood under the driver’s perch.
The vehicle weighs {{Convert|500|lbs}}. The boiler (as designed) can withstand {{Convert|60|lbs}} of pressure. It was the only example built, not having been meant for mass production; rather, it was exhibited as a curiosity at fairs around the area.{{cite news |last=Forani |first=Jonathan |date=February 19, 2015 |title=In the beginning, there was Henry — Taylor, not Ford |url=https://www.thestar.com/autos/toronto_auto_show/2015/02/19/in-the-beginning-there-was-henry-taylor-not-ford.html |newspaper=The Toronto Star |location=Toronto |access-date=February 24, 2015 }}
History and preservation
The vehicle lay disassembled in a barn where the wood from the carriage body and wheels had rotted away; it was discovered in the 1950s and was purchased and later restored by American collector Richard Stewart. In 1983, it was purchased from Stewart by the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, where it has remained since. The original brass-work around the cylinders and the oil caps were found to be in "fantastic condition", but the boiler has been replaced two times.
Media
The vehicle is featured on a 43-cent stamp issued by Canada Post in 1993, as part of the Historic Land Vehicles series.{{cite web |url=http://colnect.com/en/stamps/stamp/178100-Henry_Seth_Taylor_Steam_Buggy_1867-Historic_Land_Vehicles_Personal_Vehicles-Canada |title=Stamp catalog : Stamp ‹ Henry Seth Taylor Steam Buggy, 1867 |author= |date=2015 |website=colnect.com |publisher= |access-date=February 24, 2015}} It also is mentioned in the opening to Canada's Worst Driver in the 7th episode of Season 8.
References
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