The Union automobile was a vehicle manufactured by the

Union Automobile Company The Union Automobile Company was an automobile factory to manufacture the Union automobile through the Buckeye Manufacturing Company. It began manufacturing automobiles in 1902 and produced them through 1905. The company was located in Union Ci ...

from 1902 until 1905. It was designed by

John William Lambert John William Lambert (January 29, 1860 May 20, 1952) was an American automobile manufacturer pioneer and inventor. He is the inventor of the first practical American gasoline automobile. He operated large manufacturing companies that made ...

, who had developed the three-wheel

Buckeye gasoline buggy The Buckeye gasoline buggy, also known as the Lambert gasoline buggy, was an 1891 gasoline automobile, the first made in the United States. It was also the first automobile made available for sale in the United States. It was initially a three- ...

in 1891. Over the next decade, Lambert substantially refined the vehicle, with modifications including an additional wheel, a more powerful engine, and a new transmission system. The Union Automobile Company was formed as a subsidiary of Lambert's

Buckeye Manufacturing Company The Buckeye Manufacturing Company was a company noted for manufacturing gasoline engines and farm implements. It manufactured the engines for its sister company, the Union Automobile Company. The company was founded in 1884 by John William Lamber ...

solely to manufacture the Union, which took its name from

Union City, Indiana Union City is a city in Wayne Township, Randolph County, Indiana, United States. , the city had a population of 3,584. Union City was a stop along the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, a forerunner of the Pennsylvania Rai ...

, the city where it was built and which endorsed its production. In total, the company built over three hundred Union automobiles, before development shifted to the Lambert automobile, the Union's successor.

Development

The Union automobile was a modified design of a previous single-cylinder vehicle that

had started producing in 1891 in

Union City, Ohio Union City is a village in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,666 at the 2010 census. It is directly across the state line from its twin city of Union City, Indiana. It has a 24/7 police and fire department run by Police ...

. Experimental models were produced in 1898, 1900, and 1901; the 1900 model was the first to feature Lambert's new transmission system. Lambert, who had over six hundred patents for automobile-related parts, secured favorable concessions from the Union City chamber of commerce, in return for the vehicle being named after the city. It would be produced there by the

from 1902 until 1905. Manufactured from parts made by the

Anderson, Indiana Anderson, named after Chief William Anderson, is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson ...

, the Union had entered full production by 1902, but improvements to the design were made yearly. In 1903, the motor, which consisted of a pair of opposed 6 x cylinders, was moved from the front, where it had been initially placed, to the rear. In 1904 and 1905, five-seater

tonneau A tonneau ( or ) is an area of a car or truck open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo. A tonneau cover in current automotive terminology is a hard or soft cover that spans the back of a pickup truck to protect the load or to improve ...

models were produced; while the 1904 model had a 10 horsepower engine, the company produced 12 and 16 horsepower versions the following year. Manufacturing of the automobile was moved from Union City to Anderson in 1905. Late that year, the car was redesigned, and production was started again under a new name: the Lambert automobile, while production of the union stopped entirely. In total, the company had manufactured 325 vehicles between 1902 and 1905 (25 in 1902, 50 in 1903, 100 in 1904, and 150 in 1905).

Vehicle specifications

The operator of the Union automobile controlled the steering wheel with his right hand and the speed-changing lever, which allowed two speeds for forward movement and one for reversing, with his left. The variation in speed was permitted by the motor, which could be varied from 150 to over 1,500 revolutions per minute. The top speed of the automobile was . The gasoline tank, which was hidden in the back of the seat, had a capacity sufficient to run the automobile for to . The left foot controlled the handbrake; by throwing the transmission system into reverse, it operated as an emergency brake. This novel transmission system, which was connected by double chain to the rear wheels, was gearless, eliminating the jarring movements then associated with gear changes. The automobile's motor was devised by Lambert. Started by dry cell batteries, the four-cycle gasoline engine had two opposed cylinders that produced an initial eight

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

. Both cylinders acted on one crankshaft, producing a balanced engine. After the engine was started, an electric

magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

generator sparked the combustion of the gasoline in the cylinders to keep the motor in operation. A gear from the camshaft drove a circulating pump which water-cooled the engine by means of a large radiator coil. The automobile, which had a

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

and a

axle track In automobiles (and other wheeled vehicles which have two wheels on an axle), the axle track is the distance between the hub flanges on an axle. Wheel track, track width or simply track refers to the distance between the centerline of two wheels ...

, was equipped with wheels and wide

pneumatic tires A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...

and enameled sheet steel

mud guard A mudflap or mud guard is used in combination with the vehicle fender to protect the vehicle, passengers, other vehicles, and pedestrians from mud and other flying debris thrown into the air by the rotating tire. A mudflap is typically made fr ...

s; kerosene oil lamps were additionally provided for evening travel. In 1902 and 1903, a front seat was provided for two people, which could be closed up and the vehicle then used as a four person runabout vehicle. It cost $1,250 , with the option of a $25 dos-à-dos seat which converted the car into a six-passenger vehicle. The final model produced by the Union Automobile Company was a 1905 Model E. Fitted with a detachable side entrance tonneau body, which sat three people, the car was

upholstered Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English word ...

to a high standard: genuine leather was used in combination with a soft insulation material and springs in both the seat cushions and the back. It could hold up to five passengers, and was equipped with two oil lamps, a

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

, and necessary maintenance tools, for a total price of $1200 ($1125 without the tonneau).

Footnotes

Sources

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Development

Vehicle specifications

See also

Footnotes

Sources

Further reading