Hall-Scott Motor Car Company was an American manufacturing company based in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
. It was among the most significant builders of water-cooled aircraft engines before
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
History
1910–21
The company was founded in 1910 by Californians Elbert J. Hall and Bert C. Scott to manufacture engines for automobiles and later expanded the production of engines for trucks and airplanes as well as gasoline-powered
rail cars and locomotives. Hall was a mechanic and engine builder and Scott, Stanford University-educated, was the business executive. They produced their first rail car in 1909, which they sold to the
Yreka Railroad. In 1910, a factory was opened in Berkeley, California, with headquarters for a short time in San Francisco. The company built interurban electric railway cars for railroads such as the electrified
Sacramento Northern
The Sacramento Northern Railway (reporting mark SN) was a electric interurban railway that connected Chico in northern California with Oakland via the California capital, Sacramento. In its operation it ran directly on the streets of Oaklan ...
, which ran trains from adjacent
Oakland to
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
and
Chico. The rail car business was slow, but some were sold as far away as China.
In 1910, Hall-Scott also began manufacturing
aircraft engines for commercial and military aviation. These engines possessed a remarkable power-to-weight ratio for the era, using an
overhead cam
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
, overhead valves,
hemispherical combustion chamber
A hemispherical combustion chamber is a type of combustion chamber in a reciprocating internal combustion engine with a domed cylinder head notionally in the approximate shape of a hemisphere (in reality usually a spheric section thereof). An en ...
, and extensive use of aluminum. Their various engine types shared parts and dimensions, reducing cost. Hall helped
Jesse G. Vincent
Jesse Gurney Vincent (February 10, 1880 – April 20, 1962) was an American aircraft, marine, and automobile engine designer. Famed initially for his design of the World War I Liberty aircraft engine, he rose to enduring prominence as the longtim ...
of
Packard design the famous
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
airplane engine, which has a number of features that are discernibly Hall-Scott.
It was initially called U.S.A Standardized Aircraft Engine.
Even so, Hall-Scott was too small to participate in the manufacture of the Liberties.
1921–45
Around 1921, Hall-Scott dropped its aero engine and rail car product lines, and expanded into building engines for tractors, trucks, boats, and stationary applications. The firm produced several hundred thousand two-speed rear axles, the Ruckstell Axle, for Ford's
Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
through the mid-1920s.
In 1921, E. J. Hall began developing the valve system of Duesenberg racing engines and developed new cam lobe profiles that improved engines' reliability and power output. His research provided an understanding of the importance of the gradual opening and closing of valves and the effect this had on valve spring durability in high-speed engines. The designs he specified gave Duesenberg an immediate advantage and were quickly copied and applied to all high-speed engines using poppet valves, which continued to the present day. This work was done in Berkeley, suggesting that Hall may have used his company's resources.
In 1925, the company was purchased by
American Car and Foundry
ACF Industries, originally the American Car and Foundry Company (abbreviated as ACF), is an American manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once (1925–54) a manufacturer of motor coaches and trolley coaches und ...
, which used its engines in its buses and boats. 1931 saw the introduction of the
Invader
''InVader'' is the fourth album by Finnish glam metal band Reckless Love, released on 4 March 2016 through Spinefarm Records.
Track listing
All songs written by Olli Herman, Pepe Reckless, and Ikka Wirtanen, unless otherwise noted.
Reception
Wr ...
marine engine, one of the firm's most famous and important products. The company survived
the Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...
and then attained its highest production rates and employment numbers in World War II by building engines for a variety of military products, including a
tank retriever, the
M-26/M-26A1, and the Higgins boat (
LCVP).
1945–60
Some post-World War II
ACF-Brill
The J.G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars,Young, Andrew D. (1997). ''Veteran & Vintage Transit'', p. 101. St. Louis: Archway Publishing. interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for almos ...
buses manufactured in Philadelphia and purchased by
Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...
and
Trailways
The Trailways Transportation System is an American network of approximately 70 independent bus companies that have entered into a brand licensing agreement. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.
History
The predecessor to Trailwa ...
were equipped with Hall-Scott engines.
Its last all-new motor, the 590, came out in 1954.
That year, ACF divested itself of Hall-Scott, which became independent as Hall-Scott, Inc. Annual engine sales remained below 1,000 in the 1950s, so the company sought revenue by purchasing a number of firms outside engine making. This had little effect on the bottom line, and so in 1958 Hall-Scott sold its engine division to Hercules Motors Corporation and closed the Berkeley plant. The final engines bearing the Hall-Scott name were produced by Hercules in Canton, Ohio, in the late 1960s.
In 1960 Hall-Scott disappeared as a discrete company when the non-engine division of the company merged with Dubois Holding Company.
Museum exhibits
Two Hall-Scott interurban coaches from the former Sacramento Northern Railroad (serial numbers 1019 and 1020) are at the
Western Railway Museum
The Western Railway Museum, in Solano County, California is located on Highway 12 between Rio Vista and Suisun. The museum is built along the former mainline of the
Sacramento Northern Railway. Their collection focuses on trolleys, as it is ...
at
Rio Vista, California
Rio Vista (Spanish: ''Río Vista'', meaning "River View") is a city located in the eastern end of Solano County, California, in the Sacramento River Delta region of Northern California. The population was 7,360 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Rio ...
. The 1020 is restored to its original coach/trailer configuration.
Nevada Copper Belt 21 (1910 100 hp) is stored "serviceable" at the
California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.
The body of Nevada Copper Belt 22 (ex Salt Lake & Utah 503 1913 150 hp) is at the
Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City.
Products
Aircraft engines
Automotive engines
Marine engines
See also
*
Hunt Boat Company
Hunt Marine Service and Hunt Boat Company was a wooden shipbuilding company in Richmond, California. To support the World War 2 demand for ships Ackerman Boat Company shipyard switched over to military construction and built 13 craft for the US A ...
Rescue Boats that used Hall-Scott Invader Marine Engine.
References
Notes
Bibliography
Powerhouse Museum Collection : Hall-Scott Motor Car Co.* Berndt, Thomas. ''Standard Catalog of U.S. Military Vehicles 1940-1965''. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1993.
* Bradford, Francis & Ric Dias, ''Hall-Scott; The Untold Story of a Great American Engine Maker'' (SAE, Int'l: Warrendale, 2007)
* Gunston, Bill, ''World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines'' (Patrick Stephens: Wellingborough, 1983), p. 73
External links
The Hall-Scott Factory ca. 1917 : Oakland Public LibraryHistory and photo website
{{Hall-Scott aeroengines
Marine engine manufacturers
Motor vehicle engine manufacturers
Defunct aircraft engine manufacturers of the United States
Companies based in Berkeley, California
Manufacturing companies based in California
1910 establishments in California
American companies established in 1910
Engine manufacturers of the United States