Centenary of Hancock’s Steam Omnibus

Abstract

To commemorate the centenary of the inauguration of the first power-driven omnibus in London, a joint meeting of the Newcomen Society and the Omnibus Society was held at the Institute of Marine Engineers on April 27 at which papers were read by Mr. C. E. Lee and Mr. C. F. D. Marshall. Mr. Lee said that the three principal pioneers of the steam omnibus were Goldsworthy Gurney (1793–1875), Walter Hancock (1799–1852) and John Scott Russell (1808–1882), of whom Hancock was the most successful. A watchmaker by trade, Hancock patented a very ingenious type of boiler and then built two steam carriages, the second of which, called the Infant, in February, 1831, began running between Stratford and London. Two years later, the London and Paddington Steam-Carriage Co. was formed and for this Hancock built the omnibus Enterprise with accommodation for fourteen passengers. This vehicle began running between Moorgate and Paddington on April 22, 1833, and was the first mechanically propelled vehicle specially designed for omnibus work ever to be placed in service. The route covered was about ten miles and the distance was performed in about fifty minutes. The service was worked for 16 days only, under the superintendence of Hancock, and was then withdrawn owing to differences between him and the Company. Three years later, after other experimental work, Hancock had other steam vehicles at work and in the course of twenty weeks these ran 4,200 miles and carried 12,761 passengers. Both the papers contained much information on the construction of these and other early steam omnibuses and it cannot be doubted that if the inventions had been fostered, instead of hindered, by legislation, the steam vehicle would have been brought to a high degree of perfection at an early date.