Vanderbilt Cup Races

Mystery Foto # 20… The driver shown here is John Walter Christie and the mechanician is Lewis Strang. The race car is a 1906 100 hp Christie Front wheel drive… the only front drive car to ever to enter the Vanderbilt Cup.The date is in September 1906, probably practicing for the American Elimination Trial.

From Mystery Foto #20 Solved: Driver Walter Christie and mechanician Lewis Strang practicing in a 1906 Christie on Guinea Woods Road

Great photo coverage, the abutment is impressive!

From Dave's "Excellent Day on the Motor Parkway in Garden City"

Likely planned, but not built. Financial reasons mostly. Lots of warning signs at intersections, maybe traffic lights eventually?

From Kleiner's Korner: William Geiger's Motor Parkway Property in Wyandanch

THANK YOU HOWARD, for that very informative article about the Turbine Car tariff issue.

From Stahls Automotive Museum acquires a 1963 Chrysler Turbine car

I’m with you. I know the Butterfly Park area. I, too, remember walking the ROW there with someone many, many years ago Maybe it’s us!  Do you know anything about the LIMP crossing of Bagatelle?  I assume without a bridge.

From Kleiner's Korner: William Geiger's Motor Parkway Property in Wyandanch

From my research, the 1906 Locomobile, old 16, lost several races due to tires walking off the rims and the decision was made to fit detachable rim wheels to the car but like the Black Beast, it does not have detachable rim wheels today. If old 16 ever was fitted with detachable rim wheels, it was quickly switched back.

It might be of interest to note tires of this period were much more flexible and could easily walk off the rim, especially under race conditions. Most tires were of the clincher variety, captured on both sides by the rim, but the tires still walked off the rims. I suspect the decision was made to run Michelin tires instead of converting the wheels. Michelin tires were much more reliable.

From Greg O's Garage: Removable rims and their impact on early motoring and racing

If you’re still paying attention here and live nearby Bill, I’m thinking of area known as Butterfly Park just north of the substation. Remember walking the LIMP with someone and noticed the home down below us to the right. Kind of felt we were walking through their property so we didn’t proceed as far north as possible. Now I realize this was really parkland, probably until one reaches the home that extended their fence over the ROW. Realize there’s a sump too that maybe severed the ROW.

From Kleiner's Korner: William Geiger's Motor Parkway Property in Wyandanch

Just realized they must’ve had clocks in mind with the development of the rims. A spoke for every hour.

From Greg O's Garage: Removable rims and their impact on early motoring and racing

Great post, Greg !

From Greg O's Garage: Removable rims and their impact on early motoring and racing

Christie patented his wheel in France.  Here is a modern re-creation.  Yes, the entire wheel center and brake drum are one piece, cast iron.

From Greg O's Garage: Removable rims and their impact on early motoring and racing

I think that’s J. Walter Christie (driver) and Lewis Strang (mechanician) in the #9 Christie racer that was scheduled to participate in the 1906 American Elimination Trial race. Since Christie had an unfortunate meeting with a telephone pole the day before the race, this photo was probably taken on September 21, 1906 during a test run on Guinea Woods Road (today’s Glen Cove Road) sometime before he crashed.

From Mystery Foto #20 Solved: Driver Walter Christie and mechanician Lewis Strang practicing in a 1906 Christie on Guinea Woods Road

Check out this link for information on “The Truth about why Chrysler destroyed the Turbine Cars”:

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/11/the-truth-about-why-chrysler-destroyed-the-turbine-cars/

From Stahls Automotive Museum acquires a 1963 Chrysler Turbine car

Art, the farmway bridge list,  the bridge at sta. 898 is listed with an 18’ width. The1910 Parkway map shows it is much wider than the standard 8’ width farmway bridge planned at sta. 910. It is labeled “typical” so I don’t think the 18’ designation is a typo.  My guess ?  The Parkway planned to bridge the “dip o death” crossing at Burr’s Lane in short order.

From Kleiner's Korner: William Geiger's Motor Parkway Property in Wyandanch

I saw the turbine car at the 64’-‘65 world’s fair. It ran in a pit that looked like a tobogan run. It “whoooosed” by. I’m 72 y/o now. My question is: Where are all the flying cars that we thought were coming?

From Stahls Automotive Museum acquires a 1963 Chrysler Turbine car

By the way, it was scrapped because of some heavy tax penalty would be impose if was not scrapped as I remembered.

From Stahls Automotive Museum acquires a 1963 Chrysler Turbine car

Thanks Art for the articles, went through my ‘ARCHIVE’ have the 7th annual International Auto Show Apr.13-21 1963 program, no listing of the Chrysler Turbine car was displayed or advertised in the program. now the Manhattan Chrysler dealership was on Broadway a couple blocks south of the NY Coliseum about the time I saw the car. Hey it’s 58 years ago! In the program a long articles by Elwood P. Engel who was with Chrysler around the time the Turbine car was being developed, and other later models had his Continental touch.

From Stahls Automotive Museum acquires a 1963 Chrysler Turbine car

Thanks for the 1928 map!  I have a photo (somewhere) of the Colonial Springs Road bridge before it was demolished.  In the woods on the north side (years ago) you could still see the fill that was used to raise the incline toward the bridge abutments (next to and behind the VFW hall).  I live off Bagatelle and near the Town line in Wheatley Heights and have walked most of the LIMP in the area.  Where the LIMP runs on the west side of Conklin/Bagatelle north of the Huntington line, one homeowner took the LIMP ROW as their own and put up fences cutting it off.  Likely, illegally.  Where the LIMP crosses to the east side of Bagatelle, I assume, there was never a bridge constructed.  Is that one of the “farmway” bridges you refer to that was never built?  I’m a bit unclear as Bagatelle (Conklin) was not a farm road.  Thanks for all your good work on this.

From Kleiner's Korner: William Geiger's Motor Parkway Property in Wyandanch

Just noticed you mentioned that Conklin would be to the right of the LIMP, Art. So the bridges would’ve been just south of the intersection of Conklin & LIMP. Below is the 1928 Motor Parkway Atlas showing mostly the Town of Babylon side.

From Kleiner's Korner: William Geiger's Motor Parkway Property in Wyandanch

Know this a year old+ post, but I was wondering if pages 10 and 11 of the mapbook exist? I’ve been looking within the site here to locate them. Great purchase!

From VanderbiltCupRaces.com Exclusive: The 1910 Motor Parkway Survey Bookmap

Driver - Maurice Fabry
Mechanician - Placenza
Car - Itala
Date - Practice Run for the 1906 VCR or Elimination Race - September, 1906

From Mystery Foto #20 Solved: Driver Walter Christie and mechanician Lewis Strang practicing in a 1906 Christie on Guinea Woods Road