List of steam car makers

The steam car manufacturers listed here were mostly active during the first period of volume production, roughly 1860–1930, with a peak around 1900. From 1940 onwards, steam cars have tended to be either prototypes or experimental.

The first experimental steam-powered vehicles were built in the 17th and 18th century, but it was not until after Richard Trevithick had developed the use of high-pressure steam, around 1800, that mobile steam engines became a practical proposition. The first half of the 19th century saw great progress in steam vehicle design, and by the 1850s it was viable to produce them on a commercial basis. The next sixty years saw continuing improvements in vehicle technology and manufacturing techniques and steam road vehicles were used for many applications. In the 20th century, the rapid development of internal combustion engine technology led to the demise of the steam engine as a source of propulsion of vehicles on a commercial basis prior to the Second World War. Since then there have been sporadic resurgences of interest in steam, particularly in the late 1960s in California to address air pollution issues and later in response to the 1973 oil crisis.

1800s – Pioneers

Make	Country	Years active	Comments
Austin	England	1863	The Austin steamer was made in 1863.[1]
Blackburn	England	1878	A steam powered dog-cart.[2]
Blanchard	USA	1825	A steam powered wagon created by Thomas Blanchard of Springfield, Massachusetts[3]
Bollée	France	1878	In 1878, Amédée père Bollée designed the Mancelle, which is regarded as the first automobile to be put into series production, 50 being manufactured in all.
Božek	Poland/Czech Republic	1815	Josef Božek began construction of a steam carriage in 1814 and completed it 1815. Božek is considered one of founders of Czech mechanics.[4]
Callihan	USA	1884	Designed by Edward Scott Callihan, it was a tricycle layout with a single spoked wheel in front and two at the rear. The driver sat behind the steam boiler on a seat from a reaper. It was steered it with levers. The top speed was 15 mph. Only one was built.[5]
Catley and Ayres	England	1863	A small three-wheeled vehicle propelled by a horizontal twin cylinder engine which drove the rear axle by spur-gearing; only one rear wheel was driven, the other turning freely on the axle.
Carhart	USA	1871	A steam buggy made by Dr J W Carhart of Rancine, Wisconsin.
Copeland	USA	1887 (catalogue published)	Made a steam powered bicycle and three wheeler. Only prototypes made.[6]
Curtis	USA	1867	In 1866 Francis Curtis, Newburyport, Massachusetts invented a steam engine attached to a piece of fire fighting equipment. Curtis demonstrated it to Nehemiah Bean who went on to design the steam powered Amoskeag fire wagon. The following year Curits built a steam passenger carrriage for an unnamed client. The client didn't pay and Curits made the first repossession in American history. During the initial testing of the carriage a warrant was issued for Curtis' arrest. To escape the arresting officer Curtis made the first getaway by car in American history.[7]
De Dion-Bouton et Trepardoux	France	1883–1904	The company was renamed De Dion-Bouton, possibly as a result of Trepardoux resigning in 1894 over the use of petrol engines. The last steam powered cars were made in 1904. The company lasted until the 1950s.[6][8]
Dudgeon	USA	1859	Robert Dudgeon of New York made a steam powered carriage to take his family to church. The carriage was described as noisey and costly to run. It was abandoned.[9][10]
Field	USA	1879	A seam car built by Edwin F Field of Lewiston who later went on to superintend the Skene American Automobile Company[11][11]
Grenville	England	1875	It was designed about 1875 by Robert Grenville of Glastonbury with some assistance from his friend George Churchward.
Hills Fleetwood	USA	1868	A steam powered buggy later converted to petrol made by James Hill of Fleetwood.[12]
Holt	England	1866	H P Holt made a three-wheel light steam carriage.[13]
Jacquot	France	1878	Designed and built by Louis Lejeune
Long	USA	1880	The Long steam tricycle was built by George A. Long around 1880 and patented in 1883. One example was built.
Manzetti	Italy	1864	In 1864, Italian inventor Innocenzo Manzetti built a road-steamer.[14] It had the boiler at the front and a single-cylinder engine.[14]
Mason	USA	1885, 1897	William B Mason of the Mason Regulator Company (now a subsidiary of Dresser Industries made his first steam carriage in 1885. He made a second car in July 1897. Both these vehicles were used as test beds for his steam engines.[15]
Mérelle	France	1889	Fernand Mérelle was the concessionaire for De Dion and Bouton at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris and cars were sold under that name.[8][16]
Olds	USA	1886–1894	Ransom Old's is reputed to have made his first steam powered car in 1886. He did make the first car exported from the United States in 1893. It was steam powered and destined for India. However, the ship sank and the car was never delivered.[17]
Peugeot	France	1889	The first Peugeot automobile, a three-wheeled, steam-powered car designed by Léon Serpollet, was produced in 1889; only four examples were made.
Rickett	England	1860	Rickett made ploughs and steam engines. In 1858 he created a steam powered plought. This inspired the Marquess of Stafford to order a steam carriage. This vehicle had three wheels, the single wheel at the front, and a rear-mounted coal-fired boiler and two-cylinder engine. He made a second vehicle for the Earl of Caithness in 1860. These were potentially Englands first cars.
Roper	USA	1861–1894	Sylvester H. Roper drove around Boston, Massachusetts on a steam carriage he invented in 1863.[18][19][20][21][22] One of his 1863 carriages went to the Henry Ford Museum, where, in 1972, it was the oldest car in the collection.[11][20][21][23][24]
Serpollet	France	1887–1898	Léon Serpollet's first steam cars were sold under his own name, before the partnership as Gardner-Serpollet. Serpollet is credited with inventing the flash boiler.
Spencer	USA	1862-1904	Christopher Spencer built a steam buggy in Connecticut. He continued making steam vehicles with his last being delivery vans for a New York dairy[25]
Taylor	Canada	1867	The Henry Seth Taylor steam buggy was the first known car built in Canada. It was built by Henry Seth Taylor, a watchmaker and jeweller in Stanstead, Quebec in 1867. It was unveiled at the Stanstead Fall Fair that year.[26][27]
Thury	Switzerland	1879	In 1879 Rene Thury made a steam powered tricycle
Whitney	USA	1885–1898	George Eli Whitney of the East Boston Whitney Motor Wagon Company began to make a steam motor-vehicles in 1885 when he partly built one machine. In 1895 he began again and completed the 650 lb carriage in October 1896. He built several more machines after that date. Whitney had gained experience while working on the Roper steam velocipede. For a short time Whitney's were manufactured by the Stanley Manufacturing Company as Stanley-Whitney's and by Everett Motor Carriage Company as Everett's[7] In 1899 Whitney sold the rights to a higher powered version of his car to Brown Brothers of England.[28]

1890s – Commercial manufacture

Make	Country	Years active	Comments
American Waltham	USA	1898–1899	The American Waltham was produced from 1898 to 1899 by the American Waltham Manufacturing Co., a bicycle firm based in Waltham, Massachusetts.[1] It was a typical light steam buggy, with a 2-cylinder engine under the seat, tiller steering and cycle-type wheels.[11]
Baldwin	USA	1899–1902	The Baldwin Steam Car Company made steam runabouts at Connellsville from at least July 1899. By 1901 the company was in receivership.[6][29]
Baldwin	USA	1899	A steam buggy made by Leo F N Baldwin's Baldwin Automobile Company, of Providence. Not related to Baldwin of Connellsville. Leo Baldwin went on the race Stanley's.[7]
Best	USA	1898	Daniel Best of the Best Manufacturing Company, San Leandro made an experimental automobile in 1898 but decided not to put it into production. He also built a runabout for personal use. The company made traction engines; its factory was later sold to Holt—now part of Caterpillar.[30]
Black	USA	1891	In 1891 Charles H Black completed and tested his first steam-powered "chug buggy". However, he rejected the steam engine for use in an automobile as being "too cumbersome and hard to manage" and continued to search for a more suitable engine.
Brown-Whitney	England	1899–1900	See Whitney
Buard	France	1896–1914	Concentrated on steam powered bicycles[6]
Cameron	USA	1899	An alternative name for the Eclipse[31]
Cederholm	Sweden	1892	Painter Joens Cederholm and his brother, André, a blacksmith, designed their first car, a two-seater, introducing a condensor in 1894. It was not a success.[32]
Century	USA	1899–1903	Century Motor Vehicle Company (1899–1903) was a manufacturer of electric and steam automobiles in Syracuse, New York. The company switched to gasoline-fuelled internal combustion engine-powered automobiles in January 1903, and went out of business later that year.[11]
Clark	USA	1895–1909	Edward S Clark made several experimental steam powered wagons in Boston before in 1900 he began manufacturing steam cars at Dorchester. His steam engine was a horizontally-opposed 20 hp 4-cylinder engines of 20 hp which was centrally mounted and had the flash boiler located at the front. He also made steam powered delivery wagons.[11][33]
Cross	USA	1897	Only one Cross was made. L F N Baldwin of the Cruickshank Engine Works, Providence, Rhode Island made the steam engine, Alonza Cross of the Cross Writing Instrument Company made the chassis, and the body was made H M Howe, a carriage maker. It was the first car made in Rhode Island. Construction began in October 1897 and its first trial run was March 1898.[6][7]
Crouch	USA	1897–1899	Three steam powered cars are believed to have been made by W E Crouch, a machinist from New Brighton, Pennsylvania. His third and final car made in Baltlimore still exists and is believed to have been made from parts used in his first two vehicles. The steam engine is thought to be a converted marine engine. The cars body was an angle iron frame with aluminum cladding.[11][34]
Ernest and Ofeldt	USA	1898	see Ofeldt
Eclipse	USA	1899–1903	Eclipse Automobile Company bodies were made in Amesbury by Currier, Cameron, and Company.[35]
Ellis	England	1899–1902	Probably prototypes only.[6]
Europeenne	France	1899–1901 (possibly as late as 1905)	In early 1899 La Societe Europeene d' Automobiles made a two-seat runabout and a four-seat dogcart. The patent was in the names of Tatin and Taniere.[6][36]
Everett	USA	1899	See Whitney
Fawcett-Folwer	England	1897	A steam car produced by Fawcett Preston & Co. Ltd[37]
Gaeth	USA	1898	An experimental steam car. Paul Gaeth went on to make petrol engined cars at Cleveland, Ohio from 1902 to 1911.[6][11]
Gardner-Serpollet (see Serpollet)	France	1899–1907	Serpollet's were made up to 1899, when the Frank Gardner became involved and the make changed to Gardner-Serpollet. The first cars sold under the new name were in 1900.[6]
Gautier–Wehrlé	France	1894–1898	Their first cars were steam powered but by 1898 they were using petrol engines.[6]
Grout	USA	1899–1905	Their first cars were called New Home. Manufacturing was located in Orange, Massachusetts and the company run by Carl, Fred and C.B. Grout in partnership with Thomas H White. William H Grout, their father, set up the company. The name changed to Grout in 1899.[11]
Hartley	USA	1895–1899	The Harley Power Supply Company made a cart powered by a rotary steam engine. IT participated in the 1895 Chicago Times Herald motor race. The company withdrew from vehicle manufacture in 1899.[6][11][38]
House	England	1899–1902	See Lifu
Kensington	USA	1899–1902	The Kensington Automobile Manufacturing Company manufactured steam cars until 1902. In 1903 the company went out of business after unsuccessfully seeking a licence to manufacture Darracq's.[6][11][39]
Keystone Steamer	USA	1899–1900	The Keystone Match and Machine Company of Lebanon, Pennsylvania made three cylinder steam powered car until 1900, when it returned to manufacturing matches and manufacturing machinery.[11][40]
Lamplough	England	1896	A shaft driven steamer created by Frederick Lamplough, who went on to make a steam powered car in 1903 for Albany Manufacturing.
Lane	USA	1899–1910	Manufactured in Poughkeepsie, New York.[6][11]
Leach	USA	1899–1901	A 2 or 4 seat buggy for use on good roads.[11]
Lifu	England	1899–1902	Lifu and House steam cars designed by Henry Alonzo House were manufactured by Liquid Fuel Engineering Company of East Cowes, Isle of Wight. The cars may have been manufactured under license. Most Lifu steam powered vehicles were commercial trucks, buses, and vans. House had made a steam carriage with his brother in 1866.[6][41][42][43]
Locomobile	USA	1899–1903	Locomobile acquired the right to make Stanley's in 1899. They were a well-known lightweight and relatively low-cost steam car, although widely criticised for poor performance. In 1904 Locomobile switched to gasoline engines. The company remained in business until the 1920s.[11][44]
Loomis	USA	1896	A single steam powered car made by Gilbert J Loomis. In 1900 Loomis went on to build a line of gasoline powered cars[45]
Malden	USA	1898	Light steam cars made by the Malden Automobile Company of Malden[11]
Malevez	Belgium	1898–1908	Malevez were agents for Lifu commercial steam powered vehicles. They are known to have manufactured cars, but sources do not state their motive power.[6]
Marlboro	USA	1899–1902	The Marlboro Steam Stanhope was built by Orrin P Walker of Boston with assistance from William B Mason who provided the engines. The car was similar in design to Stanley's and Locomobile's of the period. After an initial period of success the company ceased trading in 1903.[11][46][47]
Miesse	Belgium	1896–1926	The first Miesse steam car La Torpille was made in 1896 by Jules Miesse. In 1903 the company licensed Turner's of England to manufacture its cars under licence. These were marketed as Turner-Miesse. In 1910 the company branched into steam powered commercial vehicles. The final steam cars were made in 1926, many were used a taxi's in Brussels. From that point forward the focus was on petrol and diesel engined commercial vehicles.[6][48][49]
Mobile	USA	1899–1903	The Mobile Company of America was manufacturer by John B Walker in 1899 after a fallout with Locomobile's Amzi L Barber, whose financing had earlier allowed Walker to purchase the Stanley Steamer concern. By 1903, the Mobile Company of America was out of business.[11][50]
Montier & Gillet	France	1897	The Montier & Gillet was a French automobile manufactured only in 1897. A steam Wagonette steered by a tiller, it featured an odd-looking boiler.
New England	USA	1899–1900	The New England Motor Carriage Company made a steam powered runabout. It was lever steered. The company began manufacturing Comet bicycles and sold the steam car business to Stanton Company.[11]
New Home	USA	1897–1898	See Grout
Ofeldt	USA	1899–1902	F. W. Ofeldt and Sons built steam cars in Brooklyn, New York from 1899 to 1900 and Newark, New Jersey from 1901 to 1902. The first cars were also known as Ernest and Ofeldt.[6]
Orient	USA	1898–1899	A steam buggy made by Waltham's.[51]
Ovenden	USA	1899	W C Ovenden of West Boylston made a light steam buggy. Only one was sold.[6]
Rand & Harvey	USA	1899	A light steam buggy made in Lewiston. Probably only a prototype.[6]
Schöche	Germany	1895	Gustav Adolf Schöche in 1895 designed steam car.[52]
Scotte	France	1892–1901	A steam car that competed in the 1894 Paris ro Rouen car race. No further detail is known.
Shaver	USA	1895	A steam buggy made by Joseph Shaver of Milawaukee. Only one was made.[30]
Simmonds	USA	1893	A two-seat steam carriage that ran on bicycle wheels.[7]
Simpson	England	1897–1904	A series of experimental vehicles made by John Simpson of Stirling.[6][53]
Squier	USA	1899	A small steam carriage built by W E Squier of Virginia City.[6][11][54]
Stanley	USA	1897–1925	Twins Francis E Stanley and Freelan O Stanley produced their first car in 1897. During 1898 and 1899, they produced and sold over 200 cars then selling to rights to Locomobile. In 1902 they formed the Stanley Motor Carriage Company which operated from 1902 to 1924. The cars made by the company were colloquially called Stanley Steamers, although several different models were produced.[11]
Stanley-Whitney (normally called Whitney)	USA	1899	See Whitney[6]
Strathmore	USA	1899–1902	Two types of car were made by the Strathmore Automobile Company of Boston. The company was founded as the International Automobile Company but changed its name in 1901.[6][11][55]
Sweany	USA	1895	Only a prototype was made by Charles S Caffrey Co for Dr F L Sweaney of Philadelphia. The car had four small steam motors, one driving each wheel, that could be driven individually or in combination. One, two, three, or four wheel drive could be selected by moving a lever. The car weighed 1350 pounds. It had a foot brake that also cut off steam and steam power steering.[6][56][57]
Terwilliger	USA	1898–1903	A series of prototypes made by William H. Terwilliger prior to launching the Empire Auto Company of Amsterdam, New York in 1904.[6][11]
Thomson	Australia	1896–1901	Herbert Thomson of Armadale, Melbourne, built steam cars around 1900. He tested them on the hill of Kooyong Road in nearby Caulfield, where in 1971 the Pritchard steam car was also tested.[6][58]
Tinker and Piper	USA	1898–1899	See Waltham
Toward & Philipson	England	1897	A coke-fired wagonette with a three-stage tubular boiler, and that could seat six. It made in a joint venture between Toward and Comopany, engineers of St Lawrence, and Atkinson and Philipson, Newcastle carriage manufacturers of Tynside[59]
Victor	USA	1899–1904	In 1899 A H Overman of Chicopee Falls, a bicycle manufactuer, made a steam car called the Victor. Overman named his steam car after the bicycles he made. In 1901 Overman reorganized his company as The Overman Automobile Co and continued to produce the Victor Steam Carriage. About 50 were made by 1901. In 1904 Overman merged with Locomobile.[11][60]
Waltham	USA	1898–1903	In 1898 engineers George M Tinker and John W Piper of the Waltham Manufacturing Company build a light steam buggy. It was exhibited at the 1898 Boston Automobile Show in 1898. Two more steam cars were built under the Tinker and Piper name. In 1899 Tinker and Piper set up the Waltham Automobile Company which made steam cars until 1902 or 1903.[6][11]
West and Burgett	USA	1899	William S West and C E Burgett of Middleburg, New York made a steam car prototype. No more were known to have been made.[6]
Weston	England	1897–1905	Rebadged Grout's sold in England under licence.

1900 to 1913 – Volume production

The early years of the 20th century, prior to World War 1, were the heyday of the steam car.

Make	Country	Years active	Comments
Albany-Lamplough	England	1903	Designed by Frederick Lamplough and better known as the Lamplough-Albany, it was only made in 1903. Albany also made petrol powered cars.[6]
Altmann	Germany	1905–1907	The Altmann was an automobile made by Kraftfahrzeug-Werke GmbH, Brandenburg/Havel from 1905 to 1907. See also the American Aultman[6]
AMC	England	1910	The Automobile Manufacturing Company (AMC) was a short-lived British steam car manufactured in London in 1910.
Anderson	USA	1901–1902	Steam cars made by the Anderson Steam Carriage Company of Anderson[6][61]
Arden	England	1908	Steam cars made by the Arden Steam Car Company, Halifax probably not produced commercially [6]
Artzberger	USA	1903–1905	See Foster[6]
Aultman	USA	1901–1902	The Aultman was a 1901 American automobile manufactured in Canton, Ohio[6]
Binney-Burnham	USA	1901–1902	A steam automobile built in Boston from 1901 to 1902 by James L Binney and John Appleton Burnham.[11]
Bliss	USA	1901	A steam car made by the Bliss Chainless Automoile Company of Attenborough. The drive train was spur geared to the rear axle rather than chain drive.[6][62]
Bolsover	England	1902	Only made a prototype. No production model made. Best known as makers of the Bolsover Express boiler, used for steam launches and as a replacement boiler for Stanley steam cars.[6][63]
Bon-Car	England	1905–1907	No series production cars made.[6][63]
Boss	USA	1903–1907	A steam car made by the Boss Knitting Machine Works of Reading[6][62]
Brecht	USA	1901–1903	Steam powered cars made by the Brecht Automobile Company of St Louis[6][62]
Breer	USA	1900	A steam powered car made by Carl Breer, an engineer who later went on to work for Chrysler and is credited with providing much of the aerodynamic design to the Chrysler Airflow.[62]
Buffard	France	1900–1902	Details unknown—named in list of steam car makes[6]
California	USA	1903–1905	Maker of steam, electric, and gasoline automobiles based in San Francisco[6]
Campbell	Australia	1901	A steam car made by Archie M Campbell of Liverpool Street, Hobart[64]
Cannon	USA	1902–1906	Details unknown—named in list of steam car makes.[6]
Capitol	USA	1902–1903	A steam built by the Capitol Automobile Company of Washington DC and based on a Frank Goodwin model developed from experiments that commenced in 1889.[11][62]
Central	USA	1905–1906	A rotary steam engine powered vehicle made by the Central Automobile Company of Providence, Rhode Island.[62]
Chaboche	France	1901–1906	Chaboche made steam cars and a steam wagon with a 2.5 ton carrying capacity/[6]/[65]
Chautauqua	USA	1911	A car made by the Chautauqua Motor Company, Dunkirk, New York[6]
Chelmsford	England	1901–1903	The company exhibited two cars and a van at the 1903 motor show. They were made at the Moulsham Works in Chelmsford.[6][66]
Chicago	USA	1905–1907	A steam car made by the Chicago Automobile Company.[6][62]
Cincinnati	USA	1903–1905	A two-seat steam powered car made by the Cincinnati Automobile Company of Ohia.[6][11][62]
Clark	USA	1900–1909	Advanced flash boiler steam cars made by Edward S Clark Steam Automobiles of Dorchester.[6][62]
Cloughley	USA	1902–1903	A four-seat steam powered surray made by the Coughley Motoer Vehicle Company of Parsons[11][62]
Connor	Switzerland	1903	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
Conrad	USA	1900–1924	A variety of 2 and 4 seat models plus a dos-a-dos [6][11][67]
Cook	England	1901–1902	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
Cotta	USA	1901–1903	A 4-wheel drive and steering steam car made by Charles Cotta's Cotta Autombobile Company of Lanark, Illinois.[11][68]
Covert	USA	1901–1907	B. V. Covert and Company was a manufacturer of automobiles in Lockport, New York from 1901 to 1907. The company started as a manufacturer of steam-powered cars, but later switched to gas-powered vehicles. Some Coverts were exported to England as Covert-Jacksons.[6]
Cremorne	England	1903–1904	A steam car made by the Cremorne Motor Manufacturing Company of Chelsea[6][63]
Crompton	USA	1903–1905	A steam car made by the Crompton Motor Carriage Comoany of Worcester [6][11]
Dawson	USA	1900–1902	A steam car made by George Dawson's Dawson Manufacturing Company at Waynesboro (then known as Basic City). Only one was completed and sold.[6][11][69]
Desberon	USA	1901–1904	The Desberon was an American automobile manufactured from 1901 until 1904. The company initially built steam trucks, and later branched out into making 4 hp gas-driven "pleasure carriages" built along "French lines".[6]
Doble	USA	1906–1930	The first Doble was made from wrecked White with a Doble steam engine. Two more prototypes were made with production starting with the Model B. The most technically sophisticated of the steam car manufacturers. Even after they had been supplanted by petrol engines for use in automobiles, Abner Doble continued to sell his experience in designing water-tube boilers to railway locomotive manufacturers, such as Sentinel.[11]
Eastman	USA	1900–1903	Henry Eastman and Jay Hayes formed the Eastman Automobile Company in Cleveland to make steam cars. At the end of 1900 Eastman and Hayes sold the company to the Benson Automobile Company.[11]
E.J.Y.R	England	1907	see Rutherford
Elberon	USA	1903	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6][11]
Electronomic	USA	1900–1901	The Electromagnetic Steamer was manufactured by the Simplex Motor Vehicle Company. The company was incorporated in 1900, but made its first car in 1899.[6][70]
Elite	USA	1900–1901	A model built by D B Smith and Company, Utica, New York[11][67]
Empire	USA	1901	Built by Empire Manufacturing Company of Stirling, Illionois also known as the Stirling steam car[6][67]
Empire	USA	1904–1905	A steam-driven car designed by William H Terwilliger of the Empire Auto Company of Amsterdam, New York. Several experimental models were made from 1898 but production only started in 1904.[11]
English Mechanic	England	1900–1905	Do-it-yourself steam car and tricycle designed by Thomas Hyler White for the English Mechanic and World of Science and Art magazine. He also designed petrol cars—pictured.[6]
Essex	USA	1905–1906	A 4-cylinder steam car made by the Essex Motor Car Company of Boston[6][11][70]
Federal	USA	1901–1903	A steam car made by Federal Motor Vehicle Company of Brooklyn, New York [6][11]
Fidelia	France	1905–1906	A steam car produced by Voitures Fidelia of Angers, Maine-et-Loire; France[6]
Filtz	France	1901–1910	Mostly commercial vehicles[6]
Foster	USA	1900–1903	The Foster Automobile Manufacturing Company of Rochester, New York produced 165 vehicles before bankruptcy in 1903. On of the investors in the company William H. Artzberger, an artist of Allegheny acquired the rights, and founded the Artzberger Automobile Company. Re-launching the cars as improved Foster's on 1903. The company ceased auto production in 1905.[11][71]
Fraser	England	1911	Possibly only a prototype made[6][63]
Friedmann	USA	1900–1903	A steam car made by the Friedmann Auotmobile Company of Chicago[6]
Gage	USA	1903	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
Geneva	USA	1901–1904	The Geneva Steamer was made in 1901 by the Geneva Automobile and Manufacturing Company of Geneva, Ohio. One is on display at the Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan. Geneva also made the Turtle, a racing car. In 1904 the company was sold to the Colonial Brass Co.[11]
Henrietta	USA	1901	A steam car made by the Henrietta Motor Coompany of New York[6]
Hess	USA		Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[11]
Hidley	USA	1901	Between one and four were made by the Hidley Automobile Company of 257 Broadway, Troy, New York
HLB	England	1914	Possibly only a prototype made by HLB Motors; Islington Green, London[6][63]
Hoffman	USA	1902–1904	A light steam car made by The Hoffman Automobile and Manufacturing Company at Cleveland, Ohio. From 1904 the company switched to petrol powered vehicles, the Royal Tourist.[11]
Holland	USA		Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[11]
Hood	USA	1900–1901	Steam car made by Ralph Hood of Danvers associated with the Simplex Motor car company.[11][70]
Houghton	USA	1900-1901	A steam car made by H R Houghton's Houghton Automobile Company of West Newton[6]
Howard	USA	1900–1902	Steam cars built by the Howard Automobile Company of Trenton, New Jersey[11]
Howard	USA	1901-1903	A chainless steam car built by William S Howard's Trojan Launch and Automobile Works of Troy, New York[72]
Hudson	USA	1901–1902	A steam car designed by Howard Coffin and built by Bean-Chamberlain Manufacturing Company [11][67]
Hythe	England	1903	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
International	USA	1903	In Toledo became the International Motor Car Company for a time before becoming Pope Motor Car Company[11]
Jaxon	USA	1903–1904	Steam cars made by Jackson Automobile Company of Jackson, Michagin[11]
Johnson	USA	1905–1907	Steam cars made by Professor Warren F Johnson's Johnson Service Company of Milwaukee until 1907 when the company switched to petrol powered vehicles. The company ceased business after Johnson died in 1912.[6][11]
Keene	USA	1900–1901	The Keen Steammobile was built by the Trinity Bicycle Company of Keene. In 1901 the company changed name to the Steammobile Company of America and the cars name also changed to Steammobile.[73]
Keenelet	England	1904	Possibly only a prototype built by Keene's Automobile Works of London[6][63][74]
Kellogg	USA	1903	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6][11]
Kent's Pacemaker	USA	1900	An unusual steam car made by A W Kent's Colonial Company of Boston. It had a wheel for steering at the front and three rear wheels, one of which propelled the car while the other two could be lifted making it more like a motorbike.
Kidder	USA	1900–1901	Three styles of Kidder's were made including a delivery wagon[11][75]
Knoller	Austria	1904-1910	Steam cars made by Max Friedmann of Vienna. Very few were made
Kraft	USA	1901	A steam car made in St. Louis, Missouri.[6][11]
L'Autovapeur	France	1905–1906	A Parisian steam car make powered by a Gardner-Serpollet engine[6]
Lamplough-Albany	England	1903	see Albany-Lamplough
Lane	USA	1900	Steam cars made by Lane Motor Vehicle Company of Poughkeepsie, New York[6][67]
Locke	USA	1901	see Puritan [11]
Lozier	USA	1901–1902	A Lozier Motor Company prototype steam car. The production cars, commencing in 1905, had petrol engines only.[6]
Lyons	USA		Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[11]
Maryland Steamer	USA	1900–1901	A steam car made by the Maryland Automobile Manufacturing company of Luke, Maryland
MCC	England	1902–1904	Motor Construction Company of Nottingham steam cars sold as Vapomobile [6][49][76]
McCurdy	USA	1901	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
McKay Steam Buggy	USA	1900–1902	Renamed Stanley-Whitney made by Frank Forrester Stanley's Stanley Manufacturing Company. Stanley's reverted to manufacturing shoes and in 1920 were taken over by the A G Walton Shoe Co.[6][11][70]
Meteor	USA	1902–1903	Reading steam cars were built by the Meteor Engineering Company from 1902 after the company acquired the Steam Vehicle Company of America[11][77]
Miller	USA	1903	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
Mills	USA		Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[11]
Milwaukee	USA	1900–1902	A steam stanhope made by the Milwaukee Automobile Company[11][67]
Moncrieff	USA	1901–1902	J. A. Moncrieff Company of Pawtucket, Rhode Island[11]
Morriss	England	1906-1912	Only four cars were made at Sandringham. Only one survives.[6][63][78]
Morse	USA	1904–1909	Made by the Morse Motor Vehicle Company of Springfield. In 1909 the company became the Easton Machine Company, which made a petrol powered vehicle under the Morse name.[6][11][79]
Neff	Canada	1901	A steam buggy built Benton Neff of Port Colborne and displayed at the Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum.[80]
Neustadt-Perry	USA	1901–1903	J.H. Neustadt and Perry was partnership. In 1904 Neustadt bought out Perry forming the Neustadt Automobile and Supply Company located in St Louis, Missouri. From 1904 it made petrol powered cars[6][11][81]
New Home	USA	1901	See Grout[6]
Ophir	USA	1901	Made by the Century Motor Vehicle Company of Syracuse, New York[6]
Ormond	USA	1904–1905	Made by United Motor and Vehicle Co of Boston[6][11]
Overholt	USA	1909	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6][11]
Oxford	USA	1900–1904	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[11]
Paridant	Belgium	1903–?	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
Parker-Wearwell	England	1901	Thomas Hugh Parker of Wearwell Motor Carriage Company, Wolverhampton made a steam car. Only one seems to have been made with Wearwell concentrating on petrol powered motor bikes.[6][82]
Pawtucket	USA	1901–1902	A single seat car made by the Pawtucket Steam Boat Company of Providence, Rhode Island[6][11]
Pearson-Cox	UK	1908–1916	Pearson and Cox were steam and petrol powered car makers from Shortlands, Kent[83]
Phelps	USA	1901	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
Pierce	USA	1900	The first car made by George N Pierce and Co was steam powered but a failure. They switched to petrol cars.[45]
Pope	USA	1903-1904	The Pope Motor Car Company replaced the International Motor Car Company making Toledo's.[84]
Porter	USA	1900–1901	Steam cars made by Porter Motor Company of Boston[11][67]
Prescott	USA	1901–1907	The steam cars were made by A L Prestcott's Prescott Automobile Manufacturing Company, 09 Chambers Street, New York. The company closed in 1907 after an employee stole most of its cash.[11][85]
Puritan	USA	1902–1903	Albert Locke's Lock Regulator Company of Salem, Massachusetts built a four passenger steam runabout named the Puritan.[6][11]
Ramapaugh	USA	1902	Charles A Ball's Miami Cycle and Manufacturing Company decided to build automobiles in 1902. The name Ramapaugh came from an old Indian chief who lived near Ball in New York. Ball bought the first and only vehicle completed.[86]
Randall	USA	1902	A steam carriage made by G N Randall[6]
Randolph	USA		Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[11]
Reading	USA	1900–1902	A steam car made by Steam Vehicle Company of America, Reading. The company was sold to Meteor Engineering Co in 1902.[11][87]
Reid	New Zealand	1903-1905	Made three steam cars which used engines imported from the United States
Rexer	France	1905-1910	see Weyher et Richemond
Richmond	USA	1902–1903	A steam car made by the Richmond Automobile Company of Richmond, Indiana[11]
Riley & Cowley	USA	1902	A steam car made in Brooklyn, New York[6]
Rochester	USA	1900–1901	A steam buggy made by Rochester Carriage Motor Company of Rochester, New York[11]
Ross	USA	1905–1909	A steam car made by Louis S Ross of Newtonville[11][67]
Rutherford (also known as E.J.Y.R.)	England	1907–1912	The car was designed by E J Y Rutherford and George Hamilton of the Highclere Motor Car Syndicate Ltd, and was first known by Rutherford's initials as the E.J.Y.R.[6]
Schirmer	Switzerland	1903–1904	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
Seely	USA	1900's	A double engined steam car made by F L Seely. Only one is believed to have been built.[67]
Sheppee	England	1912	A steam automobile made in York by Colonel F H Sheppee's Sheppee Motor Company. Only two were made. Prior to this Sheppee made commercial vehicles. The company still exists but no longer makes vehicles[6]
Siemens-Halske	Germany	1900–1905	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
Simons	USA	1903	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6][11]
Simpson	India	1903	Samual John Green of Simpson & Co, Madras produced the first Indian steam car in 1903. The made were very few as the company specialised in coachmade bodies for imported motor car chassis.[88][89]
Skene	USA	1900–1901	Steam cars made by Skene American Automobile Company of Springfield[11][67]
SM	England	1904–1905	A steam car that may never have got beyond prototype.[63]
Springer	USA	1904–1906	Steam car made by John H Springer's Springer Motor Vehicle Company of New York[6][11]
Springfield	USA	1900–1904	The Springfield Motor Car Company mae a steam powered van in 1901, but no details of a steam powered car found[6][11][90]
Stammobile	USA	1902–1905	A steam buggy made by the Stammobile Manufacturing Company of Stamford, Connecticut[6]
Standard	USA	1902–1905	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
Stanton	USA	1901	Stanton Manufacturing Co acquired the New England steam car business in 1901. They continued to make the cars with some improvements but ceased business the same year.[6][11]
Steamobile	USA	1901–1902	The renamed Keene. In 1902 the factory closed because of over-production.[6][11][73]
Stearns	USA	1900–1904	E C Stearns of Syracuse, New York owned a huge automobile parts supply store and as owner of the Stearns Automobile Co made Stearns Steam Carriages. He made the automobile company a subsidiary of E J Pennington's Anglo-American Rapid Transit Co which drained money from Stearns company making it went bankrupt.[11][91]
Sterling	USA	1901–1902	see Empire[11]
Stesroc	England	1905–1906	A steam car made by Johnson Brothers; Knaresborough, Yorkshire[6]
Stolz	Hungary	1911–1915	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
Storck	USA	1901–1903	Steam cars made by Frank C Storck of Red Bank, New Jersey[6][11][67]
Stringer	USA	1901	Prototype only made by Stringer Automobile Company of Marion, Ohio.[6][11]
Strouse	USA	1915	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6][11]
Sunset	USA	1901–1904	A steam car made by Dorville Libby Junior's Sunset Automobile Company of San Francisco until they switched to petrol engines[11]
Taunton	USA	1901–1904	A steam runabout built by Everitt Cameron. Cameron went on to build petrol powered cars under his name.[6][11]
Thompson	USA	1900–1902	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6][11]
Toledo Steam Carriage	USA	1901–1903	A steam car first made in September 1900 by the American Bicycle Company of Toledo, Later by the International Motor Car Company, then by Pope in 1903. Production ceased in 1903 and Pope contracted the Manhattan Supply Company to dispose of the remaining cars. The last were sold in 1904 at below cost.[11]
Tractobile	USA	1900–1902	The Tractobile was built by E J Pennington's company of Carlisle between 1900–1902. While a car with that name could be ordered it was more an engine and wheels on a removable frame that could be attached to a carriage instead of horses. Very few were built.[6][11][92]
Trinity	USA	1900	Possibly a name for Keene's as they were made by the Trinity Cycle Manufacturing Company[6][11]
Triumph	USA	1900	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6]
Turner-Miesse	England	1902–1913	Miesse's from Belgium built under licence in England.[6][49][93]
Twombly	USA	1904, 1910	The first of Williard Twombly's three attempts to make a car. The steamer was too expensive to produce so he turned to petrol. This to proved two expensive. His 1910 version had a quick replacement engine and a body that could be changed. Unfortunately Twombly could not raise funds to manufacture the car. He tried again in 1914 with a petrol powered cyclecar, but this suffered the same fate.[7][11]
Vapomobile	England	1902–1904	See MCC [6][49]
Xander	USA	1901–1902	The Xander automobile company was founded in 1901 by John G. Xander in Reading, Pennsylvania. His first cars were steam, then gasoline engines were used. He only built his car custom order. In 1902, he stopped.
Warfield	England	1903	Possibly only a prototype[6][63]
Watch City	USA	1903	Steam car made by Watch City Automobile Company of Waltham, Massachusetts[6]
Watt	USA	1901	Named in list of steam cars—details unknown[6][11]
Webb-Jay	USA	1908	Racing specials largely of White Motor Company origin[6][11]
Westfield	USA	1902–1903	Steam cars made by C J Moore Manufacturing Company of Westfield[11][67]
Weyher et Richemond	France	1905–1910	Steam cars made by Automobiles Weyher et Richmond of Pantin, Seine. Probably no private cars built after 1907. Also known as Rexer[6]
White	USA	1900–1911	The White Motor Company was an American automobile and truck manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the company was based in Cleveland, Ohio. From 1900 to 1911 White produced steam powered cars before switching to gasoline.[6][11]
Wood	USA	1902–1903	A steam car made by the Wood Vapor Vehicle Company of Brooklyn, New York[11]
Wood-Loco	USA	1901–1902	A steam car made by Wood-Loco Vehicle Company of Cohoes, New York[6]

1914 to 1939 – Decline

The steam cars of this era up until the 1930s were the last steam powered production cars. The power advantages that steam had possessed were overtaken by the improvements to the petrol powered internal combustion engines.

Make	Country	Years active	Comments
Alena	USA	1922	The Alena Steam Products Company of Indianapolis, Indiana began making steam trucks in 1920.[94] The Alena Steam Car was an American car planned for manufacture in 1922. Only two cars were built, both touring models; each had a wheelbase of 126 inches (3,200 mm). The company went into receivership and closed in 1923.[95]
American	USA	1922–1924	The American Steam Car's were production cars of various makes retrofitted with steam engines of the American Steam Automobile Co, West Newton, Massachusetts, from 1924 to 1948. It was built by Thomas S. Derr, a former faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[11]
American Steamer	USA	1922–1924	Steam cars manufactured by the American Steam Truck Co. of Elgin, Illinois[6]
Baker	USA	1917–1924	Steam cars made by Dr Hartley O Baker's Baker Steam Motor Car and Manufacturing Company of Pueblo and Denver, Colorado[6]
Barlow	USA	1922	Steam cars made by L P Barlow's Barlow Steam Car Company - also known as Barlow Steam Engineering Company, the Barlow-Detroit, and the Barlow Steam Engineering Syndicate.[6]
Brooks	Canada	1923–1926	A Detroitsteam car made by Brooks Steam Motors Limited.[6]
Bryan Steam Car	USA	1918–1923	Steam cars made by Bryan Steam Motors of Peru, Indiana. Only six were built.[6][62]
Clermont	USA	1922	A short lived steam car company.[6][11][96]
Coats	USA	1922–1923	Steam cars made by Coats Steam Car Company of Chicago, later models called Stewart-Coats[11][67]
Davis	USA	1921	The Davis Steam Motors Inc of Detroit may have built a steam car. The company was formed in March 1921 by Merrill Davis, E M Bliss, F D Sieberg, and A B Eggert.
Delling	USA	1923–1927	A steam car developed by Eric H. Delling,[6][11]
Derr	USA	1926–1931 (possibly as late as 1935)	see American [6]
Detroit	USA	1922	The Detroit Steam Motors Corporation of Detroit made steam cars called Trask-Detroits in 1922. The company became Brooks Steam Motors maker of the Brook steam car.[11]
Endurance	USA	1924–1925	A steam car built by the Endurance Steam Car Company of Los Angeles, California and later Dayton, Ohio[6][11]
Gearless	USA	1921–1923	Made by Peterson-Culp Gearless Steam Autmobile Company, Denver, Colorado[11]
MacDonald	USA	1923–1924	Steam cars made by MacDonald Steam Automotive Group of Garfield, Ohio[6][11][67]
Mercury	USA	1923	Steam car made by the Mercury Steam Car Corporation of San Francisco [11]
Remal-Vincent	USA	1923	A steam car made by the Steam Car Corporation of California based in San Francisco[6][11]
Scott-Newcomb	USA	1921–1922	See Standard[11]
Standard	USA	1920–1921	Manufactured by the Standard Engineering Company of St Louis, Missouri from 1920 until 1921. Also known as the Scott-Newcomb [11]
Stewart-Coats	USA	1923	see Coats[11]
Super-Steamer	USA	1918-1919	see Gearless[11]
Trask-Detroit	USA	1922–1923	See Detroit[6]

1940 to date – Renewed interest

Makes in this era are generally prototypes or experimental.

Make	Country	Years active	Comments
Aerojet	USA	1972	Aerojet Liquid Rocket Company of Sacramento were contracted by the Californian Assembly to develop a steam powered car. Aerojet retrofitted a steam turbine into a Chevrolet Vega.[97]
Autocoast Vaporizer	USA	1969	A retrofitted Indy Car by Ernest Kanzler which was to attempt to set a new steam car speed record driven by Skip Hedrick at Bonneville on 19 October 1969 .[98]
Crank	USA	1977	see Steamin' Demon
Detrick	USA	1957	Forrest R Detrick's S-101 prototype
Dutcher	USA	1972	Steam Power Systems of San Diego were contracted by the Californian Assembly to develop a steam powered car. They build the Dutcher, a car named after the company's founder, Cornelius Dutcher. It is on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles[97]
Enginion	Germany	1996	An R&D subsidiary of the Volkswagen group developing a system called ZEE (Zero Emissions Engine). It produced steam almost instantly without an open flame.
General Motors	USA	1969	Two experimental steam powered cars. The SE 124 based on a converted Chevrolet Chevelle and the SE 101 based on the Pontiac Grand Prix.
Healy	England	1970	Donald Healey decided to make a basic steam-car technology more in line with Stanley or Doble and aimed at enthusiasts.
Inspiration	England	2009	The British Steam Car Challenge broke the record for a steam vehicle setting a new speed record of 238.679 km/h (148.308 mph)
Keen	USA	1940–1973	Completed two experimental cars and was constructing a third at the time of his death.
Lear	USA	1969	A retrofited Chevrolet Monte Carlo and an Indy Car prototype
Likamobile	USA	2005–	A steam powered replica of the Locomobile Style 2 (1900–1901) that is made in kit-form by Modelworks.[99]
Minto	USA	1970	A variant of the steam car made by Wallace L.Minto, using Ucon U-113 fluorocarbon as the working fluid (instead of steam) and kerosene, gasoline, or the like as a fuel.
Paxton	USA	1953–1954	A prototype called the Phoenix was created by the Paxton Engineering Division of McCulloch Motors Corporation, Los Angeles base around Abner Doble's Doble Ultimax engine.[100] The project was eventually dropped in 1954.[101]
Peterson			Stanley powered
Pellandine	Australia	1970's-2012	Peter Pellandine conducted experiments with a steam car for the South Australian government. He made an attempt on the steam speed record in 1976 and continued his interest in developing steam powered cars until his death in 2012
Pritchard	Australia	1972	Edward Pritchard created a steam powered 1963 model Ford Falcon in 1972.
Ranotor	Sweden	2000's	After Leaving Saab, Dr Ove Platell started a company Ranotor with his son Peter Platell to develop a steam hybrid that uses the exhaust heat from an ordinary petrol engine to power a small steam engine to reduce fuel consumption
Saab	Sweden	1974	A project codenamed ULF headed by Dr Ove Platell made a prototype steam-powered car. After Saab dropped the project Platell started his own project - see Ranotor
Steam Speed America	USA	2014	A speed record attempt car by Chuk Williams of Team Speed America. It crashed on its first run after reaching 147 mph.
Steamin' Demon	USA	1985	Barber-Nichols Engineering of Denver used a steam turbine they had designed for Lear and the Los Angeles city bus program to attempt to gain the steam powered land speed record. It reached 145.607 but only completed one pass due to a fire. The cars body was a Fiberfab Aztec 7 and had originally been completed by James Crank for his 1977 steam record attempt.[102]
Williams	USA	1957-1968	Calvin C William's Williams Engine Company Incorporated of Ambler began advertising steam car retrofits or complete cars in 1957. At least one original car was built, using a Victress S4 body. They were offering a steam converted Chevrolet Chevelle for $10,250. Nine were ordered along with a Ford Fairlane from the Ford Motor Company. Cost of components delayed the project causing the Williams' to close in 1968.

See also

• History of steam road vehicles
• History of the automobile
• Steam car

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Steam automobiles.

References