Model 48 Locomobile

[1937hd45]

The Ridgefield Meet, a mile up the road 200+ pre 1943 vehicles every year, Peter Helck would drive the Greatest Loco "Old 16" to the meet and home again, those were the days! Bob 

[hddennis]

2 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

The Ridgefield Meet, a mile up the road 200+ pre 1943 vehicles every year, Peter Helck would drive the Greatest Loco "Old 16" to the meet and home again, those were the days! Bob 

Boy don't you know it Bob! As a fairly new driver at 17 in 1966 I thought my old worn out 1961 Falcon 144 was going to blow up trying to keep up with Peter on RT. 22 heading to my first Ridgefield meet. I backed off at 75 MPH and Peter was pulling away!  I'll never forget the sight of those drive chains arching up off "Old 16's"  rear wheels  and the bark of those exhaust stacks!

Howard Dennis

[1937hd45]

1 hour ago, hddennis said:

Boy don't you know it Bob! As a fairly new driver at 17 in 1966 I thought my old worn out 1961 Falcon 144 was going to blow up trying to keep up with Peter on RT. 22 heading to my first Ridgefield meet. I backed off at 75 MPH and Peter was pulling away!  I'll never forget the sight of those drive chains arching up off "Old 16's"  rear wheels  and the bark of those exhaust stacks!

Howard Dennis

WOW! Not many people can get the same feeling as the second place finisher in the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup. When I drive up Rt 33 out of Wilton I think of Ken Purdy in his MERCER along that 1/2 mile straight section just before his house. Great cars roaming the roads back then. Bcb 

[motoringicons]

Bob- Somewhere, I have a photo of our 1912 Ts parked together at the Ridgefield meet. Egads, that would have been  about 25 years ago. How time flies….

[1937hd45]

1 hour ago, motoringicons said:

Bob- Somewhere, I have a photo of our 1912 Ts parked together at the Ridgefield meet. Egads, that would have been  about 25 years ago. How time flies….

Soccer killed the Ridgefield meet, the town poured a half million into the fields upgrade and all vehicles are banned from it. Major reason that sport is on my - - - - list. Sure would like to see that photo of our '12 T's. Speaking of "Old 16" did you ever get any seat time in it? Bob 

[motoringicons]

Bob- 

44 minutes ago, 1937hd45 said:

Soccer killed the Ridgefield meet, the town poured a half million into the fields upgrade and all vehicles are banned from it. Major reason that sport is on my - - - - list. Sure would like to see that photo of our '12 T's. Speaking of "Old 16" did you ever get any seat time in it? Bob 

 

The Ridgefield photos are buried somewhere, but I'll try to find them. It is hard to believe at one time we actually took photos using film cameras and had the photos printed!!!

 

Yes, I did get some seat time in Old 16. Here is a  photo of me in the driver's seat when we were filming the car driving around the village. Also, here is a video that was made for the Old 16 display. It is a combination of original footage and prints combined with new black and white footage. I am the goggled-wearing driver in the new black and white footage. That footage was shot at the Ford Proving Grounds in Dearborn.

 

The only other car that I have driven that came close to the Old 16 experience was a GP Mercedes, but that is another story….

 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2018 by motoringicons (see edit history)

[Chris Paulsen]

Sorry for the thread drift, but I'll bet this is the photo Guy is referring to. I took it in 1991- first time I drove my own T to the Ridgefield meet-even went across the Tappan Zee Bridge.

[motoringicons]

WOW!!! That was impressive, Chris.

 

Yes, that is indeed Bob's black 1912 and my maroon 1912 T on the showfield in Ridgefield.

 

I certainly remember you in your green brass T pickup and the New Jersey crew driving their cars to the meet. Those were great times.

 

My 1912 still looks the about same although it has probably been driven another 30K miles since that picture was taken. Today, it is appropriately less shiny, more worn and nowhere near as clean as it was 25-odd years ago.

 

I am glad you also took a photo of our two cars. I don't know if I would  have ever be able to find my photos.

 

Thanks so much for posting this great photo. Hope you and the family are doing well.

 

Cheers, old friend. 

[1937hd45]

Thanks Chris! My 1912 was restored in 1950 by Elmer Bemis in Brattleboro, Vt. in time to go on the Glidden tour, still looks the same, brass is now dull. The restoration is three months older than I am and it was the very first "old car" I was ever given a ride in when I was about 12 years old, that made a big impression. Bob 

Edited July 12, 2018 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[Walt G]

I am very happy to read all the comments and fond memories everyone who attended the Ridgefield , Ct. meet have of that show. The flea market around the edge of the field close to the chain link fence was pretty good too, found some interesting stuff there over the years. I would drive my 31 Franklin Derham bodied victoria brougham to that show or my 41 Packard 120 woody wagon , I came up from long island where I still live.

 

[1937hd45]

We could start a list of the Major Collections that have cars that were at the Ridgefield Meet, "Old 16" at the Henry Ford, Bill Oexle Chrysler in the Nethercutt, Dr. Williamson Type 57 SC Atlantic in the Mullin, Peter Helck "Rabbit" in the Jay Leno Garage. Bob

[hddennis]

13 minutes ago, 1937hd45 said:

We could start a list of the Major Collections that have cars that were at the Ridgefield Meet, "Old 16" at the Henry Ford, Bill Oexle Chrysler in the Nethercutt, Dr. Williamson Type 57 SC Atlantic in the Mullin, Peter Helck "Rabbit" in the Jay Leno Garage. Bob

Bob, as an impressionable teen two cars stick in my mind and maybe you know of them. One was a mile long red early Chrysler Imperial? roadster I thought someone mentioned had actual Chrysler family connections and the other was a gorgeous maroon and black  Rolls Royce town car with caning on the rear quarters. 

 

Howard Dennis

[motoringicons]

I recently saw Ralph DeAngeles' very original Knox touring car, but I don't remember where. Ralph always had some interesting cars in his stable and would always bring a few of them out to Ridgefield. 

[jrbartlett]

What are the chances of reviving that Ridgefield meet at a different location, since there are still so many great early cars in the area? I'd even consider bringing my Loco up from Texas.

[1937hd45]

7 hours ago, jrbartlett said:

What are the chances of reviving that Ridgefield meet at a different location, since there are still so many great early cars in the area? I'd even consider bringing my Loco up from Texas.

The loss to the original Show Field started the downhill movement of the meet, inside car club friction caused a membership split. Last meet in Ridgefield was 1995 and that was done by the Lions Club, after the Car Club moved it out of town without telling the Lions Club who had cosponsored it since 1961. This was their largest fund raising event of the year . I quit the club over it and have no regrets, but the show sure was fun while it lasted. Bob 

[Walt G]

Bob, this show was what got me pretty much started in the hobby. I talked my parents into taking me to it when I saw it mentioned in the newspaper. t was an eye opener to a 10 year old kid. All cars with RUNNING BOARDS I thought then as I do now, the coolest thing in the world, even now some 50+ years later. Many unusual cars showed up and just about all under their own power, being driven there. I total;ly agree that the loss of the original show field started the down hill movement of the meet. It was a great loss to all car enthusiasts . There was something of interest there to satisfy all pre WWII car enthusiasts from model T Fords to V12 Packards. The flea market was excellent , I remember borrowing $ from my parents to buy a large pressed steel toy 1932 Graham sedan that needed a lot of work to bring it back , but I still have that toy and restored it with my Dad about 45 years ago. You could hear Old 16 driving in while it was still some distance out via its exhaust note. Peter Helck was a gentleman , and I had met him when Austin Clark and I visited him at his house one day/evening some time prior to the meet. I remember walking up to say hello once he had dismounted from the drivers seat of the race car and he looked at me and said "Hey Walt how are you doing, good to see you again", and then reached out and shook my hand.   Geez that made my day.

[1937hd45]

The cars were great but the owners and other car people you meet there really made the event special. Bob 

[jrbartlett]

I dug out the written history that accompanied my car (the blue-green Sportif pictured earlier in this thread) when Lee Davenport sold it around 1987 or so. It contains the answer on the "baggage car." It is not the green roadster, which really is a low-mileage car. 

 

"Alexander Stein of Byram Shore, Greenwich, Connecticut was the owner of a number of Model 48 Locomobiles and was considered the authority on the marque. His mother had purchased a seven-passenger touring immediately after World War I which Alex drove and maintained almost up to his death on Jan. 1, 1974. At that point the family car had racked up nearly 300,000 miles, hence his interest in buying lower-mileage Locomobiles. Alex had attended the Locomobile chauffeur school, giving him a head start as a Locomobile expert. For many years after World War II, he tracked most every known Locomobile in the eastern United States."    

[Locojohn]

Hello Everyone, I have a ‘22 Loco 48 which I absolutely love. The car only has 10,000 miles on it and runs like a sewing machine. The only thing is that the rear end is geared low and can only do about 45 mph with the engine wound way up. I would like to not have to turn the engine quite so fast and would like to change the diff ratio. Does anyone know where I could get a new ring & pinion gear set?