This lock-down malarkey is having odd consequences. I have dug out an old Christmas present, a book called 'Cars of the Late 60s', which is basically the Daily Express reviews of the London Motor Show for the years 1965-9.
For each year there are a few opening articles on various subjects. Leaving aside instances of breath-taking sexism (such as advice to lady drivers not to wear corsets and to buy 'sensible' cars) and the usual period 'British is Best' mantra that we later learnt to be less than accurate, there are some technical articles of some interest. In the 1969 Review, a piece by David Benson suggests that steam power is the project for the future.
Now I am all in favour of steam power, but I don't remember any serious attempts to revive it at that time or since. I seem to recall someone called Pellandine (?) working on steam in the 1970s but only as a very low key exercise.
However Benson's article outlines the advance in steam power such as the flash boiler, which cut the steaming-up process to a few seconds and potentially made steam a viable option for automotive power. He then mentions several far more high profile folk. Donald Healey is quoted as saying - in a very forward thinking way - that steam would reduce wastes to a minimum especially carbon pollution. He had apparently built a prototype power unit and tested it in a kart chassis. ICI had offered him research support. General Motors, no less, are reported to have built two steam cars, the SE-101 and SE-124 that could reach production within a year (they didn't, I guess!).
On the motor-sport front, Andy Granatelli of STP was experimenting with a steam car for the 1970 Indy 500, whilst the Lear Motor Corporation (as in Learjet) had supposedly built a steam racing car which was shown at the 1969 New York Motor Show.
What happened to all this steamy enterprise? Why haven't i got a steam car on my drive?
,motorcars, ships, factories all burn something to heat boilers.
