Walter Hancock

Walter Hancock (16 June 1799 – 14 May 1852) was an English inventor of the Victorian period. He is chiefly remembered for his steam-powered road vehicles, but also received a patent for preparing and cutting natural rubber into sheets. He was the younger brother of Thomas Hancock, the inventor of rubber mastication who is also claimed by some to be the inventor of rubber vulcanization.

Hancock's steam buses Hancock's steam omnibus Autopsy of 1833, which ran on a regular route between Pentonville and Finsbury Square, London.

Between 1824 and 1836 in Stratford, near London, Hancock constructed a number of steam-powered road vehicles. In 1827 he patented a steam boiler constructed with separate chambers of thin metal which could split rather than explode, a safety measure for operators and passengers. His were not the first road locomotives: experiments by Richard Trevithick occurred a generation earlier with his Puffing Devil and London Steam Carriage; but they were the most successful. It will also be noted that railways were being introduced in England at about the same time as Hancock's enterprises.

In 1831, Hancock gave evidence to a Parliamentary select committee on steam carriages.

"Infant" In 1829 he built a small 10 seat bus called the Infant. In the summer of 1831 he built an improved version with 16 seats, with which he began a regular service between Stratford and central London.

On 31 October 1832, the improved Infant took an experimental trip to Brighton. This vehicle was later made famous by its revenue earning journeys between London and Brighton, which were a British first, and also demonstrated its usability by successfully ascending a frozen slope of 5 degrees where horse-drawn coaches were struggling.

"Enterprise"

On 22 April 1833 Hancock's steam omnibus Enterprise (built for the London and Paddington Steam Carriage Company) began a regular service between London Wall and Paddington via Islington. It was the first regular steam carriage service, and was the first mechanically propelled vehicle specially designed for omnibus work to be operated. During this vehicle's construction in 1832, a negligent engineer “died of fright” when a boiler component tore, expelling high-pressure steam in his direction. Neither he nor anyone else present was physically injured in any way, and the machinery itself suffered no significant damage.

The Enterprise had several features which were innovative by contemporary standards. The engine was suspended on leaf springs along with the body of the vehicle, and the axle located with swinging arms as is still done today in most pickup trucks, with power being transmitted to the axle using chain drive. The rear axle was also used to drive a centrifugal blower fan which was used to force air into the firebox.

The Enterprise required three operators in normal running. The driver sat at the front and was responsible for steering (via a steering wheel rather than a tiller) and controlling the speed via a regulator. A second operator occupied a small compartment to the rear of the vehicle between the boiler and the engine, this man was responsible for looking after the boiler's water level and selecting reverse gear when required. The final man stood on a platform at the rear and was responsible for maintaining the fire and braking, which was carried out by means of a large lever which acted directly on one of the rear wheels. Nothing is known about how these three people communicated.

The service was brought to an end due to a dispute between Hancock and the operators, and Hancock himself built and operated further steam buses between 1833 and 1840, with names like Era I, Era II, Autopsy and German drag.

Demise of steam By 1840, the development of steam-powered road vehicles had lost impetus and the heavy road tolls imposed by the Turnpike Acts had turned inventors away from steam power, except on rails. Hancock was forced to give up the struggle, and the way was left clear for the operators of horse-drawn buses.

Hancock continued working with steam and supplied a light engine (similar to his steam road coaches) to the Eastern Counties Railway.

Steam Carriage

In 1836 and 1838 Hancock built two steam carriages for his own use. That of 1838 was the more successful: he features it on the title page of his Narrative and reports journeys to the City and, on occasion to Hyde Park. It had seats for the driver and three passengers and normal speed was 10 - 12 mph, but he claimed it could do 20 mph.