1893 Shamrock

Last updated

The Shamrock Automobile, built by the Mimna Brothers, may be one of Canada's oldest automobiles on record and possibly one of the first attempts at an internal combustion engine. The oldest car built in Canada is the 1867 Henry Seth Taylor Steam Buggy built in Stanstead, Quebec. [1]

Contents

History

William Mimna and his brother Charles were stonemasons who lived in the small town of Wardsville, located on the Thames River, north of Chatham, Ontario. [2] The brothers began a quest to build their own automobile as early as 1893. William worked on the car in Wardsville, Ontario for many years on his own without much help from anyone else. In 1904 he finally finished his vehicle, and some speculation remains as to the date of record or year the vehicle should be placed in. [3] A Wardsville resident remembers the vehicle in its early years as far back as 1893, but date of record of an automobile is generally upon successful completion. [3]

The making of the car was originally inspired by steam locomotives, however William decided that gas-powered engines was going to rule the day in transportation so this is what he built. The car ran on one cylinder, put together from whatever parts the two brothers could find in Montreal, Hamilton, Toronto and Detroit, Michigan. Instead of a transmission the Shamrock had a system of belts and clutches helping it to run. The vehicle was named Shamrock the First, and without being aware of it the Mimna Brothers became a part of Canadian history. [4]

Problems and competition from Henry Ford

One of Canada's first automobiles on record and possibly a first attempt at an internal combustion engine vehicle was not exactly successful however. [3] The vehicle was unable to climb hills with its homemade engine, so the brothers decided to replace their engine with a French one, in hopes that it would have more power and be more efficient. However, this did not help as the vehicle still would not climb hills or exceed 10 miles per hour, on level ground. In 1910, six years after completing the car, the brothers made some improvements by adding pneumatic tires and a steering wheel. [3] By this time, however, Henry Ford was already mass-producing his own vehicle in Detroit. In 1893 Ford was promoted at the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit to chief engineer, giving him the time and money to devote his time to the creation and mass manufacturing of the automobile. [5]

In 1914, the brothers had a renewed interest in the automobile and built Shamrock the Second, from stock parts from other cars. This car was built exactly the same as the First but was faster. This speed was not such a positive thing however, especially with the lack of a proper braking system. William hit a cow in his hometown, and the car was thus totalled and never salvaged. [3]

Today Shamrock the First rests at the Canadian Transportation Museum and Heritage Village, where it still runs. This museum is located in Kingsville, Ontario, just outside the Detroit-Windsor border, and is home to over 60 vehicles, covering all forms of Canadian automotive history. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Ford</span> American business magnate (1863–1947)

Henry Ford was an American industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automobiles affordable for middle-class Americans through the system that came to be known as Fordism. In 1911, he was awarded a patent for the transmission mechanism that would be used in the Ford Model T and other automobiles.

The White Motor Company was an American automobile, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the company was based in Cleveland, Ohio. White Diesel Engine Division in Springfield, Ohio, manufactured diesel engine generators, which powered U.S. military equipment and infrastructure, namely Army Nike and Air Force Bomarc launch complexes, and other guided missile installations and proving grounds, sections of SAGE and DEW Line stations, radars, Combat Direction Centers and other ground facilities of the U.S. aerospace defense ring, such as the Texas Towers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Electric</span> Motor vehicle

The Detroit Electric was an electric car produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The company built 13,000 electric cars from 1907 to 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Studebaker</span> Defunct car manufacturer

Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the firm was originally a coachbuilder, manufacturing wagons, buggies, carriages and harnesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E-M-F Company</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The E-M-F Company was an early American automobile manufacturer that produced automobiles from 1909 to 1912. The name E-M-F was gleaned from the initials of the three company founders: Barney Everitt, William Metzger, and Walter Flanders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horseless carriage</span> Term for a motor car or automobile

Horseless carriage is an early name for the motor car or automobile. Prior to the invention of the motor car, carriages were usually pulled by animals, typically horses. The term can be compared to other transitional terms, such as wireless phone. These are cases in which a new technology is compared to an older one by describing what the new one does not have.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brass Era car</span> American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing

The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915, a time when cars were often referred to as horseless carriages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Motor Carriage Company</span> American manufacturer of steam cars

The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was an American manufacturer of steam cars that operated from 1902 to 1924, going defunct after it failed to adapt to competition from rapidly improving Internal combustion engine vehicles. The cars made by the company were colloquially called Stanley Steamers although several different models were produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Henry Ford</span> Museum complex in Dearborn, Michigan

The Henry Ford is a history museum complex in Dearborn, Michigan, United States, within Metro Detroit. The museum collection contains the presidential limousine of John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln's chair from Ford's Theatre, Thomas Edison's laboratory, the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop, the Rosa Parks bus, and many other historical exhibits. It is the largest indoor–outdoor museum complex in the United States and is visited by over 1.7 million people each year. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 as Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1981 as "Edison Institute".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steam car</span> Automobile powered by a steam engine

A steam car is a car (automobile) propelled by a steam engine. A steam engine is an external combustion engine (ECE), whereas the gasoline and diesel engines that eventually became standard are internal combustion engines (ICE). ECEs have a lower thermal efficiency, but carbon monoxide production is more readily regulated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the automobile</span>

Crude ideas and designs of automobiles can be traced back to ancient and medieval times. In 1649, Hans Hautsch of Nuremberg built a clockwork-driven carriage. In 1672, a small-scale steam-powered vehicle was created by Ferdinand Verbiest; the first steam-powered automobile capable of human transportation was built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769. Inventors began to branch out at the start of the 19th century, creating the de Rivaz engine, one of the first internal combustion engines, and an early electric motor. Samuel Brown later tested the first industrially applied internal combustion engine in 1826. Only two of these were made.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automotive engine</span> Car and truck technology

There are a wide variety of propulsion systems available or potentially available for automobiles and other vehicles. Options included internal combustion engines fueled by petrol, diesel, propane, or natural gas; hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrids, fuel cell vehicles fueled by hydrogen and all electric cars. Fueled vehicles seem to have the advantage due to the limited range and high cost of batteries. Some options required construction of a network of fueling or charging stations. With no compelling advantage for any particular option, car makers pursued parallel development tracks using a variety of options. Reducing the weight of vehicles was one strategy being employed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doble steam car</span> US make of steam-powered cars

The Doble steam car was an American steam car maker from 1909 to 1931. Its latter models of steam car, with fast-firing boiler and electric start, were considered the pinnacle of steam car development. The term "Doble steam car" comprises any of several makes of steam-powered automobile in the early 20th century, including Doble Detroit, Doble Steam Car, and Doble Automobile, severally called a "Doble" because of their founding by Abner Doble.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Car</span> Motorised passenger road vehicle

A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billion cars in use worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of steam road vehicles</span>

The history of steam road vehicles comprises the development of vehicles powered by a steam engine for use on land and independent of rails, whether for conventional road use, such as the steam car and steam waggon, or for agricultural or heavy haulage work, such as the traction engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckeye gasoline buggy</span> Americas first practical gasoline automobile

The Buckeye Gasoline Buggy, also known as the Lambert gasoline buggy, was an 1891 gasoline automobile, the first made in the United States. It was also the first automobile made available for sale in the United States. It was initially a three-wheel horseless carriage, propelled by an internal combustion gasoline engine; it was later developed into a four-wheel automobile with a gearless transmission, and mass-produced during the first part of the twentieth century. The platform was later expanded into a line of trucks and fire engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flanders Automobile Company</span> American automobile manufacturer

The Flanders Automobile Company was a short-lived US-American automobile manufacturer which operated in Detroit, Michigan, from 1910 to 1913. Its only product was sold through Studebaker dealerships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Series C Classic Six</span> Motor vehicle

The Chevrolet Series C Classic Six is the first automobile produced by American car manufacturer Chevrolet, from 1911 to 1914. It is one of the few Chevrolets made while record-setting Buick race car driver Louis Chevrolet was with the company. This Brass Era Chevy was much larger, more powerful, more stylized and therefore more expensive than the cars that would ultimately replace it. Louis Chevrolet loved it, but William Durant had a cheaper car in mind.

This is a chronological index for the start year for motor vehicle brands. For manufacturers that went on to produce many models, it represents the start date of the whole brand; for the others, it usually represents the date of appearance of the main model that was produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fossmobile</span> Internal combustion

The Fossmobile was Canada’s first successful internal combustion, gasoline engine automobile. Manufactured by George Foote Foss in 1897, only one Fossmobile is known to have existed.

References

  1. "Canada Science and Technology Museum - in Search of the Canadian Car | Musée des sciences et de la technologie du Canada - | À la recherche de la voiture canadienne".
  2. "Wardsville.ca". Archived from the original on 2011-12-15. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Baechler, Glenn and Hugh Durnford. "Cars of Canada". Mclelland and Stewart Limited: Toronto:1973.
  4. "Wardsville's Shamrock, the first registered car company in Canada". 18 March 2008.
  5. "The Henry Ford: America's Greatest History Attraction". Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  6. "Home". ctmhv.com.