Photo courtesy of the Richard Roberts Archive
Many visitors to Laws Museum know we have numerous examples of horse-drawn delivery wagons, carriages, and a chuck wagon, not to mention horse-drawn plows and other horse motivated ranching equipment. And of course, we display the well-known replica of the mule-drawn borax wagons, the twenty mule team wagons that hauled borax across the desert from Death Valley to the Mojave railhead from 1883 to 1889. But until recently we lacked an example of electric vehicles from the turn of the 20th century, the first blossoming of the electric vehicle era. We have recently added the chassis and drive train of a 1919 Walker electric delivery truck to the Laws collection. There is quite a history leading to the development of that truck.
The first crude electric vehicle was developed around 1832, but it wasn't until 1859 that rechargeable batteries suitable for cars came into being with the invention of the lead-acid battery by French physicist Gaston Planté. In 1881 these batteries were significantly improved, greatly increasing their capacity and leading to their manufacture on an industrial scale. The first practical electric car in the United States was developed in 1890-91 by Scotland-born William Morrison. It was a six-passenger wagon capable of reaching a speed of 14 mph.
Interest in motor vehicles increased greatly in the late 1890s and early 1900s. In London, Walter Bersey designed a fleet of electric taxis and introduced them to the streets of London in 1897. In the same year in New York City, the Samuel's Electric Carriage and Wagon Company began running 12 electric hansom cabs. By 1898, it operated 62 cabs. A total of 33,842 electric cars were registered in the United States by the tum of the century, and the U.S. became the country where electric cars had gained the most acceptance.
Electric vehicles had a number of advantages over their early-1900s competitors. They did not have the vibration, smell, and noise associated with gasoline cars (or horses). They also did not require gear changes. The cars were also preferred because they did not require a manual effort to start as did gasoline cars, which featured a hand crank to start the engine.
Electric delivery trucks were a reliable, cost-effective replacement for the horse. They were three to four times the speed of a horse, had two times the cruising radius in good or bad weather and would do one and a half to two times the work of a team of horses at the same cost. They were also more efficient than gasoline trucks, since the electric motor stopped running during the delivery and was immediately ready to go once the delivery was made. A gas truck would idle and burn money during the delivery while emitting noise and exhaust.
The Walker Electric truck was one of the more successful brands of electric delivery trucks. The Walker Motor Company began manufacturing trucks in 1907. It and its successors manufactured trucks until 1942, Walker manufactured many different models of electric trucks which were sold across the United States and even in Britain and New Zealand. There was a fleet of 200 in Christchurch. The American Railway Express Co. of New York ran a fleet of 1200 Walker machines. The Chicago department store Marshall Field & Co., at one time the third largest such store in the world, used 271 trucks for local deliveries. The United States Postal Service used them for mail delivery and Walker trucks were renowned for their use in milk deliveries throughout the U.S.
The 1919 Walker 2-1/2 ton delivery truck at the Laws Museum has a 3.5 HP electric motor that was powered by numerous batteries to produce 80 volts and a maximum of 40 amps. Its driving range was about 30 to 35 miles and maximum speed was 10 to 12 MPH. The controls were simple: a large steering wheel, with the driver positioned high over the front wheels; two brake pedals on either side of the steering wheel; and a lever speed control. Reverse was engaged by another foot lever. The bank of batteries sat in the middle of the truck halfway between the front and rear axles. The motor was located in the rear differential and the drive gears were in the wheels.
Next time you see an electric Amazon delivery truck drive by, think of its predecessor, the Walker delivery truck. The modern electric truck reflects its American heritage embodied by that old-timer. You are invited to stop by and see the Walker next time you visit Laws.
(Sources: Wikipedia, Newsweek)
Reprinted from "The Mail Car," January 2025 edition.