1854 Huggleston Steam Waggon

[microgoat]

Digging through the family archives, I came across the technical drawings for this most unusual device. It is probably the first 4-wheel-drive vehicle, designed for exploring and mapping the rough terrain across the US-Canadian border. It accomplished two Rocky Mountain crossings, in the days before roads.

It was commissioned by Felix Huggleston (a distant relative) and built by the Lima Locomotive works. Many technical obstacles had to be overcome, including flexible suspension (not normally a requirement for locomotives) and steam generation at extreme boiler angles, again a situation your normal loco does not encounter.

There was a crew of two; a driver, in this case Felix, and a fireman/spotter, who, when not stoking the boiler, would step outside onto a platform to overlook the terrain ahead (much of which was invisble to the driver).



Starting with the front half of an XC and a TLT axle, I made the wheels and boiler by wrapping .020 styrene inside a roll of tape. Steering was by the rear wheels, as the weight of the boiler prevented steering the front wheels.



Suspension by walking beam/leaf spring, with stout lower links.



Driver's compartment, with entry door and spotter's platform



Front of the Steam Waggon, showing the boiler, smokestack and steam dome.

The Department of the Interior took a dim view toward Felix's expedition, as driving a steam engine through several thousand miles of forest was, in the words of Secretary of the Interior William Walker, "dangerously stupid, at best." Refused funding by the government, Felix (heir to the vast Huggleston Parasol Company fortune) funded the expedition himself, beginning with the construction of this remarkable vehicle.

The fate of the expedition, and of Huggleston, will be revealed at the end of this thread. Stay tuned for an historic journey.

[47willysbuggy]

subscribed

[montana.matt]

Awesome

[Blackvelvet]

Back to the Future: On the Rocks

[salmonfacesalad]

steampunk huh? nice build so far.

Got any pics of the real Huggleston? none on google.

[hotwheels000]

Now thats a build thread...history,tech,and suspense.Cant wait to see the rest of the thread and outcome

[thumper68]

Damnit!!! You did it to me again, subscribed.. awesome work again.

[microgoat]

Excerpt from Huggleston's journal:

19 May: [year unknown, probably 1855] In an unexpected contradiction to the information given by the advance party, animal life along the border region is quite sparse. I have seen not one buffaloe, nor deer nor antelope. Yesterday I espied through my glass a small herd of possibly the latter, but so great was the speed at which they fled I was unable to ascertain the species. Even small game such as hares do not appear to live here.

Stoker [the fireman's name was Stoker, first name unknown] thinks the noise of our passage has caused them to flee, and points out that many of the aforementioned animals can be seen at night, while I sleep in my tent and he gathers wood for the next day's passage.

Dear Stoker is an uneducated man, so I take his views with a grain of salt. In the few weeks we have been travelling, Stoker's reluctance to voice his opinions has receded the farther we stray from civilization. I shall soon have to have words with the man.

Excerpt from the board meeting of the Lima Locomotive Works, 14 October 1853:

"Huggleston should stick with making fancy parasols and leave the engineering to us men as have the temperament for it."

"Indeed he thwarts our efforts at sound engineering with every new telegram, and they number over one hundred already."

One may conclude that Huggleston's Folly (as the machine was informally known) was not Lima Locomotive's finest effort.

Efforts to unearth the telegrams continue.

[montana.matt]

You're a good story teller, Stu

[bmuzz1]

The build is really cool and I am looking forward to seeing it progress but the story is what really has my attention!

[rj_dio]

Fantastic!

I've been saving links for various early 4x4's in the hopes on one day building something along similar lines. It's easy to get caught up in the cool technology of modern 4x4's, but I thought it would be fun to try something RC from the early days when 4x4's were a must for exploring. This is older and cooler than the projects I was thinking about.

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/who.html

http://www.4wdonline.com/A/History.html

Subscribed!

[microgoat]

More on the build:



Rear wheels (smaller than the fronts, I think the gearing will work out but won't know for sure til I install the front driveshaft)



Battery compartment



Right-hand cylinder/wheel assembly



A considerable amount of bracing was required to accommodate the swinging cylinders, which were fixed to the lower links. Flexible steam pipes were used, and these proved troublesome.



Driving seat and steering wheel. Huggleston complained at great length about the seat, and the effort required to steer, eventually surrendering this duty to Stoker and taking up his fireman's spot on the platform in front. He did not, of course, take over the duty of stoking the fire, as such duty would not suit a gentleman.

Huggleston's "duty" consisted largely of sitting in a camp chair on the platform (under a parasol, of course) and shouting instructions into the speaking tube.

[LR3]

wow stu, this is stunning and it isn't even finished. You have a cool history aswell

[BLOODBANE]

Fantastic build and great story behind it. Will definitely watch this one....

[MAXXMASHER]

Wow, what a unique scale build! I can't wait to see how this turns out. If you wanted to get really nuts, you could make it powered by steam. It's been done before. This guy, Crabfu, makes RC steam vehicles from scratch and says his only tool is dremel! I had to find the links after seeing your thread. Here's a video of his 6WD 4WS tamiya-axle rover powered by a steam engine. Crazy stuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USBZ13QbxHY

And here's his site....

http://www.crabfu.com/steamtoys/

[ugly duck]

I'd like to meet you one day, Stu, and shake your hand.

[STANG KILLA SS]

i didnt even look at the name under the thread title....i just knew

[microgoat]

More from the journal:

8 November 1853: Today received a telegram from Lima {Locomotive Works] with the glorious news that the Steam Waggon's best speed is 28 miles per hour. With that figure I may conclude that the traverse of the 49th Parallel may be made in but six days, and with only six watering stations, spaced two hundred miles apart. Advised Jones to construct these stations with all possible speed.

Needless to say, top speed on the level, flat terrain of Lima's proving ground did not correspond to the same speed on the terrain along the frontier. Huggleston's assertion that the crossing could be made in six days, and his subsequent preparation for a six-day journey, proved disastrous.

The crossing in fact took two years.

A note on spelling. Huggleston proudly displayed a drawing of the Steam Waggon for all to see, starting in 1849. When prompted that he had spelled "wagon" incorrectly, he responded: "Perhaps an ordinary wagon can suffice with one G, for Goods perhaps. Mine, however, carries two G's, for Glory and for God, to whom I shall dedicate this noble enterprise."

Clearly, the man was an ass.

[microgoat]

Tender and water tank



Feedwater pump, and left-hand cylinder support with notch for the water tube.



Front of boiler. The speaking tube is visible on the railing.



Other end of the speaking tube, next to the driving seat.



Overall shot with the roof support started. The roof support was a cast-iron hoop, intended to support the expedition's luggage. It seems a bit over-built for the purpose, but as it did not fail under use (possibly the only part not to do so) that point is debateable.

[microgoat]

1st May 1855: Today we begin our glorious enterprise! We arrived in Duluth, a town in the Minnesota Territory, by ship, and supervised the unloading of the Steam Waggon and the supplies we will need for our journey. We were observed by the residents of Duluth, many Frenchmen, Red Indians (Stoker, much to my surprise, speaks their incomprehensible language as he served in the Indian Wars so recently concluded. He tells me they are known as the O-Jib-Way, and is negotiating with them for such guidance as we may need) miners and fur trappers.

To the north, I see a great forest. We shall not want for fuel on this journey! Stoker has gone into town to purchase additional axes, saws and other tools as will be needed. For my part, I secured us a suite of rooms at the Hotel Duluth, the most deluxe available as we shall not enjoy accommodations indoors for some time. I must note that the Hotel Duluth does not measure up to the fine establishments in Philadelphia, but as we are on the frontier one must make allowances.

The Steam Waggon has aroused much curiosity in the population. I mounted the platform and addressed the crowd, speaking to them of our endeavour. Upon concluding, the crowd cheered hurrah! and wished me well. The trappers informed me that the forest extends north from here even into British Canada, a distance of nearly one hundred miles!

The Northern Frontier shall be a grand adventure. Tonight we feast, tomorrow we embark.