Dudgeon (steam automobile company)
Encyclopedia
Dudgeon was an American steam automobile company active in the middle of the 19th century.
In 1855, inventor Richard Dudgeon
astounded New York
ers by driving from his home to his place of business in a steam carriage. The noise and vibration generated by the "Red Devil Steamer" frightened horses so badly that city authorities confined it to one street.
After losing the original in a fire, Dudgeon constructed a second steamer in 1866. After encountering more opposition to the vehicle, he moved his family, and the steam carriage, to Long Island
to escape city officials. Here he and his carriage became a familiar site, often with a young boy running ahead to warn travelers of the danger that followed.
Dudgeon ran the steam carriage many hundreds of miles and once covered a mile in under two minutes. Although the inventor claimed the carriage could carry 10 people at 14 m.p.h. on one barrel of anthracite coal, it was too far ahead of its time and failed to gain popular favor.
In 1855, inventor Richard Dudgeon
Richard Dudgeon
Richard Dudgeon was a mechanic, noted for his inventions of the hydraulic jack and steam carriage. He was born in Edinburgh in 1819. His father and family then emigrated to the USA where he became a mechanic in New York. He founded an engineering machine shop on Broome Street and this...
astounded New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
ers by driving from his home to his place of business in a steam carriage. The noise and vibration generated by the "Red Devil Steamer" frightened horses so badly that city authorities confined it to one street.
After losing the original in a fire, Dudgeon constructed a second steamer in 1866. After encountering more opposition to the vehicle, he moved his family, and the steam carriage, to Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
to escape city officials. Here he and his carriage became a familiar site, often with a young boy running ahead to warn travelers of the danger that followed.
Dudgeon ran the steam carriage many hundreds of miles and once covered a mile in under two minutes. Although the inventor claimed the carriage could carry 10 people at 14 m.p.h. on one barrel of anthracite coal, it was too far ahead of its time and failed to gain popular favor.
External links
- Dudgeon steam wagon at Smithsonian http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_1324.html