Union (automobile)

Union

John Lambert and brothers in 1902 'Union' automobile
Industry	Automobile
Founded	1902
Defunct	1905
Fate	changed to the Lambert automobile
Headquarters	Union City, Indiana United States
Products	Motor vehicles

The Union automobile was a vehicle that came about from John William Lambert. He developed in 1895 a four-wheel gasoline engine powered horseless carriage from a three-wheel buggy version he had previously made in 1891. He developed a gasoline engine powerful enough to propel a wagon with passengers. He also invented a friction drive gearless transmission for such a vehicle. He then formed a company of men to manufacture his automobile at Union City, Indiana. His automobile was manufactured by the Union Automobile Company from 1902 into 1905. There were over three hundred Union automobiles made and sold all total. The demise of the automobile came about through development into another vehicle called a Lambert.

Early models

Main article: Union Automobile Company

Lambert Union experimental car

The Union automobile was an outcrop of a three-wheel horseless carriage gasoline buggy. The Union had four wheels instead of his 1891 three-wheeled buggy version. The automobile was made by the Union Automobile Company from 1902 through 1905 in Union City, Indiana. The reason it was called the Union automobile was because of favorable agreements and concessions from Union City chamber of commerce. Both the car's motor and transmission were the invention of John William Lambert.

The Union automobile had experimental models in 1898, 1900, and 1901. It was manufactured in Union City, Indiana from parts made by the Buckeye Manufacturing Company in Anderson, Indiana. The first friction disk-drive gearless transmission rear-engine automobile, as designed by Lambert, was an experimental model and put on the road in 1900.

The Union automobile was in full production by 1902. The motor for the automobile was a pair of opposed 6 x 4-inch (100 mm) cylinders, far in front, crosswise, side chains to rear driver wheels. This was quickly followed by a second friction driven model in 1903, same motor placed crosswise in extreme rear of car. The Union automobile had a 5-seater tonneau model for 1904 and 1905. The 1904 model came with a 10 horsepower engine. The 1905 model had 12 and 16 horsepower versions.

1902 Touring car

1904 Runabout

Both images are of Union brand automobiles manufactured in Union City, Indiana.

Driving controls

The Union automobile had a special hand brake controlled by the left foot. The friction disk-drive transmission made an emergency brake, being operated by throwing it in the reverse position. The operator controlled the steering wheel with his right hand and the speed changing lever with his left hand. The speed of the motor could be varied from 150 revolutions per minute to over 1,500 revolutions per minute. This variation of speed of the motor, in addition to the variable speed from the transmission, allowed a wide range of speed for the Union automobile. One lever controlled two forward speeds and one reverse. The high speed was 20 miles per hour (32 km/h).

Accessories

Union car chassis

The Union automobile had a gasoline tank that was built in the back of the seat hidden from sight. It has a capacity sufficient to run the automobile about 125 miles (201 km). The engine was water-cooled with a circulating pump, driven by a gear from the cam shaft. There was a large radiator coil provided. The electric current for ignition was supplied by dry batteries for starting. A generator was used in normal operation. The automobile was equipped with 34-inch (860 mm) pneumatic tires. Kerosene oil lamps were furnished it came with enameled sheet steel mud guards.

The wheelbase of the Union automobile was 72 inches and the axle track was 56 inches. The overall width of the car was five feet three inches. The wheels were 34 inches in diameter with three inch wide tires. The body was about three feet wide by seven and a half feet long. A front seat was provided for two people in the 1902 and 1903 automobile which could be closed up and the vehicle then used as a four person runabout vehicle. It cost $1,250 ($44,019 in 2023) and for $25 ($880.00 in 2023) more a dos-a-dos seat could be furnished which then converted the car into a six-passenger vehicle.

The rear main seat is three feet wide. Kerosene lamps were provided for evening travel. An emergency brake was controlled by the left foot to stop the vehicle. Thomas Midgley tubular wheels were used and Dunlop rubber tires. The gasoline tank was built into the back of the seat and held enough fuel for 150 miles of driving. Cooling of the automobile was done by a radiator and the water was circulated by a rotary pump driven by a gear on the cam shaft.

Lambert Union car motor

Motor

The motor to the automobile was an invention of John William Lambert. It was started on a dry battery. The four-cycle gasoline engine had two opposed cylinders that produced eight horsepower. Both cylinders acted on one crank shaft of a double throw type and this arrangement gave a balanced engine. The combustion of the gasoline in the motor cylinders was sparked by an electric magneto generator run by a friction pulley in contact with the periphery of the fly wheel. The engine was available in either an air-cooled or a water-cooled versions.

Transmission

Main article: Lambert friction gearing disk drive transmission

Union car friction drive transmission

The grearless transmission that Lambert invented at the time was of the friction type and had the final drive by double chain to rear driver wheels. The friction system of transmission is applied in the Union Automobile The fly wheel of the engine is of the disc variety the face of which is covered with a composition plate composed of metals characterized for their special frictional qualities upon which letters patent are pending The friction wheel applied direct to the face of this disc plate the fly wheel by means of a foot ratchet has a filling of paper or friction board shaft which carries this friction wheel is placed parallel with the centre of the friction plate on the fly wheel The friction wheel is moved in either direction on the shaft across the face of the friction plate by means of the controller lever Front and rear axles are both fitted with Timker roller bearings and the slightest wear can be taken up The speed of the engine can be varied from 150 to 1500 RPM by changing the spark which is accomplished by attachments on the controlling lever This in addition to the variable speed from the frictional transmission makes a very flexible speed range. The transmission was enclosed in a dust-proof casing and ran in oil.

Last model and demise

Union model E without tonneau

Union model E with a tonneau

Union model E delivery wagon

Union automobile Model E at different stages of style development.

The last model the Union Automobile Company made was a 1905 Model E. The car was fitted with a detachable side entrance tonneau body. The tonneau sat three people. The doors to the vehicle were hung to the tonneau part and were removed with it if converted to another style. The front passenger and driver seat was divided. The upholstering was of a unique style with springs in both cushions and back. Genuine leather was used and a soft insulation material was used in the upholstering for the seats.

Price with tonneau was $1200 and without tonneau it was $1125. The equipment the automobile came with included two oil side lamps, a horn with 40 inch flexible tube and the necessary tools for maintenance. The wheel base was 94 ins tread 50 ins. It could hold up to five passengers.

The Union automobile manufacturing had been moved from Union City to Anderson in 1905. The car was redesigned in the later part of 1905 and the name changed to "Lambert" becoming a different brand of automobile altogether. The Union brand automobile was no longer made. Total production of the "Union" automobile had been 325 all total from 1902 to 1905 (25 in 1902, 50 in 1903, 100 in 1904, 150 in 1905).

See also

• Lambert automobile
• John William Lambert
• Buckeye gasoline buggy
• Union Automobile Company
• Lambert Automobile Company
• Lambert Gas and Gasoline Engine Company
• Lambert friction gearing disk drive transmission

Sources

• Georgano (V1), G.N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of Automobile, Volume 1. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 9781579582937.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

• Georgano (V2), G.N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of Automobile, Volume 2 (M-Z). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

• Kimes, Beverly Rae (1996). Standard Catalog American Cars, 1804-1942. Krause Publications. ISBN 9780873414289.

Further reading

• Bailey, L. Scott, Historic Discovery: 1891 Lambert, New Claim for America's First Car, Antique Automobile magazine, Vol. 24, No. 5, Oct–Nov 1960

• Biography of John W. Lambert, written by his son January 25, 1935 — obtained from the Detroit Public Library, National Automotive History Collection

• Dittlinger, Esther et al., Anderson: A Pictorial History, G. Bradley Publishing, 1990, ISBN 0-943963-16-8

• Dolnar, Hugh, Automobile Trade Journal, article: The Lambert, 1906 Line of Automobiles, Chilton Company, v.10 January 1906

• Huffman, Wallace Spencer, Indiana's Place in Automobile History in Indiana History Bulletin, vol 44, no. 2, Feb. 1967; Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Bureau

• Huhti, Thomas, The Great Indiana Touring Book: 20 Spectacular Auto Tours, Big Earth Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1-931599-09-2

• James, Wanda, Driving from Japan, McFarland, 2005, ISBN 0-7864-1734-X

• Madden, W. C., Haynes-Apperson and America's First Practical Automobile: A History, McFarland, 2003, ISBN 0-7864-1397-2

• Scharchburg, Richard P., Carriages Without Horses: J. Frank Duryea and the Birth of the American Automobile Industry, SAE, 1993, ISBN 1-56091-380-0