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1889 French Engine - Very odd

Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2017 10:26 pm
by cyberbadger

Re: 1889 French Engine - Very odd

Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 8:41 am
by ianrichards
An old engineer friend of mine used to say ...
“The French shouldn’t be allowed to make cars”
Now I understand why !

Re: 1889 French Engine - Very odd

Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 11:55 am
by fredrosse
Certainly no offence meant to anyone, but an old piece of humor, and as we know, humor often has an element of truth in it;

Heaven is where the police are British, the cooks are French, the
mechanics German, the lovers Italian and it's all organised by the
Swiss. Hell is where the chefs are British, the mechanics French, the
lover's Swiss, the police German and it's all organised by the Italians.

Re: 1889 French Engine - Very odd

Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 12:31 pm
by ianrichards
Perfect !

Re: 1889 French Engine - Very odd

Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 6:44 pm
by Mike Cole
cyberbadger wrote:Check this video, really odd:

-CB
Odd? it's bl**dy mad.

Re: 1889 French Engine - Very odd

Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 8:36 pm
by cyberbadger
One issue here is the nature of steam engines - I have heard them described as machines that are trying their best to tear themselves apart.

I see the slot in the casting on the bottom in the middle, but then I see the guide/support rods on the right and my brain suggests: very interesting but doesn't look particularly suited for a long life. But somehow it's apparently made it 128 years, so it's beaten the odds and should stay with a museum or on a nice display shelf. :)

-CB

Re: 1889 French Engine - Very odd

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 8:43 am
by steamboatjack
Don't forget the French pioneered the motor car as we know it today, and also made what was one of the best steam cars. French engineers were far better educated than brits in the nineteenth century.
Jack

Re: 1889 French Engine - Very odd

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 9:00 pm
by cyberbadger
Image

The question is, is the thing at the front a bumper or collision deterrent. :)

I have not had the best experiences in France, but they have brought the world some fabulous cusine.

-CB

Re: 1889 French Engine - Very odd

Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 8:11 pm
by Akitene
Wow, such a mesmerizing but also counter-efficient engine.

=> A French proverb says: "why should you do simple things when you could do complicated ones?"

By the way, I'm French and I must admit that I laughed at your jokes. I even agreed to most of them, especially the one describing western European peoples national traits. Image

There's one thing one of you got wrong: if Cugnot's "Fardier" was the very first steam vehicle, the very first car is attributed to Innocenzo Manzetti, a quite brilliant Italian mechanical engineer. Italians are good at making interesting cars.

Re: 1889 French Engine - Very odd

Posted: Wed May 09, 2018 1:13 pm
by wsmcycle
Front wheel steering? You would have to swing the boiler, engine.. to turn?