Vanderbilt Cup Races

Sorry to be an oodge, Bob, but it’s “Belle Terre” (which is much of the peninsula immediately north of Port Jeff.).  What I find funny is that that’s all of one mile from downtown and can you imagine firing up such majestic beasts just to run a mile and back for the paper?  Sam, III

From In Search of H. Dieter Holterbosch and his W.C. Bird's Duesenberg

I had the pleasure of going to Mr H.Dieter Holterbosch’s house in Belle Tarre a few times in the 1960;s along with another collector of cars J.P.McAlister also of Bell Tarre At that time he Lived in Belle Tarre and had the Duesenburg there along with a wooden body boat tailed Isatta.speedster and a Coranation Coach made in Europe which he had purchased..After the Bird’s Auction he as quoted as saying ” I purchased the car to go down to Port Jefferson to pickup the Sunday Papers” His home in Belle Tarre overlooked the Port Jefferson harbor…
Also a note that Finley Robertson Porter who produced the F.R.P. car in P;J. also lived in Belle Tarre in the 1920’s along with other car collector o of 1920’s Lincoln’s and a neighbor across the street with a 1930’s Maybach automobile.
In the 1960’s Dieter’s cars are aften seen at the harbor parking lot in Port Jeff and around town.

From In Search of H. Dieter Holterbosch and his W.C. Bird's Duesenberg

Oh, wow!  I was at the auction, know the car, knew (periferally) Dieter, and know the building!  I even drank Lowenbrau with Austie.  Then, one of my finest employees at Pall was Mrs. Posts’s personal secretary before coming to work with me.  Not content with all that, I worked directly with Bentel and Bentel (not always pleasantly) on the Sunday school at the North Shore Unitarian Church in Plandome.  Nostalgia galore!  I’d love to know what the other cars in the collection were.  Looking good, Walt!  Sam, III

From In Search of H. Dieter Holterbosch and his W.C. Bird's Duesenberg

Interesting history, I have a few of the WY plates. One has the number 1927 great for a Model T.

From Kleiner's Korner: A "True" 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race Illustration

The official in the first photo sure is tall compared to the man standing next to him.

From Photos from the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes

Mystery Foto #36… The location of the photo is the Jericho turn in front of W.B. Powel’s Jericho Hotel. The race was the Motor Parkway Sweepstakes help on October 10, 1910. This was opening day of the Motor Parkway. The car was the #P43 Simplex and the driver was Frank Lescault. He finished fourth.

From Mystery Foto #36 Solved: The P43 Racer Taking a Turn in the Hamlet of Jericho

Marjorie Merriweather Post was not the founder of General Mills. She inherited from her father, C.W. Post, the company that would become General Foods. General Mills was founded in 1928 in Minneapolis, when several mills merged.

From In Search of H. Dieter Holterbosch and his W.C. Bird's Duesenberg

Adding to what Ariejian Bos posted. The racers went off one at a time, Robertson about 10 minutes after Lytle. By the middle of the race it was pretty clear the race was going to be won by one of these two. After Lytle crossed the finish line no one followed him for several minutes.  So…some spectators assumed he won the race, started to leave. Robertson has trouble at Plainview leaving the course, not immediately getting back on, loosing a couple of minutes, shows up about 4 minutes later, beating Lytle by about 2 minutes.  Vanderbilt sees whats going on, immediately ends the race notifying all the telephone stations to inform the racers still on the course the race is over. Only 2 cars officially finish, Robertson and Lytle. Florida was determined to finish, has the accident, injuring David Schuh, 18 years old. At this point Vanderbilt is furious. It was said that he accused those grandstand spectators who went on to the track of acting like hoodlums. He became absolutely apoplectic when his Mercedes driven by Luttgen, finally arriving, brushed some spectators who were aiding the injured youngster.

From Update Mystery Foto #35 Solved: Jim Florida in the #9 Locomobile at the 1908 Founders Week Cup Race

Florida was not aware of the race having ended and besides he was chasing third place. So he was still speeding towards the finish. The submitted photo seems to capture the moment directly after the impact. In the middle of the photo, emerging from the white clouds, the front of a light coloured racer can just be seen, which almost certainly is Florida’s Locomobile. According to The Horseless Age of October 28th Florida had hit a White steamer. This would explain the white clouds, being vapor clouds from that car. The car where Florida’s racer seems to be parked against, could very well be this car, as all visible details fit with a 1906 White. I added a photo of a 1906 White seen from the rear. Important details are the rear dumb irons and the rear axle. In a second photo, with even more vapor clouds, the ladies in the car on the left of the accident (which could be a Locomobile) are now standing and in the mist behind them a figure can be seen which could be either Florida or his mechanician. Lots of ‘could be’s, I realise, but still possible ...

From Update Mystery Foto #35 Solved: Jim Florida in the #9 Locomobile at the 1908 Founders Week Cup Race

Wild indeed! Amazing they pulled that off.

From Kleiner's Korner: Long Beach Gets a Race in 1906 (Or Does It?)

This thread has been on my mind.  Anyone familiar with Long/Atlantic Beach knows how precipitous the strand is - witness the steep angle of Ms. Potter’s car.  Back in those days, the strand was quite narrow; the littoral drift hadn’t yet swept sand from Point Lookout and Lido Beach westward.  It added 1,000’ to the beach at Silver Point just in my early lifetime.  Unlike Daytona and other broad southern beach courses, Long Beach was never an appropriate venue.  [The mobility of the sand is best exemplified by the need to move the gigantic Brighton Beach Hotel 600’ inland in April 1888 (on 112 flatcars pulled by 6 steam locos!); that wild story has nothing to do with the LIMP or VCR but is well worth a thread of its own.]  Anything for a buck, eh, Col. Dick?  Sam, III

From Kleiner's Korner: Long Beach Gets a Race in 1906 (Or Does It?)

Sam, the chaos and utter confusion of the 1908 VCR finish can be attributed partly to the fact that it appeared that Lytle finished first but since he had started before Roberston he actually finished second. They were the only ones that actually finished the race. Right after Robertson crosses the finish line the crowd poured out of the grandstand on to the track. Vanderbilt immediately sent word out ending the race. The cars still on the track had to slowly and carefully wind their way back to the finish line as there were already spectator cars on the race circuit. Vanderbilt’s Mercedes was awarded 3rd based on the 10th lap placement of the racers.

From Update Mystery Foto #35 Solved: Jim Florida in the #9 Locomobile at the 1908 Founders Week Cup Race

Here’s another attempt at a race course on a Long Island beach that never materialized.  From the “Automotor Journal” of April 15, 1905.

From Kleiner's Korner: Long Beach Gets a Race in 1906 (Or Does It?)

Thanks, Frank; I missed that one.  This just adds to my point.  Getting to pixellation, you can’t see any demarcation between the south verge of NB/HHB and the LIMP entry ramp.  Those missing pix showed just that from the ground - a continuous entry from the west.  Is a puzzlement.  Sam, III

From Then & Now- The Western Terminus to the 73rd Avenue Motor Parkway Bridge

Back to the VCR - there’s detail of Florida’s crash in the linked 05 Dec 2013 blog post, “Chaos at the Finish of the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race”, but it says he hit a roadster “carrying two girls and a driver”.  The photo seems to me to show FOUR people.  How about a new thread about that accident (or reopening the 2013 one); there MUST be far more info. available.  I thought we’d already covered it here but I can’t find any such.  Sam, III

From Update Mystery Foto #35 Solved: Jim Florida in the #9 Locomobile at the 1908 Founders Week Cup Race

Sam, check out Al’s amazing 1938 aerial of the western terminus below, stretching to 194 St., and possibly beyond. The distance measured from the former CRR RoW to the LIMP Row was only 60 feet, center to center. The LIMP entrance ramp off Nassau Blvd was ~230 feet at its widest, and narrowed as it approached the kiosk. It was 22 feet width thereafter.   

Bruce, my best guess, the LIMP entrance was just east of Peck Ave, alongside the current ped overpass. The LIMP roadway ran through the middle of the school.

Al’s aerial was found here:
https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/the_motor_parkway_western_terminus_in_fresh_meadows_curca_1938

From Then & Now- The Western Terminus to the 73rd Avenue Motor Parkway Bridge

Amazing detective work by all. This one was out of my scope.

From Update Mystery Foto #35 Solved: Jim Florida in the #9 Locomobile at the 1908 Founders Week Cup Race

Based on Ariejan Bos’ comment, I have revised the answers to last week’s Mystery Foto.

From Update Mystery Foto #35 Solved: Jim Florida in the #9 Locomobile at the 1908 Founders Week Cup Race

Indy driver Hughie Hughes DID look like both!  If it wasn’t for my whiskers, with enough oil and road grime, I’d probably look like all of ‘em, too!  Sam, III

From Update Mystery Foto #35 Solved: Jim Florida in the #9 Locomobile at the 1908 Founders Week Cup Race

I can understand, see attached photograph of Stillman at the wheel of a Marmon. Myself I was convinced that the driver was Hugh Hughes, but I couldn’t make a Mercer from that steering wheel.

From Update Mystery Foto #35 Solved: Jim Florida in the #9 Locomobile at the 1908 Founders Week Cup Race