Vanderbilt Cup Races

Jan Hyde

Mystery photo # 26 early Renault racer.
Traded hands for about $ 2mm at Bonhams Amelia Is. sold by Rob Kauffman.

From Mystery Foto #26 Partially Solved: Lewis Strang's P46 Renault during the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes

Good Sunday Afternoon Mr. Howard Kroplick,
    Once again it is my pleasure to compliment you and your LIMPPS enthusiasts for preserving and presenting on your site the marvelous history of motor racing on Long Island , New York at the dawn of the 20th century. Today’s 6-28-2020 post is particularly grand with multiple photo images of William Vanderbilt , Jr.‘s exploits at the wheel of various Mercedes machines. It was a golden age of early efforts at speed and automotive technology and WKV,Jr. was the tip of the spear. Thank you again for bringing historic awareness and enjoyment to persons all over the world , even in Missouri. Be safe and well in these perilous times.

From Hemmings Classic Car: Racing in Riverhead-The Long Island Stock Chassis Competition of 1909

Walt, re your comment aent the Maxwell’s tires, I’m old enough to remember “barn finds” and such with original tires and I respectfully submit that there WAS no tread on some brands of tires, as new.  By the way (contrary to Bhuddist wisdom), one can’t have “too” much stuff - just too much to readily locate what you want when you want it!  Global searches don’t seem to work very well in overloaded minds OR in overloaded file cabinets.  Thanks for a great posting!  Sam, III

From Hemmings Classic Car: Racing in Riverhead-The Long Island Stock Chassis Competition of 1909

The car appears to be the Renault of Lewis Strang in the 1908 edition of the Vanderbilt Cup.  It appears to be a hard right hand turn he’s just accomplished so my guess for location is Colyer’s Corner…...wondering if this was not one of the 10 Willie K Renaults he had imported…...looks very similar.

From Mystery Foto #26 Partially Solved: Lewis Strang's P46 Renault during the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes

That is P46, the Renault driven by Lewis Strang in the Motor Parkway Sweepstakes on the LIMP on 14 Oct 1908. It looks similar to other photos taken at about where the course entered the Jericho Parkway, the “Flatiron Turn” near Woodbury.

From Mystery Foto #26 Partially Solved: Lewis Strang's P46 Renault during the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes

The photographs of the race were taken by the grandfather of Hayden Allen of Floral Park,NY where I live. Hayden was the Village of Floral Park Historian just prior to my being appointed to that position over 2 decades ago. In the early 1970s Hayden told me about the photographs that his grandfather took and were in a family photo album. The Allen family had a summer house in Mattituck so his grandfather was there when the race took place. With a Brownie box camera ( anyone recall those?) he got these fairly remarkable photographs - with the hand held box camera. I borrowed the photographs from Hayden and took them to my long time buddy Austin Clark who made negatives of them all. From those negatives ( 4 x 5 inch sheet film) these prints were made which I rediscovered in my library while researching something else. I knew they existed but I have several thousand period photographs in the pre WWII era and sometimes things get “misplaced” ( yes, that is my excuse for having to much stuff) . Thanks to Hemmings Classic Car magazine editor Richard Lintenello for allowing this story to be reproduced here . Thanks to my friend Howard for wanting to print it and share it with all of you.

From Hemmings Classic Car: Racing in Riverhead-The Long Island Stock Chassis Competition of 1909

Walt, Thanks for a great article concerning another chapter in L.I. automotive history.  By the way, George Loft was a fellow Long Islander, having his estate on Merrick Road in Baldwin.  Although now developed into suburban housing, Nassau County’s 14-acre Loft’s Pond Park preserves part of his estate.

From Hemmings Classic Car: Racing in Riverhead-The Long Island Stock Chassis Competition of 1909

From Art Kleiner:
35/45 HP Renault driven by Lewis Strang in the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes.  Finished second.

From Mystery Foto #26 Partially Solved: Lewis Strang's P46 Renault during the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes

So I haven’t gone to check the vins and confirm this yet but, recently I was told about a rare mustang a 1963 and before I was told this I knew the history so I immediately asked about the vin numbers on the car and was told that it was one of the first 15 pilot cars built by ford so before I make a long trip to see this is there a possibility one of them made it out of the factory in diving condition?

From The 15 1963 Pre-Production Mustangs Built at Ford's Pilot Plant in Allen Park

The car: #P46 Renault, driven by Lewis Strang. The race: The 1908 Long Island Motor Parkway Sweepstakes, which opened the parkway. The Renault finished second.

The location of the Foto: I’m guessing somewhere on Jericho Turnpike, because of the trees. (Not on the parkway, which was in the plains.)

Source of my information: I know that Renaults have the radiator behind the engine. Knowing that, I got the rest of the information from poking around this website.

From Mystery Foto #26 Partially Solved: Lewis Strang's P46 Renault during the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes

I believe that’s the P46 Renault stock car with Lewis Strang driving and Leo Anderson as the mechanician participating in the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes on October 10, 1908. The location is probably somewhere between Bethpage and Woodbury but I’m going to guess on Jericho Turnpike, slightly west of the Woodbury turn. Reasoning: the Woodbury turn was a popular viewing spot and the photographer felt crowded so he moved west to what could be the intersection with South Woods Road (notice the telephone pole, indicating a side road).

From Mystery Foto #26 Partially Solved: Lewis Strang's P46 Renault during the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes

Yes, that was close Greg. I’ve been wanting to simulate your OCR bridge photo for some time, but need a camera drone to snap the photo.. Anyone with a drone interested in such a project?

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

Frank- I’m kidding, but it looks like that wide shoulder is still there to this day!

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

Frank, Regarding your statement about the 400 foot plumbing run to the Meadow Brook lodge. I’ guessing Otto got a cesspool. Let me play the devil’s advocate here. I’m wondering if sewer lines were ever run on Merrick Ave. between Old Country Rd. and Hempstead Tpke. prior to say, 1945. Other than the lodge and the Salisbury Country Club there weren’t any other buildings in that stretch. Any one?

From Update: Greg O’s Discovery: The McCamish Family and Their Time in the Meadow Brook Lodge

Al - Yep, that’s it! Photo taken from about halfway point between Shelter Rock Rd and OCR. Thanks Greg. I’m almost convinced those bikes and riders are casting shadows all over the roadway, especially that bike on the right. And what’s up with that clean cut wide shoulder on the left? It almost appears like a rest stop for LIMPer’s.

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

Al, Frank, here is the full-frame of the OCR bridge. This is from the Petit Trianon postcard series. The caption describes it as looking west towards Great Neck.

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

Frank, If that is the case, we are looking west from the Shelter Rock Rd. bridge?

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

Greg - I see your point! Now I’m not sure if those are shadows by the motorcyclist and their bikes, but the top photo by the Great Neck lodge clearly show shadows on that sunny day.

Al - the parkway just east of Old Courthouse has similar curves heading eastward; after the bridge, first a slight left curve followed by a gradual right curve. If memory serves, I believe Greg’s photo came with a front caption but with limited location info

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

Greg, Your bottom photo, the one with 2 blue arrows and one black arrow on the left side of the photo, wasn’t that photo taken from the New Hyde Park Rd. bridge looking east ?

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

Frank, the reason why I said it was possibly the Old Courthouse bridge looking towards the East rather than the West as you claim is the tree line, and what little we see of it. Below is my comparison photo of the OCR bridge looking (as we know from the cut-off photo caption) West towards Great Neck. My crude arrows point to trees that in my view match up but in the opposite direction. OCR bridge has some of the flattest embankments

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway