KARL
BENZ and his 1894 VELO AUTOMOBILE
By Bob Prescott
Background
In 1885 the first car to be sold to the
public rolled out of the workshop of Karl Benz, “the father of the
automobile”. Although Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz were developing the
modern internal combustion engine at the same time, it was Benz who concentrated
on the development of the automobile and he was the first person to offer a
workable motor car for sale. Karl Benz was the son of a locomotive driver who
died in a railway accident when Karl was two years old (although one source said
that Benz Snr. died of pneumonia)! Karl
first trained as a locksmith and then followed in his father’s footsteps as a
locomotive engineer. His initial motivation for building a “horseless
carriage” was probably enhanced after acquiring a penny-farthing bicycle.
Apparently he often complained about the amount of manual effort needed to
propel the bicycle! His first car, the “Motorwagen”, was introduced in 1888.
It was a three wheeler with a single front steering wheel powered by a 3/4hp
engine capable of about 8mph. On its first test drive Karl discovered that it
was very unstable and he hit a wall after a few yards and it was some time
before he managed to drive it a mile. Meanwhile Mrs. Berta Benz was fed up with
the lack of her husband’s progress and one morning she borrowed the car and
set off with their two sons Eugen and Richard on a 62-mile trip! Their main
problems on this odyssey, the world’s first journey by car, were to find a
chemist that sold enough petrol when refueling was necessary (no petrol stations
in those days), and the need for the boys to get off and push the car up hills!
Although twenty-five were made there were few buyers because it was both
unstable and uncomfortable and Benz was persuaded to build a four wheeler and
the “Viktoria” was introduced in 1893. Powered by a 3hp engine it had a top
speed of 11mph. It was a great success and forty-five cars were sold in 1893.
An improved version called the “Velo” was introduced in 1894.
My interest in Karl Benz started after
seeing the “Veteran 1900 Benz” in the February 1965 Meccano Magazine
(“MM“). Apart from being an interesting model it used two P/N 19a Spoked
Wheels and two P/N 118 Hub Discs for wheels, parts I owned but had yet to use.
What better reason could I have to build the model?
Back to the MM model by “Spanner” - quite frankly in my view it was not a very accurate model. It was probably meant to be the “Viktoria” but the engine behind the driver’s position was missing altogether. I always aim to build a model as accurate as possible both in detail and scale as much as the system will allow. I start, as I guess most of us do, by getting a reasonable size photograph from a book (blown up if necessary) and I measure it, height, length, width and distance between the wheels etc. and convert those measurements to an appropriate scale for the model I wish to build. I then draw a rough outline using imperial measurements and this helps me select the appropriate parts to use.
Construction
The model I decided to build was the “Velo”, which was introduced in 1894 and was the first car to be sold in significant numbers. I took a simpler approach to the chassis construction rather than the fiddly method used in the MM. I started with a 51/2” x 31/2” Flat Plate (“rear chassis plate”) edged on its long sides by two 51/2” Angle Girders (“chassis angle girders“) round holes downwards. The chassis angle girders are extended forward by a 51/2” Curved Strip overlapping by 4 holes on both sides. A Fishplate is connected to the front hole of the 51/2” Curved Strips at right angles slotted hole downwards. A 31/2” x 21/2” Flanged Plate (“front flanged plate”) is secured between the slotted holes of the Fishplates and the fifth hole back of the 51/2” Curved Strips flange up. This may need adjustment at the Fishplate to ensure the front flanged plate is horizontal. The gap between the rear chassis plate and the front flanged plate is filled with two 21/2” x 21/2” Flexible Plates suitably curved to represent the sloping floor.
The front flanged plate supports the
backward facing front seat. Three overlapping P/N 73a Flat Plates Obtuse (from
the Space sets) and two curved 21/2”
x 21/2”
Flexible Plates form the front, and the seat is made up of Perforated Strips,
Angle Brackets, Narrow Double Brackets and Screwed Rods and this module is
attached to the front flanged plate by two Angle Brackets. This front panel was
known as the “dashboard”, reminiscent of the front panel on a horse carriage
because it prevented the coachman being “dashed” by flying stones kicked up
by the horses; indeed the term
“dash” or “dashboard” is still used today. The driver’s seating area
module’s construction can be seen from the photographs and the module is
connected to the fifth hole from the back of the chassis flat plate/chassis
angle girders to leave room for the battery box representing the car’s engine.
You will notice that I used P/N 324a Cab Plastic from the Space set for the
seats.
Two 21/2” Curved Stepped Strips
bolted to the chassis angle girders under the chassis on each side form the
bearings for the rear driving axle which is a 61/2”
Axle Rod carrying a 1” Pulley for the Driving Band and a 1/2” Pulley for the
brake. Two 51/2” Hub Discs each
bolted to a P/N 24 Bush Wheel are mounted on the rod as the rear wheels using
Spacers and Washers to ensure the correct position.
The MM model used an Emebo motor but as
I don’t own one I experimented with French motors and settled on one with a
3-flat shaft (P/N 770) and a 19 to 1 gearbox (P/N 760). With a P/N 23c Rubber
Grommet on the gearbox shaft it produced just the right driving speed via a 21/2” Driving Band to the
1” Pulley on the rear axle.
I decided to use the steering mechanism
described in the MM model with some minor modifications - two pairs of 3”
Stepped Curved Strips each pair bolted together at each end. A 41/2” Perforated Strip
with a P/N 62 Crank secured to each end boss upwards is fixed to a 21/2” Double Angle Strip
which is secured on each side to the centre hole of the bottom 3” Stepped
Curved Strip. A 11/2”
Axle Rod carrying a loose Coupling is mounted in the boss of each crank held in
place by a Collar at the top and a Rubber Grommet at the bottom. Another 11/2” Axle Rod is secured
in the coupling and a 31/2”
Spoked Wheel turns freely on the rod and is held on by a Collar. Two 1” Axle
Rods each with a Collar are secured to the inner end of the Couplings. The
Collars are then connected together by two 2” Strips with a Triangular Plate
bolted in the centre. A 3/4” Bolt is fixed in the apex
hole of the Triangular Plate, and its shank placed in the slot of a 2” Slotted
Strip bolted to a 11/2”
Sprocket Wheel that is mounted on a Long Threaded Pin which is secured in the
base 41/2”
Perforated Strip. The steering mechanism is connected to the front flanged plate
via Angle Brackets in the middle hole of the top 3” Curved Strips using 1”
Bolt and two Spacers to give the car the correct level.
The steering wheel is a 11/2” Pulley, secured on a
61/2” Axle Rod journalled
through the front centre hole of the rear chassis plate and held in place by a
Double Bent Strip below the rear chassis plate and the Axle Rod is held at the
right level by Collars. A 3/4”
Sprocket Wheel is fixed to the lower end of the steering rod and connected by
Chain to the front 11/2”
Sprocket Wheel. For the gear lever a 3” Screwed Rod is bolted in the adjacent
hole to the steering rod and a Threaded Coupling, 1” Axle Rod and a _” Bolt
on the Screwed Rod complete the gear lever which the MM model ignored!
The brake consists of two 51/2” Narrow Strips placed
together with a 1” Narrow Strip connected between them to represent the brake
lock. This is then connected to the left-hand side chassis angle girder by a
Locknut one hole from the bottom with a string loop between it and the 1/2” Pulley on the rear
axle. The lamps are made from Double Brackets with a 1/2” Pulley on top. These are
connected to the side of the seating area by Angle Brackets. The mudguards are
made from Formed Slotted Strips, 1” Angle Girders, and Short Perforated Strips
to suit. To complete the model, build an appropriate scale driver and place him
or her between the steering wheel and brake and the Velo is ready to go.
Conclusion
During my research for building this model I discovered a fantastic photograph of a Viktoria being demonstrated at the London Motor show of 1898 which I was persuaded to replicate. Obviously Mrs. Berta Benz’s earlier “encouragement” helped Karl to progress successfully!
As
an interesting aside, I wondered where the Mercedes marque fitted into this part
of automobile history. I had heard of Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler but not Mr.
Mercedes. Well, a rich Czech diplomat who was a car enthusiast promised an order
for thirty-six cars from Daimler if they were named after his daughter. Her
name, Mercedes of course. I didn’t know that - did you?
