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Steam technology was already a hundred years old when the first petrol cars started coming in and steam was a worthy competitor in the early days of the automobile. I have always found them fascinating but have never heard of any in India ?

Does anyone know of any steam cars in India ?

Sure, there is a steam vehicle in Gondal. Its difficult to call it a car, but its neither a truck nor a bus.
Apart from that, one is supposed to have been sent back to the manufacturer in the US to sort some issues, it never came back. May have been a Maharajah's Dobble. On more is supposed to be locked up somewhere in Central India, unfortunately the link to that car is lost.
We have some steam trucks, and road rollers.
But, today one cannot decide to have a ride in a vintage steam car, none are around and working.

Cheers harit

Dear HaritJi,

Central India does ring a bell, you can remember my phone call regarding the same. I hope both of these are one, my father indeed told me there is a car like that for which a news article came in local news papers.

The mechanic who was asking for guidance in making the car run has not shown me the car till now. I think there is a dispute on ownership. And she being rare has raised eyebrows of many.

The Doble was ordered by Alwar, but I think it never came in the first place. Subject to correction.

I wonder if any mainstream steam cars like a Stanley came in.

The Alwar Doble (E-23) was cancelled; and still exists. The Bharatpur one (E-16) with a Windovers body did make it to India. This was the only D / E Series with a non-Walter Murphy body, according to experts

It was supposedly scrapped after a few years.


http://www.stanleysteamers.com/doble1.htm

E-23 shown below:



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Bharatpur E-16 Chassis below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2786225...n/photostream/




Quite a few "Steamers" came to India (mainly Whites), including one for Mysore.

Thanks for sharing, I for one never knew that such cars were indeed ordered.

Many years back I had heard of a Steam Car in Calicut owned by a christian who keeps the car in memory of his father. Can anyone substantiate this story?

What I remember is that there was this early DeDion Bouton which was the first car in Mangalore, belonging to a Catholic gent, and now preserved in some Institute. Are you refering to that by any chance? That was not a steam driven car.

Cheers harit

Here is "a" history of the Mangalore De Dion courtesy of daijiworld.com.

No Harit, not the Mangalore Bouton, which by the way does not have an engine.

There is supposed to be a steam car in Calicut as recollected by a senior gentleman in Bangalore.

at Visveswariah Museum ( opp Mercedes Benz Sundaram motors near UB city ) at Bangalore , there is an actual huge steam engine truck with 'Mazgaon Docks' painted headboard above the front windshield , that was probably used at Mumbai port about a 100 years ago!

That steam truck is a Sentinel, one of three in Bangalore. There is one more in Nehru Science Center in Mumbai, Mazagon Docks also had a steam truck of another make. There are photographs of Bombay Docks with a number of steam trucks plying. Many of them were either assembled or sold & serviced by TELCO, now TATA Motors.
These trucks plied in Mumbai in the 1920's and 1930's, not yet 100 years ago. And they were built upto 1950. Steam trucks lost out to diesel trucks. Check with Googlebaba

Cheers harit

Nehru Science Center has two trucks . One in Calcutta also

Cheers

I wonder if this one is one of the ones mentioned above. It attended a vintage car event in Bombay in the 70s.

Wonder is this is one at the Bangalore Museum. The plaque in the museum says that it had participated in a rally in 1971!

















Cheers

KPS

Yes, 1971 was the year. So it is the same one. Thanks for sharing!

Now we need to convince tonrag to go about getting it restored :D

OT - any other interesting vehicles in this museum?