Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved: Weighing a race car prior to the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race in Garden City
Did you solve this weekend's Mystery Foto?
Answers to the Mystery Foto questions:
- What is happening in the Mystery Foto?
A Vanderbilt Cup Race participant is being weighed prior to the 1904 race to the weight requirements. The weight limit on cars was 1,000 kilograms or 2,204 pounds.
- Where was the photo taken?
A scale at the Garden City Coal & Wood Yard located near the Garden City Hotel.
- What is the approximate date of the Mystery Foto?
Most likely, the Foto was taken in October 1904. The weigh-in took place all day, Friday, October 7, 1904, one day prior to the race. AAA officials Al Riker and Ezra T. Birdsall managed the process and found two cars over the limit, the Simplex of Frank Croker and the Renault of Maurice Bernin. The Renault was easily remedied, but Croker’s crew started drilling holes in the car to shave off weight.
Comments (2):
Congrats and Kudos to Steve Lucas for solving the Mystery Foto. The 1906 date is a possible answer.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
Close-Ups
Comments
Although the only part that’s visible is the steering wheel, a Vanderbilt Cup Racer is being officially weighed prior to the running of the race. For the 1906 race, cars could not weigh more than 2,204 pounds. The photo was taken on the scale at the Garden City Coal & Wood yard. The date is probably October 5, 1906 - the day before race day. After passing the weigh-in, a car had its wheel stamped by an official. (see attached photo)
If memory serves, photo was taken in Mineola by the RR tracks? School patrons inspecting a racer? 1906? I’m stumped, ya got me this time!
Nice going, Steve. Here’s some background info. on the weighing in procedure and several ways the cars were slimmed down. From “Automobile Topics”, “The New York Sun” and “The Evening World” of October, 1906.
More details
WOW! Amazing articles Art. They answer many questions on preparations before the race date. An early Sept 21 seems more reasonable to allow time for crews to reduce their weight.
Interesting article Art. When I was researching for the detachable rim post a while back I never came across a mention of a weight detriment from them. It seemed the main concern was the possibly unfair tire change speed during the race, but it appears they were heavy enough to make a considerable difference.