How were Ford Model T cars delivered to dealers?

[TerryB]

Our local weekly newspaper has one of those sections where it reports news from decades ago.  In the 100 yrs ago notes it reported the local Ford dealer had just received a shipment of new Ford cars.  I was wondering how they got there.  By train? Truck?  There was a railroad line serving the town at the time so I guess that was a possible method.  Location is SE PA, Lititz in Lancaster county.  Any info or pics would be appreciated.  One of the cars purchased at the local dealer in Nov 1917 is shown below.  

Terry

 

Edited December 1, 2017 by TerryB (see edit history)

[Walt G]

Not sure how Fords were delivered, but most Packards going to major populated areas/cities were shipped by rail. In the early and mid 1930s the factory would stage mass "driveaways" for publicity purposes, Franklin did this in 1931 and Chevy in 1933/34 era.

[MCHinson]

I think that most were delivered by train. Some were driven away. Some were probably delivered by truck as well.

 

Check out the photo with the following caption at the link:http://myautoworld.com/ford/history/ford-t/ford-t-5/ford-t-5.html

Model T's Being Loaded on Railcars in 1910:
Ninety percent of the completed Model T's were shipped within 24 hours, because no storage was available at Highland Park. A completed Model T was loaded on special auto carrying railcars and sent to destinations all over the United States and ultimately the world.

 

 

[JV Puleo]

Long haul trucking is a relatively modern practice. Probably right up to WWII most large items were moved by rail and delivered locally by trucks.

[poci1957]

By 1917 things may have been changing.  By then Ford had a branch assembly plant in Philadelphia and in 1917 there was a major shortage of railcars and rail bottlenecks partly due to shipping war materials for WWI.  So lots of dealers within a reasonable distance from a plant would pick up and "driveaway" their cars to expedite things.  Rail shipping still predominated but I bet a Lancaster dealer would have gone to the plant to pick up some cars to save a little time and money, Todd C

[Rusty_OToole]

They were delivered by train, I believe 7 to a box car. They were designed so they would fit vertically, somehow they stood them on end or suspended them from the roof.

 

Later they were shipped knocked down, or in pieces and assembled by the dealer.  A while back we had a picture on here of a dealer's truck loaded with sheet metal parts. Some years ago I read an account of the 'assembly line' a dealer had set up in a barn where the cars were put together. Over the door was a toilet tank with a long hose, the valve adjusted to deliver the right amount of water to fill the radiator. Last step was to stick the hose in the rad and pull the chain.

[John_S_in_Penna]

1 hour ago, JV Puleo said:

Long haul trucking is a relatively modern practice. Probably right up to WWII most large items were moved by rail and delivered locally by trucks.

 

Good point, JV, which people may not know today

unless they are early-truck collectors.  The trucks

from the 1910's likely had a top speed of 15 or 20 m.p.h.,

so their use was only around town.  The trucks, as you

said, delivered things from the railroad station to other

places in town.

 

One of our local AACA region members specializes in

Packard trucks.  His Packard truck moves so slowly,

he says, that bugs slam into the back, not into the front!

[poci1957]

See attached for an interesting newspaper article from Decatur IL in 1917.  Note the article mentions dealers for National, Auburn and Chevrolet going to the factory to pick up cars and drive them back to Decatur, approx. 150 miles from Indianapolis, 300 miles to Auburn and 450 miles to Flint.  And Decatur was a rail hub, Todd C   

The_Decatur_Herald_Sun__May_27__1917_.pdf

Edited December 1, 2017 by poci1957 (see edit history)

[Brass is Best]

Fords were shipped via rail, convoy and F.O.B. Detroit. Some cars would be shipped in crates to their final destination. Then assembled at the train station and driven to the dealership. Dealers would also travel to the factory and pick up cars with several drivers and convoy home. Customers could also travel to a factory and purchase a car for themselves. In the late 1920's we begin to see purpose built trucks to carry 3 to 5 cars at a time. Up into the 1950's and 1960's it was common for cars to be picked up at the factory. I have seen several 1950's Mopars marked Customer Drive Away right on the trim tag.

[Brass is Best]

Here are some Model T's being shipped.

 

 

[TerryB]

Great replies!  Thanks for the info.

[Rusty_OToole]

Can anyone translate the bill for the Ford in #1?  I think I can make out " 1 touring car 360" "freight 22.50" "pocket absorbers 10.00" could that be shock absorbers spelled sideways? "speedometer 11.00" "tool box and dash light" looks like no charge.

 

That leaves line 3 which could be nag pox, mag box, or  map box and line 6 Chump 3.10 or maybe 6 hams 3.10

 

Did anyone else notice the bill is dated Nov 17 1917 at the top but stamped Paid Nov 30 1918?

[cheezestaak2000]

3 hours ago, poci1957 said:

By 1917 things may have been changing.  By then Ford had a branch assembly plant in Philadelphia and in 1917 there was a major shortage of railcars and rail bottlenecks partly due to shipping war materials for WWI.  So lots of dealers within a reasonable distance from a plant would pick up and "driveaway" their cars to expedite things.  Rail shipping still predominated but I bet a Lancaster dealer would have gone to the plant to pick up some cars to save a little time and money, Todd C

i believe that plant was in chester pa. my neighbor worked there. and back then, many dealers picked the cars up, and drove them back to dealership.

 

[TerryB]

1 minute ago, Rusty_OToole said:

Can anyone translate the bill for the Ford in #1?  I think I can make out " 1 touring car 360" "freight 22.50" "pocket absorbers 10.00" could that be shock absorbers spelled sideways? "speedometer 11.00" "tool box and dash light" looks like no charge.

 

That leaves line 3 which could be nag pox, mag box, or  map box and line 6 Chump 3.10 or maybe 6 hams 3.10

 

Did anyone else notice the bill is dated Nov 17 1917 at the top but stamped Paid Nov 30 1918?

I did notice the paid by date too....but I have the checkbook entry showing the correct 1917 date.  Apparently the dealer was anxious to make the sale and did not notice his mistake.

Here is a preliminary order sheet for the car where the charges are a little easier to read

 

[John_S_in_Penna]

44 minutes ago, Rusty_OToole said:

Can anyone translate the bill for the Ford in #1?  ...

That leaves line 3 which could be nag pox, mag box, or  map box and line 6 Chump 3.10 or maybe 6 hams 3.10. ...

 

The preliminary order sheet for that car is indeed

easier to read.  The buyer paid  $10.80 for War Tax 

and $3.10 for chains.

 

From what I have looked up previously, the "war tax"

was some type of national sales tax (on which items,

I don't know) that was implemented to help pay the costs

of fighting World War I.  Once federal programs get started,

they tend to stay in place.  The war tax was rescinded for

some items, but as late as at least 1926 was still being

charged for automobiles.  This 1926 Packard ad mentions it:

 

 

[bobg1951chevy]

5 hours ago, MCHinson said:

I think that most were delivered by train. Some were driven away. Some were probably delivered by truck as well.

 

Check out the photo with the following caption at the link:http://myautoworld.com/ford/history/ford-t/ford-t-5/ford-t-5.html

Model T's Being Loaded on Railcars in 1910:
Ninety percent of the completed Model T's were shipped within 24 hours, because no storage was available at Highland Park. A completed Model T was loaded on special auto carrying railcars and sent to destinations all over the United States and ultimately the world.

 

 

Imagine that for a minute, 10 million MODEL T's by 1927.  Amazing  accomplishment, considering how they were assembled, back in the day.

[TerryB]

The US had no money to pay for the cost of fighting WW1.  It took years of war tax and war bond sales to repay the debt 

[Guest]

I kind of like the idea of "6 hams". 

[J.H.Boland]

40 minutes ago, TerryB said:

The US had no money to pay for the cost of fighting WW1.  It took years of war tax and war bond sales to repay the debt 

Here in Canada,income taxes were established in 1919 "as a temporary measure" to cover the cost of the war. Not sure which war we are presently paying off.

[TerryB]

Here in Pennsylvania we taxed liquor to cover the cost of the 1930s Flood in Johnstown.  We are still paying the tax!  Must have been quite a long term municipal bond.

[8E45E]

One way they were shipped was by barge across the Great Lakes to points in the Midwest.  Story has it, there's a barge that sank in Lake Erie in 1917 with 100 Model T's on it.

 

Happy hunting!!

 

Craig

[1937hd45]

3 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

Can anyone translate the bill for the Ford in #1?  I think I can make out " 1 touring car 360" "freight 22.50" "pocket absorbers 10.00" could that be shock absorbers spelled sideways? "speedometer 11.00" "tool box and dash light" looks like no charge.

 

That leaves line 3 which could be nag pox, mag box, or  map box and line 6 Chump 3.10 or maybe 6 hams 3.10

 

Did anyone else notice the bill is dated Nov 17 1917 at the top but stamped Paid Nov 30 1918?

Well, The T in the photo that was in the original post is a 1914, so it has nothing to do with the attached paperwork. Bob 

[TerryB]

16 minutes ago, 1937hd45 said:

Well, The T in the photo that was in the original post is a 1914, so it has nothing to do with the attached paperwork. Bob 

Interesting in that the photo and paperwork were found together and Mr Shue is shown at his farm, he's at the far right in the photo. I'm no T expert so they seemed to fit together.  Appreciate the comment!

[TerryB]

Is this the same car?  License plate is post 1915 for PA.

 

 

Edited December 1, 2017 by TerryB (see edit history)

[oldcarfudd]

Was that tube supposed to fit into that tire?

[Joe in Canada]

7 hours ago, Brass is Best said:

Here are some Model T's being shipped.

 

 

Cars being boxed is for shipping overseas referred to as CKD for complete knock down. Canada built the model T for the market that went to a country with right hand drive. That is why Canadian T have four doors verses the US cars having three doors. With a four door car you can have the driver on either side. 

I keep seeing adds saying rare four door T where all model T built in Canada were four doors. I have a tree door that I bought in the US past spring so I guess I can say I have a rare three door. 

[wayne sheldon]

Actually, I think the car in the first photo is a 1913. This is based on the windshield braces and hinges (the way they are positioned) being for a forward folding windshield. The 1914 model T open car's windshield folded back. Can't really say whether the car in the other picture above is the same one or not. However, it also is a '13 or '14, and both have after-market spare tires mounted on the rear (a bit unusual for model T Fords, but was done by some). As for the tube fitting in that tire? Yeah, they did tend to get a bit tricky. Every time you inflate a tube in order to find and patch a leak, the tube tends to stretch a bit, in all directions. This is most noticeable in the tube's circumference. The early gum rubber tubes were particularly bad about that, but even more modern tubes do this to some extent. I have an inner tube (probably 20 years old?) which I have had a real problem with patching. It developed a couple small leaks, and although I have been patching tubes for well over fifty years, this tube I cannot get the patches to hold under pressure. I fought it for quite awhile,  had it in and out of one of my spare tires several times. Each time, the tube got longer. It currently hangs in the shop and I laugh about its length, and cuss at the fact I can't get patches to hold once the pressure goes above 30 psi (clinchers need to be run at over 60 psi). The last few times I mounted it were ridiculous stuffing the long thing inside a 30 inch tire.

 

As to how model T Fords were shipped and/or delivered? There were many ways, at different times and locations to which they were going. Mass drive-aways were common for up to a couple hundred miles. This whether the starting point was Ford's main plant, a branch plant, or a rail-head or even shipping port. The first few years of model Ts? Cars were usually shipped intact (except for overseas). By 1914, Ford began shipping on rail in knock-down form. Bodies and chassis were stacked on end in box cars, fenders and hoods piled in a corner end. Cars were often assembled by the dealer's mechanic crews, either at the rail yard, or after driving them in still partially knockdown form (I have seen some very interesting photos of such caravans). A few creative dealers even rigged up cradles to haul most of one car on the back of another, so that fewer drivers were needed to get the cars from the rail-head to the dealership. That looked really uncomfortable for the driver!

This is a subject discussed many times on the mtfca forum over many years (although I do not recall any such discussions this year?). A proper google search (if you can still figure out how to do that?) of the mtfca forum should find several such discussions, and a couple dozen or more  photos. 

For those not familiar with the mtfca's forum, it is an old format, most of us like it that way. Threads are separated only by "classifieds (for sale and wanted), and the general forum which is all discussions undivided in any kind of categories. They are separated annually, all non-current discussions closed, and each year begins anew. So popular discussions show up over and again across many years.

By the end of model T production, shipping in knock-down form seems to have become less common. Pure speculation on my part, a combination of better rail service, and more complicated assemblies lead to that. I have never really studied the model A or V8 eras, but I don't recall seeing much about cars being shipped then in knock-down form. Again, I would think that much of that had to do with the complexity of assembling bodies to a chassis and fenders. It just wouldn't have been practical. 

I have wondered about other car companies? Ford was the low-price leader. The cars were made tough, yet simple. Simple made them easier to ship in knock-down form, and saved quite a few dollars per car. I know a few other cars in the early days did the same thing. Metz and Sears were well known for this, as were several other high-wheel cars marketed toward the far rural buyer. By 1920 (maybe more likely 1915?), I doubt that any major builder other than Ford was still doing this.

[Rusty_OToole]

Many car companies shipped cars in knocked down form but only to their own assembly plants, in the US or abroad.

[Joe in Canada]

Until about 30 years ago you were able to pickup a car at a GM factory and save on the shipping. Back then it was depending on how far the car was being shipped to base the shipping cost on. In todays market the shippers get the same rate no matter the distance. Train is the main form of shipping in todays market. I would think many cars were picked up by the customer keeping cost down back then.

[Frantz]

On 12/1/2017 at 11:28 AM, poci1957 said:

By 1917 things may have been changing.  By then Ford had a branch assembly plant in Philadelphia and in 1917 there was a major shortage of railcars and rail bottlenecks partly due to shipping war materials for WWI.  So lots of dealers within a reasonable distance from a plant would pick up and "driveaway" their cars to expedite things.  Rail shipping still predominated but I bet a Lancaster dealer would have gone to the plant to pick up some cars to save a little time and money, Todd C

 

I know of the Chester plant, but I didn't think that opened for another decade with the Model A. Did Ford have an earlier assembly plant as well?

I know Pullman of York used rail cars though the end of their production in 1917 and they were just over the county line from you.

[W_Higgins]

The Philadelphia assembly plant has been discussed on the MTFCA forum before.  It is not the plant in Chester.  Here is a link to an article discussing it in modern times:

 

https://hiddencityphila.org/2013/09/broad-lehighs-landmark-botany-500-building-awaiting-its-next-life/

 

They really didn't use it all that long

[TerryB]

I really appreciate all the replys received, great information indeed. I will have to do more research on the car in the photos as I thought it was a 1917. Now that it seems it is earlier, like 1914, I'll have to dig through all the papers I have to see if it shows up when it might have been purchased.  I have receipts from a nearby Ford dealer in Manheim PA that might be for this car.

 

Terry

[Frantz]

Great... now I have to get a PA built Model T to add to may made in PA collection. 

[Mark Gregory]

Joe , GM must be more customer friendly than Ford Motor . We lived in Oakville and my father wanted to pick up his 1965 Ford Country Squire which was 4 miles from our house to the Ford Plant to save the $100. shipping . Kennedy Ford the local dealer said you cannot do that . So we had to pay the $100. shipping cost to the dealer .

[Joe in Canada]

Just came across this picture. They may have used this for short delivery's seeing one at a time may get expensive.

[wayne sheldon]

Holy Mackerel!

[playswithbrass]

I am pretty sure that the railway museum at Smith’s Falls in Ontario has one of the rail cars used to move Model Ts. They explained how they were packed to get the maximum in. It is typical in that what now seems a very small town was at one time a very important point on the cross country rail routes.  But the museum doesn’t mention it on their website