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Waltham Manufacturing Company
Waltham Manufacturing Company (WMC) was a manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles, motorized tricycles and quadricycles, buckboards, and automobiles in Waltham, Massachusetts. It sold products under the brand names Orient, Waltham, and Waltham-Orient. The company was founded in 1893, moving to self-propelled vehicles after 1898. History Waltham Manufacturing Company was founded by Waltham businessmen around engineer Charles Herman Metz (1863-1937). Metz encouraged two employees to build a steam car of their own in the company's premises, which led to the Waltham Steam. Metz imported French Aster engines, and secured the U.S. distributorship for De Dion-Bouton engines and imported this maker's tricycles and quadricycles. Using De Dion-Bouton patents, WMC started building their own Orient Autogo and Orient Autogo Quad in 1899. An early investor in WMC, Charles A. Coffin (1844-1926), first president of General Electric, ordered an electric prototype in 1898, which didn't go i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metz Company
The Metz Company was a pioneer brass era automobile maker established by Charles Herman Metz in Waltham, Massachusetts, from 1909 to 1922. History C. H. Metz began in business in 1886 making bicycle parts, and in 1893 formed the Waltham Manufacturing Company with Herbert L. Thompson, Elmer G. Howe and Frank L. Howe. Later the firm developed designs for motorized vehicles. Metz departed his company over disagreements of company direction in 1901. He became the technical editor of the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal. Waltham Manufacturing Co. was in financial difficulties and in 1908 C. H. Metz took back control. He reorganized as the Metz Company in 1909. Kit car Metz inherited a large stock of automobile parts for the 10-hp runabout designed by William H. Little. Although Metz was not the first to offer a kit car (Dyke and Sears predated Metz with do-it-your-self high-wheelers), Metz did offer the first known kit automobile on the installment plan, known as the Metz Pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century in Europe. By the early 21st century, more than 1 billion were in existence. These numbers far exceed the number of cars, both in total and ranked by the number of individual models produced. They are the principal means of transportation in many regions. They also provide a popular form of recreation, and have been adapted for use as children's toys, general fitness, military and police applications, courier services, bicycle racing, and bicycle stunts. The basic shape and configuration of a typical upright or "safety bicycle", has changed little since the first chain-driven model was developed around 1885. However, many details have been improved, especially since the advent of modern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brass Era Car
The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915, a time when these vehicles were often referred to as horseless carriages. Elsewhere in the world, this period would be considered by antique car enthusiasts to consist of the veteran (pre-1904), and Edwardian eras, although these terms are really not meaningful outside the former British Empire. Overview Within the 20 years that make up this era, the various experimental designs and alternative power systems would be marginalised. Although the modern touring car had been invented earlier, until Panhard et Levassor's ''Système Panhard'' was widely licensed and adopted, recognisable and standardised automobiles had not been created. This system specified front-engined, rear-wheel drive, internal-combustion engined cars with a sliding ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V-twin
A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Although widely associated with motorcycles (installed either transversely or longitudinally), V-twin engines have also been used for industrial engines and in several small cars. The V-twin design dates back to the late 1880s. Origins One of the first V-twin engines was built by Gottlieb Daimler in 1889. It was used as a stationary engine, for boats and in the Daimler Stahlradwagen ("steel-wheeled car"), Daimler's second car. The engine was also manufactured under licence in France by Panhard et Levassor. An early V-twin engined motorcycle was produced in November 1902 by the Princeps AutoCar Company in the United Kingdom. The following year, V-twin motorcycles were produced by Eclipse Motor & Cycle Co in the United Kingdom (the ''XL-ALL'' model), Glenn Curtiss in the United States, and NSU Motorenwerke in Germany. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William H
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will, Wills, Willy, Willie, Bill, and Billy. A common Irish form is Liam. Scottish diminutives include Wull, Willie or Wullie (as in Oor Wullie or the play ''Douglas''). Female forms are Willa, Willemina, Wilma and Wilhelmina. Etymology William is related to the given name ''Wilhelm'' (cf. Proto-Germanic ᚹᛁᛚᛃᚨᚺᛖᛚᛗᚨᛉ, ''*Wiljahelmaz'' > German ''Wilhelm'' and Old Norse ᚢᛁᛚᛋᛅᚼᛅᛚᛘᛅᛋ, ''Vilhjálmr''). By regular sound changes, the native, inherited English form of the name shoul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crankcase
In a piston engine, the crankcase is the housing that surrounds the crankshaft. In most modern engines, the crankcase is integrated into the engine block. Two-stroke engines typically use a crankcase-compression design, resulting in the fuel/air mixture passing through the crankcase before entering the cylinder(s). This design of the engine does not include an oil sump in the crankcase. Four-stroke engines typically have an oil sump at the bottom of the crankcase and the majority of the engine's oil is held within the crankcase. The fuel/air mixture does not pass through the crankcase in a four-stroke engine, however a small amount of exhaust gasses often enter as "blow-by" from the combustion chamber. The crankcase often forms the lower half of the main bearing journals (with the bearing caps forming the other half), although in some engines the crankcase completely surrounds the main bearing journals. An ''open-crank'' engine has no crankcase. This design was used in early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leo Melanowski
Leo Melanowski was an American automotive engineer in the Brass Era. Melanowski apprenticed at ''Otto Gasmotoren Gesellschaft'' in Vienna, and then worked for Panhard & Levassor, Clément-Bayard, and Winton (working on their Bullett racecars as well as acting as manufacturing foreman). He replaced John Robbins as plant superintendent of Waltham Manufacturing Company when Robbins left in 1904. At WMC, he also had the position of a chief engineer. He left Waltham in 1906, to help racecar driver Joe Tracy starting the Dragon Automobile Company in Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th .... After that failed in 1908, he worked for the Aerocar Company which very soon folded, too. References * * G. N. Georgano (editor): ''Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friction Drive
A friction drive or friction engine is a type of transmission that utilises two wheels in the transmission to transfer power from the engine to the driving wheels. The system is naturally a continuously variable transmission; by moving the two disks' positions, the output ratio changes continually. Although once used in early automobiles, today the system is most commonly used on scooters, mainly go-peds, in place of a chain and gear system. It is mechanically identical to a ball-and-disk integrator, but intended to handle higher torque levels. The system consists of two disks, normally metal, set at right angles to each other. One disk is connected to the engine, the other to the load. The load disk is positioned so that its outer rim is pressed against the driven disk, and normally has some sort of high-friction surface applied to the outer rim to improve torque transfer. In early systems, paper and leather was often used for this surface. One of the disks, normally the load ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Runabout (car)
A runabout is a car body style popular in the 1910s, based on the horse-drawn runabout carriage. It was popular in North America from 1900 to about 1915. It was a light, basic style with no windshield, top, or doors and a single row of seats. Runabouts eventually became indistinguishable from roadsters and the term fell out of use in the United States. The approach has evolved into the modern "city car". Origin Runabouts originated as a type of horse and carriage body. In 1881, Rufus Meade Stivers produced runabout bodies using a patent held by Joseph Tilton. Stivers, a blacksmith and wheelwright, produced the runabouts in his carriage manufactory on East 31st Street, Manhattan, established in 1851. According to ''The Carriage Journal'',The special feature of the runabout was that the body was hung low by using cranked axles, and the side-bars were attached to legs at the top of the crank. The original runabout was made without a top, and, besides hanging low which made f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energy, digital industry, additive manufacturing and venture capital and finance, but has since divested from several areas, now primarily consisting of the first four segments. In 2020, GE ranked among the Fortune 500 as the 33rd largest firm in the United States by gross revenue. In 2011, GE ranked among the Fortune 20 as the 14th most profitable company, but later very severely underperformed the market (by about 75%) as its profitability collapsed. Two employees of GE – Irving Langmuir (1932) and Ivar Giaever (1973) – have been awarded the Nobel Prize. On November 9, 2021, the company announced it would divide itself into three investment-grade public companies. On July 18, 2022, GE unveiled the brand names of the companies it will ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orient Tricycle
The Orient tricycle was an early motorized tricycle (classified as a motorcycle under some definitions). It was manufactured by Charles H. Metz's Waltham Manufacturing Company in Waltham, Massachusetts and advertised in 1899 as a "motor cycle", the first use of the term in a published catalog. Orient advertised that the single-person tricycle could be converted to a two-person four wheeled "autogo" in five minutes. A 1900 Orient appeared in The Art of the Motorcycle exhibition at Guggenheim Museum in New York. Specifications Specifications in infobox to the right are from Garson, and from Krens. Notes and references Notes References * * * Further reading * — with some information on serial numbers See also *List of motorized trikes *Safety bicycle *List of motorcycles of the 1890s List of motorcycles of the 1890s aka ''motorrad'' (DE) sometimes ''motor cycle'' or ''moto cycle'' Motorcycle *Hildebrand & Wolfmüller * Geneva steam bicycle *Marks motorcycle (1896-1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Dion-Bouton
De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1953. The company was founded by the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton, and Bouton's brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux. Steam cars The company was formed in 1883 after de Dion saw a toy locomotive in a store window in 1881 and asked the toymakers to build another. Engineers Bouton and Trépardoux had been eking out a living with scientific toys at a shop in the Passage de Léon, near "rue de la Chapelle" in Paris.Wise, p. 510. Trépardoux had long dreamed of building a steam car, but neither could afford it. De Dion, already inspired by steam (in the form of rail locomotives)Georgano, p. 27. and with ample money, agreed, and De Dion, Bouton et Trépardoux was formed in Paris in 1883. This became the De Dion-Bouton automobile company, the world's largest automobile manufacturer for a time, becoming well known for their quality, reliability, and durability. Before 1883 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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