trinkie
16-Apr-08, 19:22
I was chatting to a Caithness friend the other day and we touched on the cost of travel, both of us were delighted with free bus travel for the pensioners, and listed off the places we had visited already. We agreed that the train is very expensive, but flying in some cases, is cheaper now than ever before. Both of us drive, though we tend to use our cars less and less now owing to the cost of petrol. My friend remarked that the last time he filled up his tank it cost him more than the first car he had bought in the 50s ! Then you could pick up a car for around £20 or less, and set off on your journey remembering to take the tool box and some spares with you, if you were clever enough to do that sort of thing – alas, I was never such a person !
My friend sighed and scratched his head, ‘It’s a pity they never did anything more with Steam travel’ he said.
‘Well, we’ve had the Steam train don’t forget’ I offered.
‘No – for cars’ he quickly replied.
‘Would that be possible – how far would you get on a gallon of water?’ I queried.
‘Have you forgotten the Earl of Caithness and his Steam Carriage? He travelled from London to Caithness on water. That was back in the mid 1800s.
‘ Well, I never knew that.’ I said. What happened to the steam car, I wondered., Then went on to tell my friend that recently I read about one of the Carr Biscuit family from the north of England ( you’ll know the delicious Water Biscuit ) who built one of the first cars in 1896 and drove from Carlisle to Beauly driving at around 8 m.p.h. People ran out of their houses to watch this amazing newfangled contraption !
How times have changed ! One of the first cars on the new M 1.in the 1960s was a little red Mini from Caithness – we were so proud of it. My own annual trip from one end of the country to the other took 24hours driving, covering over 1,000 miles, with not a Loo in sight ! We had to go into a town to find the toilet at the railway station each time !
Of course our first car – a Morris Oxford, had no heating, and believe me, the metal floor got very cold. In those days, if you set off on a journey you dressed as though you were to sit in an open Horse and carriage. Plenty of travel rugs and possibly wearing two coats, and maybe a hot water bottle on your knee. One of our first trips was from London to Bristol in thick, thick smog. We crept along in pitch black dark, my husband driving as I hung out of the door feeling the edge of the road and guiding him at the same time !
On the new Motorways there were few or no road signs, and when eventually they built Service Stations with tea shops, it was not unusual to leave and turn the wrong way, maybe doubling back for 30 miles. This was progress !
But what about the Earl of Caithness and his Steam car? Does anyone know more of this remarkable vehicle ?
I remember the Steam Milly Engine in Wick – how we loved that. It was a big day when the Milly Engine was in your street !
Trinkie
My friend sighed and scratched his head, ‘It’s a pity they never did anything more with Steam travel’ he said.
‘Well, we’ve had the Steam train don’t forget’ I offered.
‘No – for cars’ he quickly replied.
‘Would that be possible – how far would you get on a gallon of water?’ I queried.
‘Have you forgotten the Earl of Caithness and his Steam Carriage? He travelled from London to Caithness on water. That was back in the mid 1800s.
‘ Well, I never knew that.’ I said. What happened to the steam car, I wondered., Then went on to tell my friend that recently I read about one of the Carr Biscuit family from the north of England ( you’ll know the delicious Water Biscuit ) who built one of the first cars in 1896 and drove from Carlisle to Beauly driving at around 8 m.p.h. People ran out of their houses to watch this amazing newfangled contraption !
How times have changed ! One of the first cars on the new M 1.in the 1960s was a little red Mini from Caithness – we were so proud of it. My own annual trip from one end of the country to the other took 24hours driving, covering over 1,000 miles, with not a Loo in sight ! We had to go into a town to find the toilet at the railway station each time !
Of course our first car – a Morris Oxford, had no heating, and believe me, the metal floor got very cold. In those days, if you set off on a journey you dressed as though you were to sit in an open Horse and carriage. Plenty of travel rugs and possibly wearing two coats, and maybe a hot water bottle on your knee. One of our first trips was from London to Bristol in thick, thick smog. We crept along in pitch black dark, my husband driving as I hung out of the door feeling the edge of the road and guiding him at the same time !
On the new Motorways there were few or no road signs, and when eventually they built Service Stations with tea shops, it was not unusual to leave and turn the wrong way, maybe doubling back for 30 miles. This was progress !
But what about the Earl of Caithness and his Steam car? Does anyone know more of this remarkable vehicle ?
I remember the Steam Milly Engine in Wick – how we loved that. It was a big day when the Milly Engine was in your street !
Trinkie