Vanderbilt Cup Races

From Margaret V:

“We always enjoy your newsletter.  We especially liked LMP-Ronkonkoma. And of course, anything to do with H. Austin Clarke is always welcome.  Thank you.”

From Suffolk County Airmap 1930 Aerial Survey #1: Ronkonkoma

Bonjour,

Yes, the Berliet Foundation is owner of an Alco car: torpédo motor 6 cylinder 120 x 140, 60 HP, 1912.

From In Search of Alcos: #6 1912 Alco Touring Car at Fondation Berliet, Lyon France

Wow that is something and very interesting about the police barracks and the road heating pipes underneath!

From Newly Discovered Photos of Motor Parkway Bridges and Willie K's Guest Lodge in Lake Success

Hi Tim:

Wow, you are exactly right. The caption for the December 9, 1950 photo reads: “Installing road heating pipes near police barracks.” I had thought the caption could not have been accurate!!

Howard

From Newly Discovered Photos of Motor Parkway Bridges and Willie K's Guest Lodge in Lake Success

From Tim Ivers (Former police officer who worked at the State Parkway Police Barracks in Lake Success):

I thank you very much Howard.  Deja vu.

In the photo of the roadway looking westward, it brought back a memory that was lost to me until I saw your photo.

At one point in time, in the 50s, a portion (maybe several hundred yards) of the westbound lane of the parkway just east of the police barracks there was a network of underground pipes.  These pipes carried either hot water or steam (I don’t recall which) and during freezing wet weather they could be activated from a control switch in the basement of the police barracks.

The purpose was to keep the pavement from freezing.  And it worked.  But I think impractical.

From Newly Discovered Photos of Motor Parkway Bridges and Willie K's Guest Lodge in Lake Success

From Sam Berliner III:

Howard,

You’re just not old enough to remember Hansom Cabs!  I am; I remember them still in use in Central Park and congregated on 59th Street across from the Plaza.

From Wiki, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansom_cab>:

“The hansom cab is a kind of horse cart designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low centre of gravity for safe cornering. Hansom’s original design was heavily altered by John Chapman to improve its practicability, but retained Hansom’s name.
Cab is a shortening of cabriolet, reflecting the design of the carriage. It replaced the hackney carriage as a vehicle for hire; with the introduction of clockwork mechanical taximeters to measure fares, the name became taxicab.
Hansom cabs enjoyed immense popularity as they were fast, light enough to be pulled by a single horse (making the journey cheaper than travelling in a larger four-wheel coach) and were agile enough to steer around horse-drawn vehicles in the notorious traffic jams of nineteenth-century London. There were up to 3000 hansom cabs in use at the height of their popularity and they quickly spread to other cities in the United Kingdom, as well as continental European cities, particularly Paris, Berlin, and St Petersburg. The cab was introduced to other British Empire cities and to the United States during the late 19th century, being most commonly used in New York City.”
When they were motorized, they were still termed Hansom Cabs and a precious few were still running pre-WWII when I was a wee tyke; I recall being fascinated by their doors opening to the front.

There are a whole bunch of tiller-steered light cars in the parade that look just like Curved-Dash Oldsmobiles with flat dashboards and my guess is that they were earlier model Olds, replaced by the curved-dash model two years later (1901).  The Olds was an immensely popular car in the earliest days of motoring.

From Film: Thomas Edison's "Automobile Parade" in New York City Held on November 4, 1899

Hi Jon:

Thanks for the correction!

Howard

From What A Difference a Century Makes: Statistics from 1910

The pillars in the background belong to Madison Square Garden, the second incarnation of the building on Madison Square. The cars appear to be going west along the southern end of the Garden on 26th Street and turning south on Madison Avenue. The film maker was probably standing in Madison Square Park. Thanks, Howard.

From Film: Thomas Edison's "Automobile Parade" in New York City Held on November 4, 1899

This is very nostalgic for me.  My Aunt lived on a cul de sac, Foxcroft Rd in Albertson.  As kids we used to bike from LIMP east to Roslyn Rd going to our Uncle in Mineola.  We past the toll house that is a private residence.  This was in the early 60’s.  Went down to the tracks too!!  Years later I was a mailman in Williston Park and delivered mail to that toll house.  Thanks for the memories

From Demolition of the Williston Park/East Williston LIRR Motor Parkway Bridge

The Ford in the picture is a Model T not an R.  The Model was a much earlier Ford.

From What A Difference a Century Makes: Statistics from 1910

Howard that was a great film Being a carriage collector I especially enjoed the horseless carriages I have never seen a “Handsome Cab” car before I really enjoy seeing your emails every Sunday Thanks JeRita

From Film: Thomas Edison's "Automobile Parade" in New York City Held on November 4, 1899

From Phil:

I believe I recall seeing an Alco at the Berliet Foundation Collection in Lyon. (ALCO automobiles were made under Berliet license.) I don’t have my photos of the collection available at the moment, so I cannot provide any more details.

From In Search of Alcos: #5 1912 Alco 7-Passenger Touring Car at the Nethercutt Collection

Wonderful movie which indeed brings back memories of interesting people and outstanding cars. As noted above by Sarah Carr, the Stutz is that of Tony Kovaleski of Scranton, Pa., and is a 1914. Tony was one of the truly wonderful antique car enthusiasts and his name was synonymous with the Stutz Bearcat. The 1954 program lists a 1919 Stutz owned by Clarence Ray of Sunnyvale, Ca., so one can only assume that there was a last minute switch. The car identified by the announcer as a 1921 Mercer is, of course, Ralph Buckley in his well known 1914 Raceabout which is correctly identified in the program brochure. Ralph did participate in the 1957 Anglo-American in his 1922 Mercer Raceabout. Sam Bailey’s 1914 Simplex with the replica speedster and the same car he ran in the 1957 event is now in the Collier Collection in Naples, Fl.

From Film "The 1954 Anglo-American Vintage Car Rally" with Henry Austin Clark, Jr.

Thanks to a kind loan from car collector Andy Oldman of Belmont, MA, a 1912 Alco four cylinder touring car, that once belonged to Richard Cushing Paine Jr., the Seal Cove Auto Museum’s founder, is back on display at the Museum. The Seal Cove Auto Museum is located on Mount Desert Island, Maine, and displays the finest collection of ‘brass era’ automobiles in the united States.

From In Search of Alcos: #5 1912 Alco 7-Passenger Touring Car at the Nethercutt Collection

Another great Sunday morning read, Howard.

From What A Difference a Century Makes: Statistics from 1910

Delighted to see that you found David’s new web site, TOM, which he has been working on for many months. He has done a superb job and is to be commended for posting some wonderful old pictures that many of us have not seen before.

From Favorite Website: TheOldMotor.com- An Automotive Photography Magazine

Super feedback and comments!!

From Pioneer Harriet Quimby's Exciting Ride in a Racing Motor-Car in October 1906

Thanks so much for the great comments, films,  feedback and insight!!

Much appreciated!

Howard

From Rare Image Series #3: Louis Chevrolet- The Most Famous "Name" in the Vanderbilt Cup Races

Does anyone know of a surviving Christie automobile?

William, are you releated to J. Walter?

Howard

From Driver Profile: John Walter Christie: Front-Wheel Drive Pioneer

Thanks Jack!!

From Update: The Alco Black Beast Racing History