Vanderbilt Cup Races

From Ron R:

“Not all that different from most of the cars built in France today!”

From Video of the Week: The First Self-Propelled Vehicle: The 1769 Fardier du Cugnot

I visited the Tampa Bay Auto Museum and spoke with the owner about 5-6 years ago.  I found the collection of vehicles very interesting and as I recall, most were foreign makes.  There are also very informative displays on the early constant velocity joints used on military vehicles.  The Fardier du Cugnot took me by surprise as I did not expect to see a self propelled vehicle from that era.  This museum is worth the visit.
Thanks for all you do Howard.
Joe

From Video of the Week: The First Self-Propelled Vehicle: The 1769 Fardier du Cugnot

Great photos!
Cathy Ball

From The Garden City Hotel- Headquarters for the Vanderbilt Cup Race Commission

Hope all of you had a very nice Thanksgiving,I’m visiting in Sarasota and hope to go to the Tampa Bay Automotive Museum and let you know how it is

From Video of the Week: The First Self-Propelled Vehicle: The 1769 Fardier du Cugnot

Driver Harry Hartman and mechanician James Finn drove the #7 Alco to sixth place in the 1911 Elgin National Trophy Race.

Here’s the blog entry detailing the when and where it was built;

http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/index.php/blog/article/the_world_may_7_1911_harry_grant_practicing_on_the_motor_parkway_at_107.8_m

From Mystery Foto #44 Solved: The #7 Alco Shaft Drive 6- Cylinder Racer in Elgin, Illinois

I think the car, ALCO # 7 is a sister car to the Black Beast and so it was also built in 1909. The driver is Harry Hartman and the mechanician is James Finn. The race is the 1911 Elgin National Trophy Race.

Phil

From Mystery Foto #44 Solved: The #7 Alco Shaft Drive 6- Cylinder Racer in Elgin, Illinois

The names of the driver, mechanician and car (with Alco license tag) are apparently a give-away because of Thanksgiving 😊. The photo must have been taken before the Elgin National Trophy on August 26, 1911, where Harry Hartman drove an Alco with no.7 to 6th place. The only other photo of Hartman and Finn I have is a Lazarnick photo in which he poses in the ‘Bête Noire’ before the same event. This car however was of course driven by Grant with no.1. The car on the mystery photo has cardan drive and could be the same one as the one which can be seen on some of the training photos for the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup, published earlier on this site. However Lee also drove a cardan-driven Alco in this race, so this is a guess. The names Hartman and Finn remain mysterious for me, I can’t find their names anywhere else in the records.

From Mystery Foto #44 Solved: The #7 Alco Shaft Drive 6- Cylinder Racer in Elgin, Illinois

I hope everyone had a nice thanksgiving. I always look forward to your bridge series Howard, thanks. The aviation club was dismantled around the time period of the building of Levittown as well.

From Long Island Motor Parkway Bridge Series #40: Jerusalem Avenue Bridge in the Hempstead Plains

Hi Howard:
 
  All the best to you Roz and your girls on this day.  I am very thankful to you
as I enjoy your site so, so much it is beyond words !!!!

    All The Best Always !!!!  Cheers !!!!!  Ron Ridolph

From The Twelfth Annual Thanksgiving "Turkeys on the Road"

Great pics as always.

From Long Island Motor Parkway Bridge Series #40: Jerusalem Avenue Bridge in the Hempstead Plains

Trying to catch up on things,falling too far behind. No luck with the computer yet and don’t know when I’ll get it back.    HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of you and keep up the good work

From The Garden City Hotel- Headquarters for the Vanderbilt Cup Race Commission

Nice pics of the Levittown Plains Howard. Opening day at the grandstand was interesting. This stretch of roadway appeared well fenced off and barbwired as well!

From Long Island Motor Parkway Bridge Series #40: Jerusalem Avenue Bridge in the Hempstead Plains

Few hints here. Car sort of looks like a Renault.
Guessing on 1905 VCR / Driver: Francois Szisz / Mech: George Dimietrievitch in the #10 Renault for the masked speedsters. I believe they posed for this shot, wheels aren’t spinning.
Ted:  Hang in there with the computer.

From Mystery Foto #43 Solved: Szisz in the #10 Renault Preparing for the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race

I’m not sure why but I’ll guess driver Maurice Bernin; mechanician Felix Prossen in the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race in a Renault.

From Mystery Foto #43 Solved: Szisz in the #10 Renault Preparing for the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race

I voted for George in remembrance of his son Crawford, who was an early member of
MASCDS (Chowder) until his demise about 20 years ago. He was a tall, distinguished gentleman of the old school, sadly missed.

From The Demon of the Sky Versus The Daredevils of the Earth

Tom, I found the above photo which was used to create this piece of art.

From The Demon of the Sky Versus The Daredevils of the Earth

A close look at both the airplane and motorcycle and it is clear that both of them were added in the darkroom. The motorcycle wheel’s spokes would not be clear if it were moving. Plus you can see how the road surface under the motorcycle is rougher than the rest of the road. Tom

From The Demon of the Sky Versus The Daredevils of the Earth

The same Adams Farwell 5 cyl. rotary engine car was once at the Long Island Automotive Museum and owned by H. Austin Clark Jr.  I don’t think he ever ran it but it was on display in the room with the show cases.

From Video of the Week: The Only Surviving Adams-Farwell Automobile

These very determined looking drivers are the Hungarian Ferenç Szisz and his Russian co-driver/mechanician Sergey Dimitriewich (or Dimitri) posing in their Renault before the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup race, in which they would finish on 5th place. Szisz would of course become immortal the next year by winning the first French Grand Prix. Dimitrievich, whose real name was Alexander Vetchinine by he way, would drive his own Renault during the 1908 French Grand Prix, finishing on 8th place. He died in June 1909 during a car crash while training near Moscow.

From Mystery Foto #43 Solved: Szisz in the #10 Renault Preparing for the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race

Well, it looks like clean-up time again! I’ll make an effort to join the limpps on this one. Though this is relatively a short stretch of roadway, last I heard it was a pretty bad mess and envisioned chain saws and heavy equipment.

From Garden City Patch "Renewed Interest in the Vanderbilt Parkway"