Ralph Lucas (1876-1955) was an entrepreneur and inventor, involved in the design and manufacturing of early motor cars. He was born in Greenwich, the son of telegraph engineer Francis Robert Lucas (1849-1931) and his wife Katherine. After studying at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, Lucas began his career as a draughtsman. But by the turn of the century he had established his own workshop (at Westcombe Hill,

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

), joining the

Institute of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 110,000 membe ...

in 1903.Greenwich Industrial History: ''Ralph Lucas (1876-1955)''
/ref> At the workshop, he began designing motor cars, registering 15 UK and three US patents between 1899 and 1910 for a range of different engine parts. This led to the Ralph Lucas Car, developed from 1901 until around 1908. The first model was an odd two-stroke car powered by

paraffin Paraffin may refer to: Substances * Paraffin wax, a white or colorless soft solid (also in liquid form) that is used as a lubricant and for other applications * Liquid paraffin (drug), a very highly refined mineral oil used in cosmetics and for med ...

; it had a

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder (engine), cylinder a ...

and a

crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a reciprocating engine, piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating Shaft (mechanical engineering), shaft containing one or more crankpins, ...

at either end of its one cylinder. A button in the steering wheel controlled the speed of the

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

. The

coachwork A coachbuilder manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles. The trade of producing coachwork began with bodies for horse-drawn vehicles. Today it includes custom automobiles, buses, motor coaches, and railway carriages. The word ...

was of pressed

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

. The two-stroke design introduced in 1908 was the origin of the Valveless. After 1908 production moved to David Brown and Sons of Huddersfield.Grace's Guide to British Industrial History
/ref> However, only a small number were ever made. The car was test driven for an article in ''The Engineer'' journal which reported, 'On the high gear the car travelled up long and steep gradients without necessitating change to the low gear’ it wrote, hailing the vehicle as ‘a highly meritorious attempt to adapt a two-cycle internal combustion engine to the propulsion of road vehicles.’ In 1922 Ralph Lucas developed a second car, the North-Lucas Radial, with Oliver North at the Robin Hood Engineering Works in Putney Vale. This time only one was built (by the Chelsea Motor Building Co), and it was used by Ralph himself between 1922 and 1928, covering 65,000 miles in its lifetime. Lucas married the pianist and composer Mary Anderson Juler in 1903, and they had two sons, Anthony Ralph Lucas (1905-?) and Colin Anderson Lucas (1906-1984). Lucas established a building firm (Lucas, Lloyd & Co.) which his son Colin joined in 1929. Colin Lucas became a renowned modernist architect and pioneer of reinforced concrete construction. In 1930 he built Noah's House and Boathouse in Cookham for his parents to live in. Mary Lucas established a music room there. It is now a Grade II listed building.''Ouspensky Today''. ''Colin Lucas: a view of a creative life''
/ref>

References

* David Burgess Wise, ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Ralph British automotive engineers Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Opposed piston engines Cars introduced in 1901 1876 births 1955 deaths People from Greenwich

See also

References