Doble steam car

The Doble steam car was an American family of steam-powered automobiles produced and developed between approximately 1909 and 1931. The name covers several related enterprises and makes, including Doble Detroit, Doble Steam Car, and Doble Automobile, founded around the engineering work of Abner Doble and his brothers. Doble cars became famous for combining unusually rapid steam generation, electric starting, quiet operation, strong acceleration, and high cruising speed with the luxury appointments expected of expensive automobiles. The company’s central technical achievement was the development of compact, automatically controlled flash or monotube boilers. Unlike earlier steam cars, which could require lengthy manual preparation before driving, later Dobles used electrically operated ignition, forced-draft burners, automatic temperature control, and carefully arranged water tubes to raise steam quickly. The driver could start the system from cold and, in later cars, move away within roughly half a minute. Doble’s powertrains also avoided several components associated with gasoline cars, including a clutch, conventional transmission, distributor, and ignition points. The resulting cars were smooth and nearly silent, with low vibration and strong performance. The early Doble Detroit used a two-cylinder, double-acting uniflow engine mounted beneath the floor and driving the rear axle. Its front-mounted boiler, integrated engine-and-axle layout, even weight distribution, and low center of gravity contributed to good road manners. The design was technically ambitious but was affected by development difficulties, including occasional starting problems and imperfect braking, the latter a common issue among cars of the period. The 1922 Model D represented a substantial redesign. It introduced a compound engine and a vertically mounted, counterflow monotube boiler with the burner positioned at the top. The more successful Model E, developed by 1922 and produced from 1922 to 1925, became the classic Doble. Its boiler operated at approximately 750 psi and 750 degrees Fahrenheit, while its four-cylinder Woolf compound engine delivered strong and exceptionally smooth propulsion. About 24 Model E cars were built, with body styles ranging from roadsters to limousines. Customers and owners included Howard Hughes and the Maharajah of Bharatpur, reinforcing Doble’s position as a technically distinctive luxury marque. Doble also developed larger Model G and Model H engines for experimental bus, truck, locomotive, and power applications. Doble engines were tested in vehicles associated with International Harvester, the Detroit Motorbus Company, General Motors’ Yellow Coach operations, and Fageol. During the First World War, Doble steam motors were used in two experimental tank projects, although neither became a production vehicle. Commercially, Doble faced major obstacles. Its cars were extremely expensive, production volumes were very small, and Abner Doble’s continuing engineering revisions made standardization difficult. The company continued manufacturing steam cars for several years after the first Model E was sold in 1924, but Doble Steam Motors collapsed around 1931. The company’s patents, equipment, and technical knowledge nevertheless influenced later steam-vehicle projects. George and William Besler acquired much of the plant and patents, while Abner and Warren Doble continued as consultants in New Zealand, Germany, Britain, and elsewhere. Their later work extended to buses, railcars, locomotives, aircraft, and the Paxton Phoenix project. Surviving Doble cars are now significant collector and engineering artifacts, and the marque is commonly regarded as the high point of American steam-car development.

Doble development began in the early twentieth century, when Abner Doble and his brothers pursued improvements to steam propulsion for automobiles. The early Doble Detroit incorporated electric ignition and an automatically controlled flash boiler. John Doble developed a rectangular boiler casing in which atomized kerosene was burned with a spark-ignited, forced-draft system. Heat-responsive controls regulated burner operation, reducing the manual intervention required by earlier steam cars. The Detroit car used a two-cylinder, double-acting uniflow engine beneath the passenger compartment. Its engine and rear axle were arranged as an integrated unit, while the boiler occupied the front of the chassis. The design had few conventional mechanical components and delivered quiet, smooth power. However, the company continued to revise the system, and the early uniflow engine was not considered fully satisfactory. The 1922 Model D replaced the earlier arrangement with a compound engine and a vertical counterflow monotube boiler. The boiler fed water through a long coil while hot gases moved in the opposite direction, allowing the system to preheat water and superheat steam efficiently. Only a small number of Model D cars appear to have been completed, and starting difficulties remained a reported concern. The Model E became Doble’s best-known automobile. Its refined American-type monotube boiler produced steam at approximately 750 psi and 750 degrees Fahrenheit. The power unit used four cylinders arranged as a Woolf compound engine, with Stephenson valve gear. The car’s 142-inch wheelbase supported a range of luxury bodies, and approximately 24 examples were produced from 1922 through 1925. Doble claimed rapid cold starting, high speed, long operating range, and low vibration. The cars could burn several liquid fuels, commonly kerosene, and were notably quiet in operation. Doble expanded beyond passenger cars. Model G and H engines were tested in buses during the 1920s, including trials involving International Harvester and the Detroit Motorbus Company. A Model H was later fitted to a Yellow Coach associated with General Motors, and a Model F engine was used in a Fageol bus. Doble motors also powered two experimental steam tanks during the First World War. These projects demonstrated the breadth of the company’s engineering ambitions but did not create a large commercial market. The Model F incorporated a boiler design that influenced later Doble-derived developments. Seven Model F engines or cars are identified in the reference account, including a chassis supplied to Oscar Henschel in Germany. Doble engine numbering also covered Model G and H units used in buses, locomotives, power equipment, and trucks. Doble’s technical reputation did not overcome its business constraints. The automobiles were luxury products with very high prices, production was tiny, and Abner Doble repeatedly modified the engineering. Doble Steam Motors continued building steam cars after the first Model E sale in 1924, but the company folded around 1931. Afterward, Abner and Warren Doble worked as consultants. Abner contributed to steam-bus development for A&G Price in New Zealand and to rail and industrial projects with Sentinel in Britain. Warren managed a German contract for Henschel, which produced several steam-powered applications. George and William Besler acquired much of the Doble plant and patent portfolio. Their work carried Doble concepts into aircraft and rail transport: a Besler steam aircraft flew in 1933, and a Besler streamliner was tested by the New Haven Railroad in 1936. Later projects included a steam conversion of a Kaiser automobile and consultations with General Motors. Abner Doble’s final major consultancy involved the Ultimax steam unit for the Paxton Phoenix project. Although steam propulsion did not regain mass-market status, surviving Doble cars and later Doble-derived machines preserve the company’s importance in automotive engineering history.

• 1936

  Besler steam railcar tested

  [1]Doble steam caren.wikipedia.org

  The New Haven Railroad tests a Besler steam streamliner derived from the same engineering lineage.

• 1933

  Besler steam aircraft flight

  [1]Doble steam caren.wikipedia.org

  A steam-powered Besler aircraft derived from Doble-related engineering successfully flies at Oakland Municipal Airport.

• 1931

  Doble automobile manufacturing ends

  [1]Doble steam caren.wikipedia.org

  Doble Steam Motors folds after a short period of luxury-car production.

• 1926

  Doble bus-engine trials

  [1]Doble steam caren.wikipedia.org

  Model G and H engines are tested in buses, including vehicles associated with International Harvester and the Detroit Motorbus Company.

• 1924

  First Model E sold

  [1]Doble steam caren.wikipedia.org

  The first Model E is sold as Doble enters its most recognizable production period.

• 1922

  Model D introduced

  [1]Doble steam caren.wikipedia.org

  The Model D introduces a compound engine and a vertical counterflow monotube boiler.

• 1922

  Model E development and production

  [1]Doble steam caren.wikipedia.org

  The Model E emerges as the classic Doble design, combining a refined high-pressure monotube boiler with a four-cylinder compound engine.

• 1918

  Doble engines used in experimental steam tanks

  [1]Doble steam caren.wikipedia.org

  Doble steam motors are installed in two prototype tank projects during the First World War.

• 1909

  Doble steam-car development begins

  [1]Doble steam caren.wikipedia.org

  Abner Doble and his associates begin the series of steam-car enterprises later collectively identified with the Doble name.

Ultra-premium, technically advanced steam transportation emphasizing rapid starting, quietness, long range, smoothness, and high performance.

• Steam automobile

  Doble Detroit

  The Doble Detroit was an early production-oriented Doble design featuring electric ignition, a forced-draft kerosene burner, an automatically regulated boiler, and a two-cylinder double-acting uniflow engine. Its boiler sat beneath the front hood and the engine was integrated with the rear axle. The layout reduced the need for a clutch and transmission and helped produce a stable, quiet car, although early versions remained technically difficult and subject to development changes.

• Steam automobile · 1922

  Model D

  Introduced in 1922, the Model D was a major redesign of the earlier Doble Detroit. It used a two-cylinder compound engine and a vertical counterflow monotube boiler with a top-mounted forced-draft burner. Only a very small number appear to have been built. The compound engine could present starting difficulties, but the boiler arrangement established principles used in later Doble vehicles.

• Luxury steam automobile · 1922

  Model E

  The Model E is the best-known Doble automobile and the model most often associated with the marque’s technical peak. Its American-type monotube boiler produced high-pressure, high-temperature steam, while a four-cylinder Woolf compound engine provided smooth propulsion. The car had a long wheelbase and was offered with bodies ranging from roadsters to limousines. It was exceptionally expensive and built in very small numbers, but it offered rapid starting, high speed, long water range, quiet running, and multi-fuel capability.

• Luxury steam automobile

  Model F

  The Model F incorporated a boiler design that influenced Doble’s later work. Seven numbered engines or vehicles are identified in the reference material, including sedan, phaeton, and chassis applications. Several surviving examples are associated with modified or mixed Doble components, reflecting the company’s practice of continuing development rather than maintaining a single fixed specification.

• Bus and industrial steam engine · 1926

  Model G engine

  The Model G was a larger Doble steam engine used experimentally in buses. Examples were tested by the Detroit Motorbus Company and in an International Harvester-related vehicle. Its use illustrates Doble’s attempt to extend steam technology beyond luxury passenger cars into commercial transport.

• Bus, truck, locomotive, and industrial steam engine

  Model H engine

  The larger Model H engine was applied experimentally to buses and other heavy-duty equipment. It powered a Detroit double-decker bus, was installed in a Yellow Coach associated with General Motors, and was linked with locomotive, power-plant, and truck applications. These projects remained experimental or limited rather than becoming a high-volume commercial program.

• Steam power unit

  Doble Ultimax

  The Ultimax was Abner Doble’s late steam unit, developed for the Paxton Phoenix project of McCulloch Motors. It was designed for very high pressure and temperature and was considered alongside a two-stroke internal-combustion engine as a possible power source for a lightweight automobile.

• 1931

  End Doble automobile manufacturingOther

  Background

  High prices, low production volume, and continual engineering changes weakened the commercial position of the company.

  Action taken

  Doble Steam Motors ceased operating as a car manufacturer.

  Aftermath

  Its patents, plant, and technical expertise passed into successor and consulting activities, particularly through the Besler brothers and the Doble family’s later engineering work.

  Source

• 1926

  Pursue commercial-vehicle applicationsStrategy

  Background

  Passenger-car production was small and expensive, creating an incentive to apply Doble engines to buses and other vehicles.

  Action taken

  Doble supplied or tested larger Model G and H engines in buses and related heavy-vehicle projects.

  Aftermath

  The trials demonstrated practical possibilities but did not lead to sustained mass production.

  Source

• 1922

  Replace the Detroit architecture with the Model DGeneration change

  Background

  The early uniflow engine and boiler arrangement were considered insufficiently mature for Doble’s ambitions.

  Action taken

  Doble redesigned the car around a compound engine and a vertical counterflow monotube boiler.

  Aftermath

  The Model D established technical ideas that were further refined in the Model E, although only a handful of Model D cars appear to have been built.

  Source

• 1922

  Develop the Model E as the flagship automobileProduct launch

  Background

  Doble needed a more reliable and marketable expression of its high-pressure steam technology.

  Action taken

  The company refined the monotube boiler and introduced the four-cylinder compound Model E in luxury body styles.

  Aftermath

  The Model E became the company’s most recognized automobile and is the Doble model most often preserved by museums and collectors.

  Source

1. 1Doble steam caren.wikipedia.org