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pickup trucks from the first one to the present day. I thought what a nice idea. I thought that I might try something similar with some of the car pictures I have collected. I have been collecting pictures of Studebakers, Packards Nash, Hudson and Jeeps for some time now and I first wrote a web page on this page on the Studebaker. Then one on Jeeps and Packard followed. Then came one Nash and Hudson. I have since added a page on old Pickup Trucks, Hudson. Essex and Terrplanes of Australia , Volkswagen Kaiser and Henry J and then with the help of one of my visitors have written one on the Crosley. All my previous pages had been on orphaned cars but now I thought I would try one a bit different. So here is my efford on the Stanley Steamer These pictures came for a number
of sources including web
I would like to invite any one that
has a favorite Chevrolet picture or a Web Page
John MacDonald |
A Brief History of the Stanley Steamer
| F.E. and F.O. Stanley were twins
born in Kingsland, Maine, on June 1, 1849. They operated a dry-plate photographic
business in Massachusetts until the automobile bug bit them in 1896.
A steam-powered vehicle built by George Whitney first sparked their interest and soon after they both encountered a French-designed gasoline auto at a fair in Brockton, Massachusetts. Within months they had designed a steam engine destined for their first car that was built for them by the Mason Regulator Company of Milton, Massachusetts. The reason for the steam engine was quite simple when you consider the advantages of steam power at that time. First, anything that will burn can be used as fuel - wood, coal, kerosene, natural gas, whale oil, petroleum - you name it. Second, the design of the actual engine is simplicity itself. Often steam engines have fewer than 25 moving parts. Third, steam power provides nearly instantaneous torque that precludes the need for multi-speed transmissions or gearboxes. Forth, steam power has a long record of reliability. In the early twenty century it was estimated there were over 100 firms building steam cars in the United States. One report notes that in 1900, when there were just 2000 or so cars in the United States, over half of them were powered by steam. Electric vehicles also outnumbered the cantankerous and hard-to-start gasoline cars at that point in time. From this beginning in 1896 their automotive path led to nothing but success. They had sold out their photographic business and began to build steam cars more as a hobby than as a business, but in 1898 one of their cars won the hill-climbing contest at Charles River Park. The brothers, who had little inclination to enter the hotly competitive business of automotive manufacture, were deluged with people wanting copies of their car. Since they were entrepreneurs, they couldn't help but take these potential customers up on their offers, and they were in the car business. But, much like Henry Ford at the same time, the Stanleys were more interested in setting speed records than building production cars. In 1898 one of their steamers was timed at 27.40 miles per hour. In less than a year later, the Stanley brothers' cars had gained such a reputation for quality and reliability that the firm was approached by a two customers, A. B. Barber and J. B. Walker, who bought the manufacturing rights to the Stanley Steamer and went into production as The Locomobile Company. On August 31 of that same year, a Stanley Steamer driven by F.O. Stanley with his wife as passenger was the first car to climb Mount Washington, helping solidify the car's reputation. Despite selling the rights to their vehicles, however, the Stanleys decided to stay in the steam car business, much to Locomobile's displeasure. This move led to a lot of legal wrangling, some apparently over patents held by the descendants of Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin, and when all the litigation had played itself out both Locomobile and the Stanleys were still in the steam car business. The Stanley’s however did change their design, opting to place the engine toward the rear of the vehicle, connected directly to the differential, rather than using the rather crude chain drive they had utilized previously. The shift had the twin benefits of simplicity and better weight balance. The improved model was equipped with a twin cylinder engine that was both powerful and had lots torque. The boiler was placed where gasoline cars' engines were being fitted, under the famous "coffin nose." This main burner in turn, was kept in operation by a pilot burner. Kerosene was pumped to the main burner from a tank with a pressure-regulated pump. The pilot burner, which burned gasoline, was fed from a separate pressure tank. The engine was mounted horizontally under the rear deck, and it, the driving gear and differential were all enclosed in an oil-tight and dust-proof case and ran in an oil bath. Driving the vehicle was simplicity itself. Once lighting and heating the boiler had established a proper head of steam, a handle allowed the driver to adjust the amount of steam sent to the engine with a hand-operated accelerator. Another lever controlled the flow of fuel to the main burner. The car had conventional brakes, and the engine could also be engaged in reverse to help braking or to travel in reverse. The Stanley Brothers progressed quickly as they used to advertise their improved vehicles. In 1906 racing driver Frank Marriott was timed at 127.66 miles per hour on Daytona Beach with a streamlined Stanley Steamer nicknamed the "Woggle Bug." It was one of the first vehicles ever designed with the help of wind tunnel testing. The following year Marriott had a revised the twitchy Woggle Bug and got it up to about 150 miles per hour when a crash destroyed the car and almost took Marriott’s life. The Stanleys had even better success with their production vehicles. The 1907 model Gentleman's Speedy Roadster was capable of 75 miles per hour The Stanley Steamers did have two failings. While the Gentleman's Speedy Roadster could travel at 75 miles per hour however it couldn't travel more than 50 miles or so on a filling of water. some say the foot and The other failing was start-up time. Often it would take a Stanley Steamer 10 to 15 minutes to build up its steam level before it could be driven. Once the self-starter was designed for the gasoline car that inconvenience became too much. Driven by the competition from Locomobile, the Stanleys improved their cars and by 1913, Stanleys were electrically lighted to compete with the modern gasoline cars of the day, but, strangely, they retained wooden frames until 1915. In fact, by 1915 it had become clear to most that the internal combustion gasoline engine was the power plant of the future and steam a thing of the past but F.E. Stanley continued racing his cars over the New England countryside. Sadly, on July 21, 1918, he was fatally injured in a car accident near Ipswich, Massachusetts. The death of his twin caused F.O. to sell the company. He then turned to the manufacture of violins. The company lasted only six more years. On October 3, 1940, F.O. died at the age of 91 from a heart condition. Note: These pictures were posted
on
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great customer service, the best products and FREE shipping! |
And Now the Stanley Steamer
| Many of my visitors have
asked what the engine of the Stanley looked like. They were nothing like
the gasoline engine of the day.
I tried to explain to a few people but was not too successful but Donald Oglesbee has solved that problem. He submitted the following pictures of a Stanley Steaner engine.He believes it is from 1903/1906 steamer. This engine is new and has never been run. |
Click on any of these images
for a
larger view in a new window
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Hits on this page
Total hits on all the car pages
