I thought I had seen everything..

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jmaccyd

Well-Known Member
Someone cycling a Penny Farthing in London on Sunday night. Top banana and respect, but put some lights on it!
 

thomas

the tank engine
Location
Woking/Norwich
Someone cycling a Penny Farthing in London on Sunday night. Top banana and respect, but put some lights on it!

Sounds like you saw it :tongue:
 

Davidc

Guru
Location
Somerset UK
I hope you mean lighting thats 'in period' with the bicycle in question. Burning acetylene in carbide lights was the normal form of lighting for early bicycles and motor cars. Water was added to calcium carbide to produce the acetylene.

My granndfather had both a bicycle and motor bicycle lamp of this sort which he'd used up to the 1920s. The innards were like a simplified Kipps apparatus in which the gas pressure as it was produced held the water back until enough gas was used up. He told me that they did sometimes burst into flame!

Not sure when rear bike lights came in or what technology would have been used (Hilldodger would know though).
 
OP
OP
jmaccyd

jmaccyd

Well-Known Member
I hope you mean lighting thats 'in period' with the bicycle in question. Burning acetylene in carbide lights was the normal form of lighting for early bicycles and motor cars. Water was added to calcium carbide to produce the acetylene.

My granndfather had both a bicycle and motor bicycle lamp of this sort which he'd used up to the 1920s. The innards were like a simplified Kipps apparatus in which the gas pressure as it was produced held the water back until enough gas was used up. He told me that they did sometimes burst into flame!

Not sure when rear bike lights came in or what technology would have been used (Hilldodger would know though).

Funny, I think he was running a very dim front light so it is possible that it was some form of 'period' lighting. Got to say, an impressive sight as he cycled down Paddington Street with a considerable amount of saing-froid
 
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