Video: “The Hairpin Turn of the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race”
The recent AmeriCarna "Vanderbilt Cup" episode focused on the six Vanderbilt Cup Races held on Long Island and the Vanderbilt Cup trophy.This two- minute segment features a trip to the Hairpin Turn section of the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race course:
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
The Crowds Around the Hairpin Turn
This photo was taken from the second level of the house at #1 Wheatley Road.
#1 Wheatley Road at the Hairpin Turn.
Comments
It’s amazing to see such a large crowd at that time. Cars were the latest thing!
Howard, my question is, did the cars travel on Wheatley Road toward Old Westbury Road (which is now the service road to the LIE), making a right on that very turn ? Or were the two roads altered somehow because to me, it appears different today. I was up there on my motorcycle and it seems i could only access Wheatley Road from Westbury Pond. So where did the cars come from back then and which way did they go after the hairpin turn ? Mike
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From Howard Kroplick
The race ran down Wheatley Road and made the “hairpin” right turn on to Old Westbury Road (now the northern LIE service road). The roads have been slightly altered since 1906, but the turn is fairly close to the original site as seen by the house at 1 Wheatley Road which was there in 1906 and is still standing.
http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/sunday_june_28_2009_then_and_now_the_hairpin_turn_in_old_westbury
I’m still confused even after looking at the 1906 course map. So then the cars would have exited 25a onto Wheatley Road ? I’m still confused as to where the cars came from before they got to Wheatley Road, as well as how long they remained on Old Westbury Road after the hairpin turn….where did they go from there ? Mike
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From Howard Kroplick
The course went down Glen Cove Road, made a left turn at Red Ground Road which in 1906 connected to Wheatley Road.
http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/the_course_for_the_1906_vanderbilt_cup_race
Now THAT is completely AWSOME. Thanks Howard, this helps me in my pursuit to find cool roads for my motorcycle travels, its always interesting to me to find an old truncated road, or even yet a complete road to travel with the same old houses and landmarks along the way, or even an old fencepost or some other clue sticking out of the ground, reminding me that im cruising through history. thanks again, Mike