W. A. Stevens
W. A. Stevens of Maidstone
of 26 Victoria Street, London (1913), works at Maidstone.
1897 William Arthur Stevens went into business (as Stevens and Barker?) on a site used by his father supplying English timber.
c.1902 At some point the business of W. A. Stevens was established on the same site.
1906 Built its first petrol-electric vehicle. The petrol-electric transmission was simpler to operate than the conventional crash gearbox (in the days before synchromesh) which made it popular among bus drivers as few previously driven motor vehicles.
Thomas Tilling Ltd. became interested in the concept for whom an omnibus was designed by Mr. Stevens and Mr. Percy Frost Smith.[1]
1907 Contract with J. and E. Hall to convert their gasoline trucks to gasoline-electric types
c.1907 The company was purchased by a large bus operator, Thomas Tilling.
1908 The "Hallford" petrol-electric bus was produced in the works of J. and E. Hall; it had transmission designed by Percy Frost Smith and W. A. Stevens. One of these buses was running in the service of Thomas Tilling, Limited, of Peckham[2]
1909 Advertised the Hallford-Stevens petrol-electric and electric omnibuses and commercial vehicles. Also offered system for charging batteries from the mains, and boosters for dealing with variable loss on electricity delivery lines.
1913 Built the electrical systems for petrol-electric tramcars for the London County Council.
c.1913 After Mr Stevens left the company, its name was changed to Tilling-Stevens[3]
Post-WWI Mr Stevens set up a different venture, Stevens Petrol-Electric Vehicles, that continued this type of business.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Buses and Trolleybuses before 1919 by David Kaye. Published 1972