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N0KFQ > TODAY 04.06.12 21:37l 52 Lines 2496 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 23274_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jun 4
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<IK6ZDE<F1OYP<VE2PKT<ZL2BAU<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 120604/2010Z 23274@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.50
Jun 4, 1896:
Henry Ford test-drives his "Quadricycle"
At approximately 4:00 a.m. on June 4, 1896, in the shed behind
his home on Bagley Avenue in Detroit, Henry Ford unveils the
"Quadricycle," the first automobile he ever designed or drove.
Ford was working as the chief engineer for the main plant of the
Edison Illuminating Company when he began working on the
Quadricycle. On call at all hours to ensure that Detroit had
electrical service 24 hours a day, Ford was able to use his
flexible working schedule to experiment with his pet
project--building a horseless carriage with a gasoline-powered
engine. His obsession with the gasoline engine had begun when he
saw an article on the subject in a November 1895 issue of
American Machinist magazine. The following March, another Detroit
engineer named Charles King took his own hand-built vehicle--made
of wood, it had a four-cylinder engine and could travel up to
five miles per hour--out for a ride, fueling Ford's desire to
build a lighter and faster gasoline-powered model.
As he would do throughout his career, Ford used his considerable
powers of motivation and organization to get the job done,
enlisting friends--including King--and assistants to help him
bring his vision to life. After months of work and many setbacks,
Ford was finally ready to test-drive his creation--basically a
light metal frame fitted with four bicycle wheels and powered by
a two-cylinder, four-horsepower gasoline engine--on the morning
of June 4, 1896. When Ford and James Bishop, his chief assistant,
attempted to wheel the Quadricycle out of the shed, however, they
discovered that it was too wide to fit through the door. To solve
the problem, Ford took an axe to the brick wall of the shed,
smashing it to make space for the vehicle to be rolled out.
With Bishop bicycling ahead to alert passing carriages and
pedestrians, Ford drove the 500-pound Quadricycle down Detroit's
Grand River Avenue, circling around three major thoroughfares.
The Quadricycle had two driving speeds, no reverse, no brakes,
rudimentary steering ability and a doorbell button as a horn, and
it could reach about 20 miles per hour, easily overpowering
King's invention. Aside from one breakdown on Washington
Boulevard due to a faulty spring, the drive was a success, and
Ford was on his way to becoming one of the most formidable
success stories in American business history.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
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