Hall-Scott

Last updated
Hall-Scott
IndustryEngine manufacturing
Founded1910 (1910) in Berkeley, California
Founders
  • Elbert J. Hall
  • Bert C. Scott
Defunct1960 (1960)
FateDissolved
Parent American Car and Foundry Company
(1925–1954)

Hall-Scott Motor Car Company was an American manufacturing company based in Berkeley, California. It was among the most significant builders of water-cooled aircraft engines before World War I.[ citation needed ]

Contents

History

1910–21

The company was founded in 1910 by Californians Elbert J. Hall and Bert C. Scott to manufacture engines for automobiles and later expanded the production of engines for trucks and airplanes as well as gasoline-powered rail cars and locomotives. [1] [2] Hall was a mechanic and engine builder and Scott, Stanford University-educated, was the business executive. [3] They produced their first rail car in 1909, which they sold to the Yreka Railroad. In 1910, a factory was opened in Berkeley, California, with headquarters for a short time in San Francisco. The company built interurban electric railway cars for railroads such as the electrified Sacramento Northern, which ran trains from adjacent Oakland to Sacramento and Chico. The rail car business was slow, but some were sold as far away as China.

In 1910, Hall-Scott also began manufacturing aircraft engines for commercial and military aviation. [4] These engines possessed a remarkable power-to-weight ratio for the era,[ citation needed ] using an overhead cam, overhead valves, hemispherical combustion chamber, and extensive use of aluminum. Their various engine types shared parts and dimensions, reducing cost. Hall helped Jesse G. Vincent of Packard design the famous Liberty airplane engine, which has a number of features that are discernibly Hall-Scott. [5] It was initially called U.S.A Standardized Aircraft Engine. [5] Even so, Hall-Scott was too small to participate in the manufacture of the Liberties.

1921–45

Around 1921, Hall-Scott dropped its aero engine and rail car product lines, and expanded into building engines for tractors, trucks, boats, and stationary applications. The firm produced several hundred thousand two-speed rear axles, the Ruckstell Axle, for Ford's Model T through the mid-1920s.

In 1921, E. J. Hall began developing the valve system of Duesenberg racing engines and developed new cam lobe profiles that improved engines' reliability and power output. His research provided an understanding of the importance of the gradual opening and closing of valves and the effect this had on valve spring durability in high-speed engines. The designs he specified gave Duesenberg an immediate advantage and were quickly copied and applied to all high-speed engines using poppet valves, which continued to the present day.[ citation needed ] This work was done in Berkeley, suggesting that Hall may have used his company's resources. [6] [7]

In 1925, the company was purchased by American Car and Foundry, which used its engines in its buses and boats. 1931 saw the introduction of the Invader marine engine, one of the firm's most famous and important products. The company survived the Depression and then attained its highest production rates and employment numbers in World War II by building engines for a variety of military products, including a tank retriever, the M-26/M-26A1, and the Higgins boat (LCVP).

1945–60

Some post-World War II ACF-Brill buses manufactured in Philadelphia and purchased by Greyhound and Trailways were equipped with Hall-Scott engines. [8] Its last all-new motor, the 590, came out in 1954.

That year, ACF divested itself of Hall-Scott, which became independent as Hall-Scott, Inc. Annual engine sales remained below 1,000 in the 1950s, so the company sought revenue by purchasing a number of firms outside engine making. This had little effect on the bottom line, and so in 1958 Hall-Scott sold its engine division to Hercules Motors Corporation and closed the Berkeley plant. The final engines bearing the Hall-Scott name were produced by Hercules in Canton, Ohio, in the late 1960s.

In 1960 Hall-Scott disappeared as a discrete company when the non-engine division of the company merged with Dubois Holding Company.

Museum exhibits

Two Hall-Scott interurban coaches from the former Sacramento Northern Railroad (serial numbers 1019 and 1020) are at the Western Railway Museum at Rio Vista, California. The 1020 is restored to its original coach/trailer configuration.

Nevada Copper Belt 21 (1910 100 hp) is stored "serviceable" at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.

The body of Nevada Copper Belt 22 (ex Salt Lake & Utah 503 1913 150 hp) is at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City.

Products

Hall-Scott L-4 Hall-ScottL4.jpg
Hall-Scott L-4
Hall-Scott 440 Hall-Scott 440 engine right.jpg
Hall-Scott 440

Aircraft engines

Model nameConfigurationPower
Hall-Scott A-1 I440 hp
Hall-Scott A-2 V860 hp [9]
Hall-Scott A-3 V880 hp
Hall-Scott A-4 V8100 hp
Hall-Scott A-5 I6165 hp
Hall-Scott A-7 I4100 hp
Hall-Scott A-8 V12~450 hp [10]
Hall-Scott L-4 I4125 hp [11]
Hall-Scott L-6 I6200 hp

Automotive engines

Model nameConfigurationPower
Hall-Scott 400 I6
Hall-Scott 440 I6 [12]
Hall-Scott 504 I6
Hall-Scott 590 I6
Hall-Scott 190-2 I6240

Marine engines

Model nameConfigurationPower
Hall-Scott Invader I6
Hall-Scott Defender V12

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V16 engine</span> Type of engine

A V16 engine is a sixteen-cylinder piston engine where two banks of eight cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V16 engines are less common than engines with fewer cylinders, such as V8 and V12 engines. Each bank of a V16 engine can be thought of as a straight-eight, a design that can be inherently balanced. Most V16 engines have a 45° bank angle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argyll (car)</span>

Argyll was a Scottish motor car marque manufactured from 1899 to 1932, and again from 1976 to around 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duesenberg</span> American engine and automobile manufacturer

Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. was an American racing and luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is known for popularizing the straight-eight engine and four-wheel hydraulic brakes. A Duesenberg car was the first American car to win a Grand Prix race, winning the 1921 French Grand Prix. Duesenbergs won the Indianapolis 500 in 1922, 1924, 1925 and 1927. Transportation executive Errett Lobban Cord acquired the Duesenberg corporation in 1926. The company was sold and dissolved in 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overhead camshaft engine</span> Valvetrain configuration

An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion chamber in the engine block.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Siddeley</span> British aero engine manufacturer

Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd (BSEL) was a British aero engine manufacturer. The company was formed in 1959 by a merger of Bristol Aero-Engines Limited and Armstrong Siddeley Motors Limited. In 1961 the company was expanded by the purchase of the de Havilland Engine Company and the engine division of Blackburn Aircraft. Bristol Siddeley was purchased by Rolls-Royce Limited in 1966.

The De Vaux was an automobile produced by the De Vaux-Hall Motors Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Oakland, California. It was founded by Norman de Vaux and Elbert J. Hall. The company was incorporated on December 15, 1930. The company sold automobiles under the "DeVaux" brand from April 1931 until February 1932, when the company went into receivership.

The Continental De Vaux was an automobile produced by the Continental-De Vaux Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. G. Brill Company</span> Rolling stock manufacturer

The J. G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars, interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for nearly 90 years, hence the longest-lasting trolley and interurban manufacturer. At its height, Brill was the largest manufacturer of streetcars and interurban cars in the US and produced more streetcars, interurbans and gas-electric cars than any other manufacturer, building more than 45,000 streetcars alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siddeley-Deasy</span> British automobile, aero engine & aircraft company

The Siddeley-Deasy Motor Car Company Limited was a British automobile, aero engine and aircraft company based in Coventry in the early 20th century. It was central to the formation, by merger and buy-out, of the later Armstrong Siddeley Motor and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty L-12</span> American aircraft engine

The Liberty L-12 is an American water-cooled 45° V-12 aircraft engine displacing 1,649 cubic inches (27 L) and making 400 hp (300 kW) designed for a high power-to-weight ratio and ease of mass production. It saw wide use in aero applications, and, once marinized, in marine use both in racing and runabout boats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McFarlan Automobile</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

McFarlan was a luxury American automobile manufactured in Connersville, Indiana, from 1909 to 1928, by the McFarlan Carriage Company and the McFarlan Motor Car Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Duesenberg</span> American automobile designer (1876–1932)

Frederick Samuel Duesenberg was a German-born American automobile and engine designer, manufacturer and sportsman who was internationally known as a designer of racecars and racing engines. Duesenberg's engineering expertise influenced the development of the automobile, especially during the 1910s and 1920s. He is credited with introducing an eight-cylinder engine, also known as the Duesenberg Straight-8 engine, and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a first for American cars, in addition to other mechanical innovations. Duesenberg was also patentholder of his designs for a four-wheel hydraulic brake, an early automatic transmission, and a cooling system, among others. Fred and his younger brother, August "Augie" Duesenberg, shared the patents, filed in 1913 and renewed in 1918, for their "walking beam" four-cylinder engine and the Duesenberg Straight 8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August Duesenberg</span> American pioneer automobile manufacturer

August Samuel Duesenberg was a German-born American automobile and engine manufacturer who built American racing and racing engines that set speed records at Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1920; won the French Grand Prix in 1921; and won Indianapolis 500-mile races, as well as setting one-hour and 24-hour speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in 1935. He also shared with his older brother, Frederick S. "Fred" Duesenberg, patents filed in 1913 and renewed in 1918 for a four-cylinder engine design and the Duesenberg Straight 8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hall-Scott A-7</span> An early liquid-cooled straight-4 aircraft engine

The Hall-Scott A-7 was an early liquid-cooled aircraft engine manufactured by the Hall-Scott company of Berkeley, California. Using a straight-4 configuration, the engine developed 90 horsepower (67 kW) as the A-7 and 100 horsepower (75 kW) as the A-7a. In service these engines suffered from reliability problems and were prone to catch fire while in operation.

The Green Engine Co was a British engine company founded by Gustavus Green in Bexhill to sell engines of his design. He flourished especially as a designer of aeroplane engines during the first two decades of the 20th century. The engines were actually manufactured by the Aster Engineering Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford GAA engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The Ford GAA engine is an American all-aluminum 32-valve DOHC 60-degree liquid-cooled V8 internal combustion engine with a flat-plane crank designed and produced by the Ford Motor Company before and during World War II. It features twin Stromberg NA-Y5-G carburetors, dual magnetos and twin spark plugs making up a full dual ignition system, and crossflow induction. It displaces 1,100 cu in (18 L) and puts out well over 1,000 pound-feet (1,400 N⋅m) of torque from idle to 2,200 rpm. The factory-rated net output was 500 hp (370 kW) at 2,600 rpm.

The Advance Motor Manufacturing Company was a British motorcycle and engine manufacturer established in 1905. As well as supplying aircraft engines to the pioneering monoplane developers, Advance engines were also used by Captain Robert Scott to power Antarctic snow sleds. After the end of the Second World War the company was sold to Sheepbridge Engineering and became a motor supplies organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duesenberg Model J</span> Motor vehicle

The Duesenberg Model J is a luxury automobile made by Duesenberg from 1928 to 1937. Intended to compete with the most luxurious and powerful cars in the world, it was introduced in 1928, the year before the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression. The Model J, available with a supercharger after 1932, was sold until Duesenberg Motors Company went bankrupt in 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duesenberg Model A</span> Motor vehicle

The Duesenberg Model A was the first automobile in series production to have hydraulic brakes and the first automobile in series production in the United States with a straight-eight engine. Officially known as the Duesenberg Straight Eight, the Model A was first shown in late 1920 in New York City. Production was delayed by substantial changes to the design of the car, including a change in the engine valvetrain from horizontal overhead valves to an overhead camshaft; also during this time, the company had moved its headquarters and factory from New Jersey to Indiana. The Model A was manufactured in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1921 to 1925 by the Duesenberg Automobiles and Motors Company and from 1925 to 1926 at the same factory by the restructured Duesenberg Motor Company. The successors to the company began referring to the car as the Model A when the Model J was introduced. With a top speed of 71mph.

References

Notes

  1. Beach, J. E. (2008). Peterbilt: Long-Haul Legend. Minneapolis, MN: MotorBooks International. p. 17. ISBN   978-0-7603-3269-6.
  2. Shearer, Benjamin (2006). Home Front Heroes [Three Volumes]. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 375. ISBN   0-313-33420-X.
  3. Dias, Ric A. (13 January 2019). "Fighting to Survive". Warfare History Network. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  4. Stafford, James G. (21 October 1918). "Ten Years of Hall-Scott". Aerial Age Weekly. Vol. 8, no. 6. pp. 300–301. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 Venzon, Anne Cipriano (2013). The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia. Oxon: Routledge. p. 340. ISBN   978-1-135-68453-2.
  6. The Golden Age of the American Racing Car, Griffith Borgeson, Bonanza, New York, 1966, PP123
  7. "Hall-Scott Defender Engines uscrashboats.org". Archived from the original on 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  8. Lehrer, Jim (2012). The White Widow. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN   978-0-307-82446-2.
  9. "Hall-Scott Aviation Motors Described". Aero and Hydro. Vol. 5, no. 1. 5 October 1912. p. 7. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  10. "The Hall-Scott A-8". Aerial Age Weekly. Vol. 8, no. 25. 3 March 1919. p. 1250. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  11. Society of Automotive Engineers. Transactions of the Society of Automotive Engineers, Volume 13, Issue 2. p. 264.
  12. Berndt, Thomas. Standard Catalog of U.S. Military Vehicles 1940-1965 (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1993), p.125

Bibliography