This is Abandoned Project #737 and it does actually have to do with cars that use charcoal as fuel. I am really abandoning the subject in 2020 since it is highly unlikely that I will take it up in 2021, given where it resides in the queue of things which remain unfinished. You are likely to be interested in such an unusual topic and eager to learn more, but you are probably fatigued more than usual at this covid year end. So, I will make it easy for you.
There is no specific Wikipedia entry, but there is a good article that will provide you with all you need, or probably want to know. It is found, appropriately enough, in Low-Tech Magazine - "Wood Gas Vehicles: Firewood in the Fuel Tank." One reason I am now abandoning what I thought was an unheard of subject is because quite a few people know about it. I am assuming that you are not among them.
Although the link provided above has been around for many years, it may not be around in the years to come - it is, after all, found in a publication that is 'Low-Tech'. Where would that leave readers of this blog who happen to stumble over this post a few years from now? It is out of concern for them that I offer more. You are free to go.
They would likely want to know how I came upon such a subject. I found it mentioned in what is regarded as one of the greatest travel accounts of the last century: The Road to Oxiana, by Robert Byron (no relation.) If you weren't particularly interested in the workings of internal combustion engines, you now are likely to be more intrigued. I recently discovered some old notes of mine and it is them that I am about to abandon and toss out, to make room for more projects to be abandoned in my few remaining years.
The first mention is found in the introduction: “From Beriut [sic] they were supposed to be conveyed to Persia by some young British friends making a publicity expedition in two Rolls-Royces burning charcoal instead of gasoline. When to no one’s great surprise these failed to appear, Byron and Sykes proceeded by themselves.... There is not really much information about the charcoal burners in the Road to Oxiana and that is what led me to start poking around.
I do not recall what surprised me most, that, a) cars could run on charcoal or b) anyone would trust a British-made vehicle for such a long journey. Perhaps they were better in the 1930s. The trip, by the way was not a short one - it was 6,000 miles, the approximate distance from England to Oxiana, which was a vague region somewhere in northern Afghanistan. The Rolls were of the 'Silver Ghost' type and one was driven by Colonel Noel, accompanied by Mrs. Noel. They were also described as 'open tourers' and here is the proposed route:
"The route taken will be to Brindisi and thence by boat to Haifa. From there the cars will go to Damascus, Baghdad, and on to Teheran [sic]. If permission can be obtained Colonel Noel will go through Afghanistan.
You will agree that it was surely an exciting adventure, the purpose of which was described in The Times on Oct. 19, 1933:
Colonel Noel stated that the objects of his 6,000 mile journey were to revive the charcoal industry in India and to keep in this country money now spent on imported petrol. Charcoal was able to do the work of petrol and it was cheaper. Twelve pounds of charcoal were equal in power to about one gallon of petrol.
Future readers may be more interested than you in alternatives for petrol, since interest is inversely related to the availability of it. Right now there is a glut. While I have indicated that you can find plenty of pieces about charcoal burning cars, future readers will likely appreciate the kind of bespoke references I will offer below, which illustrate that interest was high when gasoline was scarce and that the charcoal powered vehicles were found around the globe. I will begin with Canada.
Sources;
Canada
In 1943 one finds an article indicating that a Forestry Department boat was propelled by sawdust in Parry Sound and others indicating that newspaper publishers with plants in Canada were using charcoal to power engines at pulp mills. See: "Sawdust Drives Launch Nearly As Well as Gas," Globe & Mail, July 19, 1943. For a government study see: "Wood and Charcoal as Motor Fuel," Dept. of Mines and Resources, 1936. The pamphlet begins by indicating that there has been little interest in charcoal as a fuel in the U.S. and Canada because there was lots of gas and it was cheap. In B.C. various types of trees were analyzed with regards to their suitability as sources for charcoal and it was suggested that it could be used for fuel to run stationary engines in isolated areas in the far north.,
The first reference I found was from 1902 in a New York Times article on Nov. 16 under "Automobile Topics of Interest."
There are many articles from France including this one about Imbert, an early inventor: "USES CHARCOAL GAS TO DRIVE AUTOMOBILE: Alsatian Inventor Puts a Furnace on the Car and Uses the Ordinary Engine," NYT, Feb. 1, 1924 and "Big French Motor Magnate Talks on Gas," Drew Pearson, Boston Daily Globe, Dec. 14, 1924.
"Gasoline Powered Cars May Become Oddity in Germany," The Hartford Courant, May 29, 1936.
"25,000 French Cars, Trucks, Now Run on Charcoal," Chicago Tribune, April 3, 1941.
"Most of Europe's Autos Driven by Ersatz Fuel," Christian Science Monitor, June 12, 1941. (The same newspaper later published a 'how-to' article: "Did You Even Wonder How an Automobile Can Run on Charcoal?", Oct. 6, 1941
There was also interest in Italy:
"Gas-Driven Motor-Cars Fuel Derived From Charcoal," (News) FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT. The Times Wednesday, Nov 22, 1933; pg. 13; Issue 46608; col B
This is a report from Rome about a gasogene machine running on charcoal derived from wood and fuel from “vegetable refuse or other normal waste materials.” It provides details about the cost, showing how much cheaper these fuels are.
"Charcoal Fuel For Cars Result Of Italian Experiment, 3,750 Miles For £3 (News) "FROM OUR ROME CORRESPONDENT. The Times Saturday, Sep 21, 1935; pg. 9; Issue 47175; col E
This is a good lengthy piece talking about how the Italians are trying to make themselves self-sufficient and to balance trade. An ‘open sports car’ was driven over 3000 miles around Europe and a breakdown is given of the costs – which were much less than for petrol. This is so successful that public transport is increasingly using charcoal and “that all vehicles used for passenger transport must be adapted for the consumption of charcoal fuel by December 31, 1937.”
This from New Zealand: "Best Woods Are Sought to Make Car Charcoal", The Hartford Courant, Nov. 17, 1940. The same paper has an article about Japan: "Jap Cars to Burn More Charcoal, Less Gasoline." July 7, 1940. In Australia it was announced that a charcoal powered car had made the 7000 mile trip from Perth to Sydney with the fuel costing $3.20 per 1000 miles. The Hartford Courant, Aug.12, 1942.
In 1944, students at Lehigh University built one: "Ration Free Automobile Uses Charcoal as Fuel," Christian Science Monitor, April 5, 1944.
Post Script:
Sadly, such sources led me to Project #738, which I will also now abandon to clear the decks for 2021. It was about - LOONEY GAS - an interesting subject I will leave it up to you to investigate. It is not, by the way, about gas that costs a loonie a litre, but rather about leaded gas that often caused people to go 'looney.' I should have covered it in my post about the history of Gasoline Stations.
Alas, as well, I am abandoning the subject of "bubble cars" which were the many tiny cars built in Europe because of fuel shortages during the war. A few year back, a collection of microcars were auctioned for over $8 million in an auction run by RM Auctions located close by in Chatham. Their story almost became another project. They have since partnered with Sotheby's to become RM Sotheby's. See also: "Tiny Bubbles, Causing a Buzz," Robbie Brown, NYT, Feb. 22, 2013.
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