Early Steam

Sir,

I was most interested in your letter from Mr. A. B. Demaus concerning my father’s early experiments with steam cars. The engine in the wagon was from an American loco, mobile steam car—this was a small tripleexpansion engine; the wagon was found to be wanting in many respects so this engine was removed and fitted to a Darracq car. It was fitted under the front seat, the flash boiler and paraffin burner (designed and patented by my father) was fitted under the bonnet. Some of the work was carried out by an engineering firm called Naylor’s of Hereford. I enclose a snapshot of the car and you will see that the gill-tube radiator was retained as a condenser and the water tank is clearly visible under the running board. My father only took to the internal combustion engine-after the First World War.

First he had a belt-driven Bleriot-Whippet, his second car being a Bayliss-Thomas with a Coventry Simplex engine. After that he took to Bugattis. His first one had previously been owned by Laurence Pomeroy Jnr. [ And by D.S.J.—ED.]. This was a 16-valve plain-bearing model, his second being a modified Brescia, both of which gave him great pleasure.

Cheltenham R. S. Peacey