Amédée-Ernest Bollée (11 January 1844 – 20 January 1917) was a French

bellfounder Bellfounding is the casting and tuning of large bronze bells in a foundry for use such as in churches, clock towers and public buildings, either to signify the time or an event, or as a musical carillon or chime. Large bells are made by casting ...

and inventor who specialized in

steam car A steam car is a car (automobile) propelled by a steam engine. A steam engine is an external combustion engine (ECE) in which the fuel is combusted outside of the engine, unlike an internal combustion engine (ICE) in which fuel is combusted ins ...

s. After 1867 he was known as "Amédée père" to distinguish him from his similarly named son, Amédée-Ernest-Marie Bollée (1867–1926).

Biography

Bollée was the eldest son of Ernest-Sylvain Bollée, a bellfounder and inventor who moved to Le Mans in 1842. He became seriously ill in the 1860s and was obliged to delegate the day-to-day running of his businesses to his three sons. Amédée-Ernest was given charge of the bell foundry, while Ernest-Jules (1846–1922) supervised the

hydraulic ram A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It takes in water at one "hydraulic head" (pressure) and flow rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic head and lower flow rate. The device uses the water hammer ef ...

business and the youngest son, Auguste-Sylvain Bollée (1847–1906) assumed control of the ''

Éolienne Bollée The Éolienne Bollée is an unusual wind turbine, unique for having a stator and a rotor, as a water turbine has. The eponymous invention was first patented in 1868 by Ernest Sylvain Bollée in France. A further patent dated 1885 differed mainly ...

wind-turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

factory.

Steam vehicles

''L'Obéissante''

Amédée père manufactured his first steam vehicle ''L'Obéissante'' (''The Obedient'') in 1873 and made the first road trip between

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and Le Mans in 18 hours. The ''L'Obéissante'' carried 12 passengers and had a cruising speed of and a top speed of . It was driven by two V twin steam engines, one for each rear wheel. The original vehicle is preserved in the collection of the

Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

in Paris.

''La Mancelle''

In 1878 Amédée père designed ''La Mancelle'', which is regarded as the first automobile to be put into series production, 50 being manufactured in all. It possessed such (for the period) advanced features as

rear-wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel ...

(via shaft to the differential and then via chain to the rear wheels) and independent suspension on all four wheels. The original vehicle is preserved in the collection of the Musée de l'Automobile de la Sarthe.

''La Marie-Anne''

The public demonstrations of ''L'Obeissante'' and ''La Mancelle'' had secured orders for the Bollée factory, and Amédée père accepted an order for a

road train A road train, land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a trucking vehicle used to move road freight more efficiently than semi-trailer trucks. It consists of two or more trailers or semi-trailers hauled by a prime mover. History Early ...

which was completed in 1879. Developing 100 hp, ''La Marie-Anne'' had a three speed gearbox and was capable of towing 35 tons on a 6% slope. ''La Marie-Anne'' was of a similar design to ''La Mancelle'' with a vertical boiler mounted at the rear driving front mounted engines which transmitted their power to the rear wheels via driveshafts and chains. A tender carried coal and water reserves.

''La Nouvelle''

Amédée père had derived from ''La Mancelle'' different vehicles that he delivered in a variety of styles of bodywork such as: limousine, coach, omnibus etc. The ''La Nouvelle'' was from this series and was completed in 1880. The rear of the vehicle was designed to receive the piston engine, this time rejected near the boiler in order to enlarge the passenger cabin.

''La Rapide''

''La Rapide'' (''The Rapid'') was built in 1881 and was noted for achieving a speed of . ''La Rapide'' grouped the boiler, the engine and the controls at the front of the vehicle, thus making it possible for it to be driven by a single operator.

References

External links

The Bollée family
In French:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bollee, Amedee 1844 births 1870s cars 1880s cars 1917 deaths 19th-century French inventors Carillon makers Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France Foundrymen People from Le Mans Steam road vehicles