Vanderbilt Cup Races

Nov 23 2009
Favorite Website: Art’s Long Island Motor Parkway Site

A link to Art's Long Island Motor Parkway Site has been added to the Favorite Websites page of VanderbiltCupRaces.com . (1 comments)

Nov 22 2009
The Public Roads of the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race Course

J, you are correct, the 1908 course ended at the then western terminus of the Motor Parkway near the Bethpage Lodge at Round Swamp Road. The drivers made a left turn and went about 200 feet on Round Swamp Road before turning on to Manetto Hill Road (now called Old Bethpage Road). (4 comments)

Nov 20 2009
Starting Lineup: The 1906 American Elimination Trial

As in 1905, an American Elimination Trial determined the five racers to represent the United States in the Vanderbilt Cup Race. Of 16 entries, 12 cars survived the practice runs to race on Saturday, September 22, 1906. Here are images and profiles of all 16 cars. (Remember to click on the photos to enlarge): (3 comments)

Nov 19 2009
The 1906 Air-Cooled Frayer-Millers

An innovative machine showcased in the 1906 American Elimination Trial was the unique, air-cooled Frayer-Miller entry with designer Lee Frayer at the wheel. The only car to place the driver on the left side, this entry (one of three Frayer-Millers entered in the American Elimination Trial) broke a radius rod on the first lap and finished last. (1 comments)

Nov 17 2009
Driver Profile: Vincenzo Lancia

A natural mechanical engineering genius, Vincenzo Lancia was born in Fobello, Italy August 21, 1881, the son of a wealthy country squire and soup canner. He received his formal education at the Turin Technical School studying bookkeeping. That background proved a poor predictor of his life’s direction. (0 comments)

Nov 16 2009
A Central Park/Bethpage Postcard from a Motor Parkway Worker

The initial building of the Long Island Motor Parkway was conducted by over 600 workers who spent weeks and months away from their families to complete the work. One of the workers, T. Griffin, sent this postcard to his sister C.A. Griffin of 262 Bridge Street in Northampton, Massachusetts: (3 comments)

Nov 14 2009
Opportunity to Provide Input on the Motor Parkway Trail

As reported on November 6, 2009, the contract for developing a master plan for a Motor Parkway Trailway in Nassau County has been awarded to VHB Engineering, Surveying and Landscape Architecture, P.C. Here is an opportunity to provide your input on the master plan. (14 comments)

Nov 13 2009
Driver Profile: John Walter Christie: Front-Wheel Drive Pioneer

The struggle of the Christie team in the 1905 and the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Races was a kind of metaphor for (John) Walter Christie’s life. Born in River Edge, New Jersey on May 6, 1866, Christie spent his youth working as a machinist and studying mechanics. As a teenager, he worked at the DeLamater Machine Shop in New York where the Civil War ironclad U.S.S. Monitor had been constructed nearly 20 years prior. (5 comments)

Nov 13 2009
The Christie Returns to the 1906 Races

Despite his lack of success and total disruption of the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race, Christie returned to the 1906 American Elimination Trial and the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race with another of his front-wheel drive creations. (0 comments)

Nov 11 2009
The Christie Front-Wheel Drive Car in the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race

Among the most unique entries for the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race was the front-wheel drive Christie, named after its owner and creator, J. Walter Christie. One of just two cars to use Goodrich tires it was the first front-wheel drive car. Spur gears on each end of the crankshaft applied the engine’s 60 horsepower directly to the front axle. (0 comments)