John Inshaw (1807–1893) was a mechanic and inventor who lived in
Aston
Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre.
History
Aston wa ...
, now a district of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England. Inshaw designed and built machinery for the railway and shipping industries and constructed a
steam carriage
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. ...
. He was consulted by
George Stephenson
George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
on the design of wheels for
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s. From 1859 to 1886, Inshaw operated the Steam Clock
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...
on Morville Street in which he exhibited working models and examples of his mechanical devices. It was named after the most notable, although perhaps least practical, of his inventions.
Inshaw Steam Carriage
John Inshaw built a
steam carriage
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. ...
in 1881. It had a
water-tube boiler
A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
, working at 200 psi, and steam could be raised in 20 minutes. The engine had two cylinders of 4in bore by 8in stroke, three gears and double-gear drive to the rear wheels. When loaded with ten passengers it weighed 35 cwt and averaged 8–12 mph.
Inshaw wrote about his machine in ''
The Engineer'' magazine, published 1 November 1895. He claimed that he discontinued his experiments because of the law prohibiting the use of steam-propelled carriages and that he hoped to build a second one as soon as the law was repealed. A photograph of the carriage was printed in an American book, in 1904: "English & American Steam Carriages and Traction Engines". The author, William Fletcher, noted that the Inshaw Steam Carriage "was well known in Birmingham and district".
See also
*
Steam clock
A steam clock is a clock which is fully or partially powered by a steam engine. Only a few functioning steam clocks exist, most designed and built by Canadian horologist Raymond Saunders for display in urban public spaces. Steam clocks built ...
References
External links
January 1856 edition of the journal The Engineer featuring a description and illustration of Inshaw's Regent's Canal Tug-Boat– ''(online access requires subscription)''
John Inshaw's Steam Clock
– ''including a description of Inshaw's notable twin-screw propeller-driven steam boats''
1807 births
1893 deaths
English inventors
Steam road vehicles
People from Birmingham, West Midlands
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