Audrain pre 1908 tour in Newport RI

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Did all participants finish?  Looks like a lot of fun and a pretty good crowd!

Edited March 28, 2022 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[alsancle]

2 hours ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Did all participants finish?  Looks like a lot of fun and a pretty good crowd!

Approximate numbers, I think 25 registered, 23 left in the morning, and 16 to 18 made it back to Ochre Court In the afternoon.In the afternoon.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Seems pretty good considering age of the cars in the field.  

[alsancle]

35 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Seems pretty good considering age of the cars in the field.  

 

This was their first try at running the tour.   I was thinking that it would be a cool thing to hand out  plaques to the cars that made it both ways as it is an accomplishment for some of those cars.   The steamer did it easily but some of those early cars it was not trivial.   The island is more hilly than you would think and the Mt Hope bridge was a challenge in general.

 

Reflecting on the event I hope they keep it going and it grows.   I realize it seems expensive,  but they rented out Ochre Hall for the day,  served 50 participants breakfast, lunch and diner,  at least 2 rollbacks following for the day plus a number of state police on duty work.

 

In general it was very well done.  They had volunteers with flags at each turn pointing the direction, the state cops were stopping traffic for you and Newport Island is really pretty.   The hiccups/complaints were minor and I imagine would get ironed out with experience.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by alsancle (see edit history)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Funny I was thinking about the bridge, what would be worse making the grade or the downside!  

[alsancle]

2 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Funny I was thinking about the bridge, what would be worse making the grade or the downside!  

 

I think going downhill is always scarier in a car with Fred Flintstone brakes than going up.   In our case it was the expansion joints which were brutal to go over.

Edited March 28, 2022 by alsancle (see edit history)

[StanleyRegister]

Must have felt like a long stretch of no shoulder for some of the smaller cars.  The Stanley could probably have been passing the regular traffic.  Did you hear what size engine it has?  I'm sure the boiler is pretty honkin' big.

[alsancle]

3 hours ago, StanleyRegister said:

Must have felt like a long stretch of no shoulder for some of the smaller cars.  The Stanley could probably have been passing the regular traffic.  Did you hear what size engine it has?  I'm sure the boiler is pretty honkin' big.

 

It is a 20HP, but the boiler  is 30HP and the burner is slotted.   We typically don't run out of steam when the burner is operating correctly.

[JV Puleo]

5 hours ago, alsancle said:

 

...the Mt Hope bridge was a challenge in general.

 

I've been over that bridge many times...in fact, my '27 Cadillac, which supposedly belonged to Governor Vanderbilt, was the first car to cross it. He was Governor when it was opened. It's not so bad in a car...it can be really exciting on a motorcycle.

[StanleyRegister]

1 hour ago, alsancle said:

 

It is a 20HP, but the boiler  is 30HP and the burner is slotted.   We typically don't run out of steam when the burner is operating correctly.

Brent Campbell told me that in his experience it's the boiler (and burner) size that impact the driving.  He said there's no difference in feel between a 20hp or 30hp engine, except the 30hp does better if you're going slow when the steam pressure is low - the bigger pistons provide more mechanical advantage,

[nzcarnerd]

On 3/28/2022 at 4:04 AM, Gunsmoke said:

Great looking array of pre 1908 machines, thanks for posting such fine photos. I was especially happy to see the circa 1907 Fiat (mis-identified as Stevens Duryea in one post), a similar one ran in the 1907 French Grand Prix, I built this Pocher kit of one some 30+ years ago. Doubt there are more than 1/2 dozen of these still around. 

I think compared with the F-2 which is a Grand Prix car with a circa 16 litre engine, the 20-B car is the not-quite-so-large (maybe 7 litres) Targa Florio model.

[nzcarnerd]

On 3/28/2022 at 2:38 AM, alsancle said:

Pierce

 

 

The event was supposed to be for pre-1908 cars? I think this green Pierce is 1909? I guess they stretched it a little? Maybe its engine can trace origins to 1907?

[nzcarnerd]

An earlier comment notes the Stanley racers being later recreations. 

 

I know that these two Stanleys currently in New Zealand are more recent builds. It prompts the question as to how many 'original' Stanleys from that brass era are in use.

 

 

[1937hd45]

9 minutes ago, nzcarnerd said:

An earlier comment notes the Stanley racers being later recreations. 

 

I know that these two Stanleys currently in New Zealand are more recent builds. It prompts the question as to how many 'original' Stanleys from that brass era are in use.

 

 

If you started the restoration with an original 1910 era Stanley, my guess is that well over 50% of the parts that once left the factory would be replaced with newly manufactured parts. 

[alsancle]

36 minutes ago, nzcarnerd said:

The event was supposed to be for pre-1908 cars? I think this green Pierce is 1909? I guess they stretched it a little? Maybe its engine can trace origins to 1907?

Being the first year I think they were liberal with the dates.

[1935Packard]

Fun stuff! Thanks for posting, AJ.

[alsancle]

10 hours ago, nzcarnerd said:

An earlier comment notes the Stanley racers being later recreations. 

 

I know that these two Stanleys currently in New Zealand are more recent builds. It prompts the question as to how many 'original' Stanleys from that brass era are in use.

 

 

Biggest issue with this era of Stanley is the fact they have wood frames. A Completely original Stanley from 1910 would be dangerous to drive, although they exist as static  museum displays.

 

also, it’s doubtful  the original burner and boiler would work so that needs to be new too.

[1937hd45]

There was a time 40 years ago that there were about 40 Steam Cars within a one hour drive from my house. All three of the major collector/drivers have pass on and the cars are scattered throughout the hobby. Is the Steam Car hobby still strong, have the new owners picked up the propane torch? 

[John Kelso]

The late Carl Amsley with that first VCR

[John Kelso]

That car had a 30" boiler and 30" slotted burner

[alsancle]

1 hour ago, JAK said:

That car had a 30" boiler and 30" slotted burner

 

Given my limited experience,  it sure seems like the boiler and burner are more important than the actual engine.

[John Kelso]

Perhaps a bit more complicated than that.

I once had a 10HP car that had been  cut down and modified to run at the Pomona, Ca. race track in the late teens early 20's.

[alsancle]

3 hours ago, JAK said:

Perhaps a bit more complicated than that.

I once had a 10HP car that had been  cut down and modified to run at the Pomona, Ca. race track in the late teens early 20's.

 

That is cool!  Do you have any pictures of it?

[1937hd45]

9 hours ago, alsancle said:

 

Given my limited experience,  it sure seems like the boiler and burner are more important than the actual engine.

Years ago when I used to hang out with the local steam guys I was advised to get the steel plate disks that form the top and bottom and drill the tube holes, and get a boiler built as the first step in building a Stanley. Never happened, rather watch someone else drive by in theirs. 

[StanleyRegister]

Thanks for that photo, Alan, that's really cool.  He definitely started something by creating that car.

[Tom Laferriere]

A few additional pictures of the Stanley on tour.  Looking forward to next year, although I am still waiting for my participation trophy!  After all, I did this tour by boiling a whole bunch of water!

[alsancle]

 

[1937hd45]

WOW! Great Video, that really explains how the event was run, I'll be there next year watching the cars go by. Nice to see the 1906 Orient out on a tour again, first saw it back in 1965 at the Ridgefield, Meet

Bob 

[Jim Mead]

Thanks for the video link.  So far, I think I have seen or heard three different age qualifications ranging from pre 1907 to pre 1910. 
What will it be in 2023 ?

[alsancle]

1 hour ago, Jim Mead said:

Thanks for the video link.  So far, I think I have seen or heard three different age qualifications ranging from pre 1907 to pre 1910. 
What will it be in 2023 ?

I think there was some flexibility to fill out the field. I would imagine that they will pick a year and be more firm going forward as the event grows.

 

 

[1937hd45]

Wonder if 1907 was picked to keep the Model T Fords away? 

[JV Puleo]

If that were the case, wouldn't it have been pre-1908?

[1937hd45]

3 hours ago, JV Puleo said:

If that were the case, wouldn't it have been pre-1908?

The early two pedal two lever owners may see that differently. 

[wayne sheldon]

No matter where one sets the cutoff? Some people are not going to like it! Some are going to think it is too early. Others will think it is too late. Regardless, I wish I could get there and spend a day looking at the cars! Of course it would be even better if I could get my projects done enough to participate.

[alsancle]

So I tried to go back and find out what the "official" cutoff was and could not find it.    Like I said,  I think there was some flexibility to fill out the field.  Depending on number of entries next year that flexibility may go away.   You have to apply,  so they get to decide if they want your 1908 or 1909 car.

 

 

[Tom Laferriere]

 

[1937hd45]

Tom, Thank you very much for posting the video, James Melton bought that car here in Ridgefield in 1943. I'd really like to know who the owner was at that time. There were two photos posted on the old photo thread on the HAMB years ago, now lost due to Photo Bucket problems. This is a poor copy of one plus the one from the Melton/Purdy book Bright Wheels Turning.  William K. Vanderbilt's daughter Consuelo did live here, but I don't know if she was here in the 1940's. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newstimes/name/consuelo-earl-obituary?id=20779831

Edited April 27, 2022 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I'm thinking that is the car that ended up with Kirk Gibson in North Kingstown, RI. Gibson was a close friend and neighbor of George Waterman and the car was in the "Vintage Racing Machine" exhibit at the RI School of Design in the 70s.

[1937hd45]

1 hour ago, JV Puleo said:

I'm thinking that is the car that ended up with Kirk Gibson in North Kingstown, RI. Gibson was a close friend and neighbor of George Waterman and the car was in the "Vintage Racing Machine" exhibit at the RI School of Design in the 70s.

I think the Kirk Gibson car is the Robin Egg Blue one.

 

Bob 

[JV Puleo]

I think you are right. Now that I think of it, I think Gibson's son donated the car to a museum and I seem to remember a video of it.

My aunt & uncle were neighbors and long-time friends of his. In fact, my cousin bought a 1926 Lincoln from Gibson that had been purchased new by his father. A few years ago he sold it back to the son.

 

The car in the RISD exhibition was red and belonged to Waterman. (I just pulled out the catalog.) According to the catalog, he'd owned it since 1940 so it can't be the one Melton purchased.