Vanderbilt Cup Races

The year and manufacturer of the racer:
- 1906 Locomobile
Where in the photo is a hint of the manufacturer’s name?
- Block of wood on front right of car says Loco.
What race was the Mystery Auto being prepared for and for which driver?
- 1906 American Elimination Trial held on Saturday, September 22, 1906
- Driver was Joe Tracey
The approximate date of the Foto:
- Mid-September, 1906
The location where the racer was being serviced:
- Maple Cottage in Lakeville
What other racer was being worked on at the same location:
A backup Loco just in case needed for the races

1906 Locomobile.
“Loco.” is written on the right front wooden jackstand.
It was being prepped for the eliminations for driver Joe Troy.
I’d guess the date would be around September 18, 1906 since the race was held on September 22, 1906.
Possibly the other car would have been Old #16, the first US-made car to win the race in 1908.

That’s the 1906 Locomobile Racer being prepared for driver Joe Tracy to participate in the American Elimination Trial to determine who would qualify for the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race. The right front wheel support has “Loco” painted on it. Since the date of the race was September 22, 1906, I suspect the date of the photo would be within a day or two of that. The service location would have been Maple Cottage on Lakeville Road in Lake Success which was Locomobile headquarters at that time. The other racer was number 12’s identical twin Locomobile which served as a back-up.

Mystery Foto #38…The racer shown is a 1906 Locomobile and the winner of the 1906 American Elimination Trials. The hint of the manufacturer’s name is the jack stand at the middle left with the word “Loco.” printed on it.
Car being prepped for the 1906 American Elimination Trial and assigned to driver Joe Tracy. Date of photo is September 21, 22, 1906. The other racer at the same location was a twin of the number 12 Locomobile which would be a back-up car in the event of problems with the first number 12.

It’s a Locomobile!

Undergoing heavy tranny work.

https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/then_now_maple_cottage-_the_locomobile_headquarters_for_the_1905_and_1906_v

Impressive details revealed from this still photo taken over a century ago. Great job by all!

A backup Locomobile also #12, interesting.

Hi Howard:
Check out this cool photo Joe Tracey/Al Poole in the 9.27.1906 The Automobile.

Click here to Download this file

It looks like a differential gear laying down in front of the racer. I was unaware differential’s existed this early in automobiles.

Does anybody know which Locomobile actually did what and when? We know of the one car existing, but which one is it and what happened to the other one? Multiple cars in a team have always presented this problem for historical fact. The Bothwell Peugeot L45 is an excellent example. History isn’t always clear on this point which is understandable.

Randy-
The second, backup Locomobile continued to also race for 2 years after 1906 and was eventually driven by Jim Florida at the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup along with George Robertson driving the first Locomobile, Old 16 (currently at the Henry Ford museum).
At the end of the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup race, spectators and touring cars swarmed the course before the race was over. When Jim Florida raced towards the finish line, he avoided a spectator and crashed the second Locomobile into a touring car that was on the course at the finish line. It is unknown if the car was ever rebuilt afterwards, but most likely not.

https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/chaos_at_the_finish_of_the_1908_vanderbilt_cup_race

https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/do_not_post_kleiners_korner_the_1905_locomobile_racer

After some research, found out that the differential gear “was invented in 1827 by Frenchman, Onésiphore Pecqueur. It was used first on steam-driven vehicles and was a well-known device when internal-combustion engines appeared at the end of the 19th century.”