page_title: Tilling-Stevens
section_title: Petrol Electric engines and their Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Tilling-Stevens / Petrol Electric engines and their Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: Commutator of the dynamo of the 1923 Tilling-Stevens Petrol-electric chassis at Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre, West Sussex
context_page_description: Tilling-Stevens was a British manufacturer of buses and other commercial vehicles, based in Maidstone, Kent. Originally established in 1897, it became a specialist in petrol-electric vehicles. It continued as an independent manufacturer until 1950, when it was acquired by the Rootes Group.
context_section_description: The Tilling-Stevens petrol-electric bus is interesting as an early example of a hybrid vehicle, although without any direct engine propulsion or battery storage. 
  As the petrol engine ran continuously and its chassis weight with a large, heavy motor/dynamo pair was much higher than a mechanical gearbox, it was less fuel efficient than a competing mechanical transmission chassis type. Once mechanical gearbox transmissions were developed enough to become reliable, quiet and easy enough to use, this inefficiency contributed to its demise. Another reason was the simple and fairly inefficient electrical control system, the best that could be achieved in the absence of "modern" electronics.  However hybrid petrol-electric cars, such as the Toyota Prius, are now seen as being a partial solution towards cutting carbon dioxide emissions and reducing the risks of damaging global warming.
  Many Tilling Stevens Petrol Electric vehicles ended their days as mobile caravans or lorries with travelling fairs and showground people, where the electrical generation could be useful for other things than merely to move the vehicle. Some chassis survived beyond being direct road transport to become generator trailers for these fairs. This helped maintain a stock of dynamo and motor units and even chassis, making restorations possible.
caption: traction motor 1923
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