Caldwell Vale
Encyclopedia
The Caldwell Vale Truck & Bus Co. was an Australia
n automobile
, bus
, truck
and tractor
manufacturer from 1907 to 1913 in the Sydney
suburb of Auburn
. The company started in 1907 when Felix Caldwell and Norman Laurie Caldwell of South Australia
filed for a patent covering "Improvements in and connected with driving and steering motor propelled vehicles". In short, the patent was for a four-wheel-drive system with four-wheel-steering. Later they combined with Henry Vale of New South Wales
and in 1910, the trio applied for a patent covering "Improved power steering gear for heavy motor driven road vehicles". Few technical details have survived about the marque and roughly 40 examples of the vehicles appear to have been made. A touring car
, it is known to have had four-wheel drive
, a 30 hp six-cylinder engine
and four-wheel steering. The company also built a fair tractor
s. In 1912-1913, the company lost a court case to do with the performance guarantee of the trucks and was taken over by Purcell Engineering in 1916.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
, bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
, truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
and tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
manufacturer from 1907 to 1913 in the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
suburb of Auburn
Auburn, New South Wales
Auburn is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. Auburn is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Auburn Council.-History:...
. The company started in 1907 when Felix Caldwell and Norman Laurie Caldwell of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
filed for a patent covering "Improvements in and connected with driving and steering motor propelled vehicles". In short, the patent was for a four-wheel-drive system with four-wheel-steering. Later they combined with Henry Vale of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and in 1910, the trio applied for a patent covering "Improved power steering gear for heavy motor driven road vehicles". Few technical details have survived about the marque and roughly 40 examples of the vehicles appear to have been made. A touring car
Touring car
A touring car, or tourer, is an open car seating five or more. Touring cars may have two or four doors. Often, the belt line is lowered in the front doors to give the car a more sportive character. They were often fitted with a folding roof and side curtains. Engines on early models were either in...
, it is known to have had four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
, a 30 hp six-cylinder engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
and four-wheel steering. The company also built a fair tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
s. In 1912-1913, the company lost a court case to do with the performance guarantee of the trucks and was taken over by Purcell Engineering in 1916.