Dangerfield's Motor Museum: Contents

Note: This is a sub-section of Dangerfield's Motor Museum

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The Motor Museum.

Interesting Exhibition. The most important collection of ancient motor vehicles that has ever been got together were displayed to the public for the first time yesterday, when Sir David Salomons officially opened the motor museum at 175-179, Oxford Street, London, W.

Although the motor movement is relatively so young a great many of the early specimens have already gone to the scrap heap, and it was with the object of preserving, if possible, one of each type from which the present reliable and efficient machine originated that the present collection was made. The scheme was inaugurated by Mr. Edmund Dangerfield, conductor of ‘The Motor’, and he was able to form an influential Board of Trustees.

There are about fifty exhibits, which the oldest the steam car, constructed Colonel Crompton, consulting engineer to the Board. This ran the roads in India 1868. The exhibition also contains the oldest car in the world in service the time of the formation of the museum. It is a Panhard of 1891, lent by Abbe Gavois of Rainneville, Somme, France. Number 3 exhibit is another built in 1892. and lent by M. Hippolyte Panhard, of Paris.

One of the truest pioneers in motor vehicles is the Canstatt Daimler, built in Germany during 1894-95, and lent by Mr. C. E. Gray, the Golf Links Hotel. Hunstanton, This old machine could attain speed of about 15 miles an hour, carrying four people, and a German car, a Benz, was rescued from copse in Berkshire, where it had formed a nesting place for chickens.

A range of early Wolseley cars, including the first one made by that Birmingham firm in 1895, proves interesting, as does the first London motor cab, which, it will be remembered, was electrically propelled. The cab shown was put into service in 1897, and plied for hire in the London streets till 1899. Representing vehicles of the latter year are a Star dogcart, De Dion quadricycle, the first Argyll car constructed at Bridgeton, Glasgow, and a Renaux tricycle designed and built by the now famous airman, Eugene Renaux.

One of the most interesting motor cycle exhibits is Holden motor bicycle built by Colonel Holden in 1895. It has four-cylinder engine, driving direct on to the hack wheel and electric ignition. The Knight car, constructed in the same year, is specially interesting from the fact that Mr. John Henry Knight was summoned and fined for using it at a speed greater than four miles hour, prior to the passing of the Light Locomotives Act of 1896.

In officially opening the museum. Sir David Salomons, Bart., vice chairman the Board of Trustees, apologised for the absence of the Duke of Teck, chairman, owing to military duties at Windsor, and spoke of the great debt which motorists and the community at large owed Mr. Dangerfield. The latter, in reply, said that work of getting the collection together had taken five months, and it was the number of machines that had to be rejected rather than those that were accepted that had taken most of the time. It was his ambition that the collection should be taken over by the nation as a permanent motor museum.

The Honourable Arthur Stanley. M.P., chairman of the Royal Automobile Club, proposed a vote of thanks Mr. DangerficJd, which was seconded by Mr. W. Hicks, M.P., chairman of the Automobile Association and Motor Union. The Latter, to demonstrate the stage that mechanical traction had reached, mentioned that on Whit-Monday more than three millions of people in the metropolis travelled in self-propelled vehicles. He thereupon urged the necessity of bringing the notice of the Government to the out-of-date regulations regarding petrol, which this respect left London at the caprice body of men who might hold up the road locomotion of London. Sir Boverton Redwood, Bart., proposed a vote of thanks Sir David Solomons, which was seconded Colonel H. C. L. Holden. C. B., F.R.S. The opening proceedings then concluded.

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