SACA, NW Newsletter

Steam Automobile Club of America, Northwest Chapter

Vol. 19 No. 1 Spring 2006

President: Eric Gleason 704 Case Street, The Dalles, Oregon, 97058 email: gleason@netcnct.net

Secretary/Treasurer/Editor: Pat Farrell, 6647 Bridgewater Lane, Sedro Woolley, WA 98284 360-856-1294 New e-mail rpfarrell@wavecable.com

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The NW Chapter of SACA newsletter is sent out the first week of each season of the year. Cost of our hardcopy newsletter is $5 a year. Cyberspace delivery is free to NW region SACA members.

Our mission is to perpetuate the use of the steam automobile and to share information pertaining to them.

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Events:

April 4-9, '06 42^nd Portland Swap meet.

April 20-22 '06 Bakersfield swap meet.

June 18-23,'06 Buckeye steam car tour.

Susan and I would like to extend a warm Buckeye welcome to all of you, and invite you to come steam with us this summer.

Another Midwestern tour is in the serious planning stages for June 18 - June 23, 2006 located in the Amish country of Northern Ohio. Northern Ohio. Our base of operations will be in Berlin, which is about 75 minutes south of Cleveland.

There is more than a week's worth of activities to see and do in this area. Tentatively, we've thought about visiting Roscoe Village, a restored 1800's canal town, touring the famous Longaberger basket factory, viewing an antique car collection, visiting Warther's Museum of famous carvings, and enjoying a unique, truly old-fashioned hardware store. The gently rolling countryside is ideal for steaming, while still providing some interesting driving challenges. These are just some of the possible highlights that can be seen in the heart of Amish country. But this is not all. We already have a few additional surprises "under our bonnet" for you!

The area offers a large number of quiet paved country roads to explore, which will allow you some time to enjoy the small, well-kept Amish farms. Good food is bountiful. Awesome shopping possibilities for antiques, quilts, and handmade wooden furniture are just a few of the amenities you can experience.

You and/or they can also e-mail this information to us. If you have any suggestions, advice, or something you would particularly like to do, see, or have on this tour, please let us know. Thanks!!

Scott and Susan Cruse, 963 Woodcreek Dr., Milford, OH 45150-1528

(513) 248-0963 E-mail: susanc@one.net

From your chapter president: Hi all,

Just thought I would drop a quick line to try and get some input on a date for the NW Chapter steam clinic and also any ideas on a venue.

It seems like there are a lot of options for steam touring events and shows in conjunction with other pre planned events this summer such as the steam up at Brooks, Oregon, the NW Steam Society meeting in St Helens, Oregon, etc.

Also don't know how much interest there would be in a separate clinic like the great one we had last year at Pat's place. Bob Ulrich and I had been talking about hosting such an event here in the Gorge area (Mosier and The Dalles) but thought we should try and gauge the amount of interest and see when a good time would be for everyone. Also need to know how much interest there would be in doing a little touring at that time as well as tinkering. The facilities to tinker are not quite as good as Pat's place but we could probably make some space. I have a bit of space in my building to work on stuff but it is not nearly as well equipped or as isolated, kind of on public view while tinkering (the plus is that there are some fairly flat roads without too much traffic for road testing). We thought perhaps in May, but other times could be found that did not interfere with other events. Anyway, just thought I would send this out to try and get an idea of what others were thinking so we could start scheduling things before it gets too late (assuming it already isn't!)

Please forward this on to anyone else you think might be interested and send me your thoughts as soon as possible.

PS, anyone going to the Portland Swap Meet this year, interested in doing something in conjunction with that event?

Thanks, Eric

Tom Marshall Jr. Writes: Hello, Pat, About Mountain Wagons, shouldn't all the 1915's be 820's, not 825's? I'm quite sure the Dougherty and Collings' Mtn. Wagons are 1915's; I don't know about the other steel-frame wagons. We owned the Collings' "Wagon" for a while and we worked on Ray Dougherty's about 1980. Merry Christmas! Tom

Dear Tom,

    You are correct.  I got caught up in misinformation.

        According to the Sprague register, your steel framed Mt. Wagon is listed as an 820.  According to Joe Green's lists:  The 820 was built from 5/8/1915 and ended by 12/4/1915 with 28 being built.  The model 825 started in production 3/30/1916 and ended on 12/8/1917 with 17 being built.  That means that anyone that calling their Mt Wagon a model 825, it has to be built in 1916 or 1917.  There was one model 821 finished 6/8/1915 and a 822 finished 7/14/1915. 

    The Ray Dougherty Mt Wagon hasn't got a serial number or a model number listed that we know of.  It was my assumption that it was a model 825. 

    The Bob Collings is the same situation with no model or serial numbers listed in the Sprague register.  Again, it as a bad call to call it an 825, since the register did list the year as 1915, I knew that it could possibly be a model 820 or ?

    Thank you for the corrections.  I will pass the word

Sincerely, Pat Farrell

Bob Sullivan called with an update on his Stanley H5. As near as he knows, he can only count 5 original surviving H5s. His H5 was found intact by Carl Amsley in 1955 in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania. By 1959, the H5 had won a first place at the Hershey car show. The H5 was then sold to Doctor Shear in New York. Richard Payne of Seal Cove Museum bought it. Then Curt Whitehouse owned it, and then Dr. Terry Burnett. In 1991 it was sold at Auction to Eugene Matluski. Since then it has sat until Bob bought it.

Harry Hibler writes: Dear Pat,
It's true, I'm putting one of the Modelworks Likamobile kit cars together. The chassis, differential and rear axles are assembled. Wheels with tires mounted are ready to be put on after I do a bit of sawing and grinding on the rear brake mounting plates - a minor glitch in design. It will have disc brakes on all four wheels. The reach rods on the Likamobile don't have swivel joints so is quite a bit stiffer than the Locomobile. I guess Modelworks figured their buggy wouldn't be used on rough roads or do any curb hopping. The differential is a spur gear type so is enclosed and can run with oil in it. There are 18 separate kits. Two kits have been delivered every other month. The next two are kits #6 and #7.
I have heard of only one other builder on the West Coast. Have your heard of any others? Harry

A "must have" new book just out is Bravo, Stanley!  by H.James Merrick and sold though the Stanley Museum.  It has 156 pages in large format and is loaded with many never before seen photos.  Stanley history is contained in it's pages that you may have never heard before. Jim Merrick did an excellent job both in his research and with his presentation of this most interesting book.

Speed on Sand, Written by William R. Tuthill is another interesting book to read. Copyrighted in 2002. It is of motor racing and record breaking on the 25 mile long beach shared with the cities of Ormond and Daytona during the vintage years of 1903 though 1959. 208 pages printed on a 6" by 8 ½" sized page.

Thomas W. Dawson: An active antique automobile enthusiast shares some of the highlights of that hobby, with an emphasis on the Stanley Steamer.

Thomas W. Dawson has recorded his experiences in learning to operate and maintain the unique workings of this steam car. Detailed information on repairing and maintaining Stanley Steamers.

OVER 100 COLOR PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

antique autos and auto tours technical illustrations, vintage advertisements and drawings

Dawson Press

48 Holman Street

Laconia, NH 03246-3016

Phone: 603-524-5935

E-mail: firedoc@metrocast.net

www.stanleysteamcars.com

128-page book hardcover/jacket

retail price: $31.95US

Shipping: USA $3.00, $1.25 ea. add'l book;

Int'l, incl. packing, $10. Payment: USA check or

money order; PayPal or credit card--Int'l or USA, email for instructions.

Bill Chase's 1902 Locomobile Surrey (four place) that is for sale in Omaha. The photo was taken last summer. It was recently advertised in the HCCA Gazette at $40,000.00, but has not yet sold, and he told me that he would entertain an "offer". It runs quite well, Bill just finished building it, he is 95 years old--a machinist, and is still "going strong".

Bill Chase and his 1902 Locomobile

Stanley Land Speed Record Centennial and Tour at Ormond Beach,

January 24-28, 2006

By Pat and Merrily Farrell

Our 1916 Stanley model 826 C was originally sold as a running chassis. It had two boilers mounted ahead of its 30 hp engine and the driver and mechanic sat over the rear axle. The last known place where it performed as a racer, was at Daytona Beach, Florida during the World War I years. Only two of these machines were built and they were used to promote the sale of war bonds during WWI. Having just finished the restoration with its new Mountain Wagon body, we were now ready to return it to Daytona, its place of racing heritage 90 years ago. Daytona Beach is adjacent to Ormond Beach, where the longest standing land speed record of 127.659 mph was set in 1906 by a Stanley steamer. The speed record was finally broken in 1910 by Barney Oldfield at 131.72 mph.

After 30 continuous days of steady rain, we left Washington for sunny Florida, with our Mountain Wagon in tow. Due to snow closures in the Rocky Mountains, we drove across the Nation's southerly route. We traveled East on Interstate 10 all of the way across to Florida. The trip was uneventful except for the Border Patrol checking for green cards in El Paso, Texas; and due to the recent hurricane damage, most of the cities' roofs in Louisiana and in Mississippi were covered with blue tarps. To our surprise, we also discovered that next to oranges, pine lumber is the biggest crop grown in Florida

Our trip took us 3,750 miles and 5 ½ long days of driving to get to Ormond Beach. Northwest Steam Society members, Tom and Marge Kane, had a couple of time share condos available for lodging for our NWSS members. Arriving early, we had time to visit the Daytona race track and browse though the Daytona U.S.A. center looking for more history on our model 826C Stanley.

Tuesday at the tour headquarters, the Bermuda House, Jennie Kane dug in and helped the Stanley Museum CEO, Sue Davis, manage the steam tour desks. The firing up banquet was held next door that evening at the La Playa hotel.

With about 50 steam cars attending, the first day of the tour took us 47 miles around Old Florida. The true natural flavor of the tropics was found everywhere as we toured along the palm tree lined swamps, with large birds, alligators and snakes habitating the environment. That evening we displayed our steamers along with other historic cars at the Casements (the winter home of John D. Rockefeller) for the local population to view.

Due to the hurricanes that Daytona Beach had two years ago, the once 200 yard wide racing beach was reduced by the wind and water erosion to a mere 20 yards wide. Only about 20 feet width of it by the waters edge was usable, making it impossible to duplicate the experience that the racers had in 1906. We were informed that due to the poor beach conditions, if you were to get your vehicle stuck on the beach, no help would be available to get your vehicle out and it would be left to the mercy of the surf. For fear of loosing their equipment in the sand, the local tow companies refused to drive out on the sand to help you. Since our Mountain Wagon weighs over 2 ½ tons and takes "40 acres" to turn it around, we elected to not drive it on the beach, and many others declined to drive on the sand too. With about 8,000 spectators watching, many that did drive on the wet sand found them selves stuck while waiting their turn for a lap down and back on the beach. That evening, we drove our modern iron to the Ocean Side Country Club for awards, a banquet and visiting. About 203 people attended the steak dinner that evening.

Every day we had between eight to twelve people riding our Mountain Wagon. On the third day, with extra people, water and fuel aboard, we were maxed out for weight and we had to air our tires up to 65 pounds per square inch to be able to control the old bus. Our 110 mile tour took us up to the light house in the old city of Saint Augustine for lunch, and then back. On the way back we stopped for a historical dedication of the Old Brick Road in Bunnell, and later we stopped for another historical dedication at the old Bunnell City Hall built of coquina rock by the WPA in 1937. That evening we all steamed to Wall-Y-World Warehouse for a look at his car collection and for his hosted Bar-B-Q dinner. The trip back to the hotel in the dark was a challenge, it was the first time that we had driven the Stanley at night. As the gauge light did nothing to illuminate the boiler sight gauge, we relied on the trusted performance of the Stanley to get us home.

The last day of the tour was a 42 mile tour through the Raabe Racing NASCAR engine building shop and hot rod shop. They were well equipped to build any car from the ground up, sheet metal and all. We then tried to visit the Daytona Race track but due to the Rolex 24 hour race going on at the time, their parking was so full that we steamed right on by it and went for a tour along the Halifax River. We stopped at an accommodating pizza parlor for lunch and water for our bus. A trip around the Ponce Inlet light house and a run back up South Atlantic Avenue brought us back to the Bermuda Hotel for a final washing and a good cleaning of the Mountain Wagon. Due to an incoming winter storm which scared many of the northerners home early, the evening blow down banquet was low in attendance.

The Ormond Beach tour was a very big success with a good turn out, with only a few steamers breaking down and "no rain" while on tour. We wish to thank everyone that helped make this tour possible: the organizers, the NWSS members, and Dick and Mary Moore who rode with us. It was Dick's father, Blondie Moore, who rescued the Mountain Wagon from a used car lot in 1922 for $200.

Merrily and I stayed on after the Ormond Beach tour with Rob and Tammie Williams. We toured Old Saint Augustine on Sunday, Epcot Center on Monday, and Universal Studios on Tuesday. We flew home on Wednesday and now we're waiting to return on March 8^th, 2006 for the Amelia Island Concours de Elegance, but that will be another steamy story.

Stanley Steamers at the Amelia Island Concours de Elegance by Pat Farrell

Having left our 1916 Stanley steamer Mt. Wagon in Florida for the 2006 Amelia Island Concours de Elegance on March 12, '06, Merrily and I flew back to Ormond Beach, Florida to retrieve our 12 passenger steamer. The first day, March 10^th, which was Friday; our full Mt. Wagon went on a tour of about 20 other steam cars. We toured around the island guided by a senior lawman with flashing lights and a busy siren. As we toured to an old Fort that had a long winding tree lined road leading to it, lots of moss was hanging from the trees and the tropical life was abundant. We eventually ended up downtown with the steamers lining the city streets with thousands of people seeing steamers for the first times in their lives and also asking many questions. An excellent hosted lunch was served and we were out of town by 1 pm to tour on our own. Antique stores were visited and treasurers were eagerly purchased. Saturday was the day of the big car auction, and about 94% of the collector cars were sold with the highest price of $2.5 million being paid for a Ferrari, and a nice 1922 Stanley model 740 touring went for about $54K. After the auction, Merrily and I visited the Stanley Museum's cars and Sue Davis had us steam up the Museum's 1916 touring for her. Workers had been trying to steam it up for two days, and in about an hour, we had a flaming experience while steaming it up. Usually about 15 minutes is long enough to fire any steamer that is ready to be steamed up. That evening we polished up our Mt Wagon for the next day's showing. Sunday morning at 7:30 am, we steamed our big red Stanley Mt Wagon out onto the field amongst almost 30 other steam cars. We were so busy showing our Stanley, that we never counted how many steamers were really there. The concourse had hundreds of beautiful cars parked at the 18^th hole on the golf course. The feature vehicles for this year were the Stanley steamers and the alternate fuel/propulsioned cars. It was an 85 degree day and it was way too hot for most of us. At 11:30 AM, all of the steamers did a parade lap with our big red Mountain Wagon leading the parade. Blowing our railroad steam whistle and leaving steam in the air behind us, the crowd was awed by such unusual sounds and sights. Trophy presentations took most of the afternoon and by 4:30 PM, we were headed for home. On Wednesday, we stopped at Chickasha, Oklahoma for their annual prewar car parts swap meet and were quite surprised at the abundance of steam cars and parts that were available this year. A 1900 Milwaukee was for sale as was also a White steam car. We added many pounds of parts to our already overloaded trailer, and by Thursday afternoon we were headed back to Washington. We passed through an 800,000 acre fire in Texas. The fire that went across the freeway was so hot, that the power poles along the road were burned off at ground level, just as though a chain saw had cut them down. With sunshine for most of the trip, we arrived home in Sedro Woolley on Saturday afternoon tired and ready for bed. The Florida round trip put over 7,000 miles on our Yukon and with gas prices going from $ 2.17 a gallon to$2.89 a gallon, it about used up our credit card. We may not have won any Trophies, but all of the Florida sunshine that we got in January and February made up for it.

Tip for the day:

While at Ormond Beach, I worked with Ron Hardwig to lag the outside of the Rocket's smoke bonnet. We used "Diplag" to lag the smoke bonnet and it didn't have any wrinkles, it bonded well and it smoothed out over all the irregular surfaces very well. It comes in large sheets and you cut it to fit. One layer does the job very well.

David Nergaard writes that he is working on his 1922 Stanley Roadster and he hopes to have it running good enough that he can drive it to the Buckeye tour in Ohio this summer. That will be a long drive but it will also be an adventure too. Dave does have AAA towing too; and has been known to use it.

A Steam Enema Problem and More at Amelia Island. By Pat Farrell

At the Amelia Island Concours de Elegance, the Stanley Museum's 1916 Stanley 725 touring had not been steamed up in the last couple of years and a number of volunteers had tried for two days to steam it. Then Sue Davis had Mark Smith try his hand at it and she also asked Pat Farrell to help too.

Symptoms: Poor fuel pressure at the branch forks, no pilot fuel pressure, and main fuel resisting to being pumped up.

Solutions: A fuel shut off between the main fuel tanks and fuel pumps drawing air through its stem packing. We tightened the packing. Pilot fuel had been used up. We refilled the pilot tank.

Discoveries: Burner pan was flooded with fuel. Later we discovered that the steam enema valve had been left on, and the firing up fuel and the main fuel had been getting diverted into the boiler, hence a low volume of fuel being delivered to the branch forks. Upon steaming up, two things occurred: First, flooded fuel in the burner pan became vaporized and escaped from all around between the burner pan and the boiler connection in a ball of fire. Second, once the steam pressure started to rise, turning off the main fuel did not reduce the main fuel delivery to the branch forks. Fuel delivery at the branch forks increase to the point that the boiler was being flooded with fuel and it was burning out of the smoke bonnet's top door with flames reaching 30" into the air. No main fuel pressure dump valve could be located on the car. An air hose with a nozzle on it was used to keep the flames off of the paint while the fuel was being burned off. Eventually the fuel that had been stored up in the boiler had finally been depleted and the rushing vapor at the branch forks was discovered to be steam. It was then discovered that the steam enema had been left on and Mark found the valve to shut it off. The Stanley was steamed to 300 psi and when the throttle was opened, the rush of steam from the broken steam line from just behind the steam loop, leaked bad enough put out the burner's fire. At some time, the smoke stack had been crushed against the steam line hard enough to break the steam line to the engine. Also the steam throttle leaked so terribly, that it could not be completely shut off. We did get it steamed up, but it ended up being towed onto the Concourse field anyway. This fire was a challenge for the best of us.

Steamed, by Tim Johnson, staff writer for "The Daily Nonpareil" Jan. 8, 2006

"Before hybrid-electric, diesel and gasoline models emerged, there were steamed powered vehicles. Though rare now, they once dominated the automobile market," said Elder Ron Thurber, steam collector, restorer and historian.

"By 1906, there were more steam cars on the road than there were gasoline and electric combined," he said. "At the turn of the century, most mechanics understood steam technology better than gasoline." ...

Thurber, whose permanent home is in Boise, Idaho, is wrapping up a two-year mission assignment as director of the Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs and the Mormon Trail Center in Florence, Neb. ...Thurber has owned a total of four steam cars - three Whites and one Stanley - plus gasoline- powered Packard and Ford Model T. He also restored the Model T and overhauled one of the Whites. "I'm restoring a 1904 (White) right now," he said. Thurber's prize steamer is a 1909 White Model M touring car. The seven- passenger auto is powered by a two cylinder steam engine rated at 40 horse power by the manufacturer. The car has a 22 gallon water tank and 16 gallons of storage space for fuel, which is split between tanks for the mail boiler and the pilot light.

"There are only six of them left and I know where all of them are," he said.

Thurber is a member of the Horseless Carriage Club of America and the Steam Automobile Club of America and goes on two or three tours a year organized by the Horseless Carriage Club.

"The club aims to not only preserve antique cars but also keep history alive", he said. "The thing with old cars is a lot of people just want to put them in a museum, he said. "We take more pride in keeping them running than keeping them in a museum." The group emphasizes historical integrity, and members must have vehicles that date before 1916, Thurber said. "We're real sticklers about keeping them original," he said. "We don't put modern engines in them or anything."

Thurber became interested in steam-powered vehicles as a 13-year-old during a long recovery from rheumatic fever. "I put together models," he said. "I bought a model of a Stanley Steamer, and I was quite intrigued with this different, obsolete mode of transportation."

In 1979, Thurber bought his first steam powered automobile - a 1906 Stanley Model E roadster. "It hadn't been run since the 1930's," he said. He restored the car, and his interest in steam autos continued to grow.

In 1988, Thurber sponsored the first antique auto tour out of Sun Valley Idaho. The route headed north out of Sun Valley to Stanley, over the mountains and along the Salmon River to Chalice, south over the mountains and valley to Arco and back to Sun Valley. Restaurants were hare to find in some small towns, but residents rolled out the red carpet for participants.

"This was the big social event of the year for some of these little towns," he said. "The steamers were able to get through the mountains," Thurber said. "Going uphill, they're fine - they go like a scalded dog," he said.

"Steam cars can use a variety of fuels to create the steam that moves them, including gasoline, white gas such as Coleman or kerosene," Thurber said. He uses gasoline although it requires more maintenance. "The additives they put in today cause problems with steam cars, because they will leave deposits in the vaporizer," he said. "The residue has to be cleaned out regularly," he said. "Coleman gas is probably the purest but costs $3 to $4 a gallon," Thurber said. "It takes a lot of fuel to run the car. I get about 6 miles per gallon on gas," he said.

"In addition, the headlamps are fueled by acetylene; and the running lights and dash lights burn kerosene," Thurber said.

"Steam-powered vehicles also use a lot of water," Thurber said. "On the Sun Valley tour, drivers had to ask farmers for water in some rural areas."

Steamers are not necessarily slow. In 1906, Fred Marriott set what was then a land speed record of 127.6 miles per hour in a Stanley. Thurber's car which weighs more than 4,000 pounds (more than a Stanley), has attained no such velocity. "This car is really happy at 30 to 40 miles per hour, if I am out on the highway," he said "I have had it up to 65, but I was hanging on for dear life."

"Autos from that era lack modern comfort features, like shock absorbers," he said.

Of course before you can go anywhere in a steam car, the water has to be heated until there is adequate steam pressure. Thurber's White has to warm up for 20 minutes.

"Steam cars have other short comings, too," he said. "They are notorious for having mechanical problems, and they tend to catch on fire. Perhaps most of all, steam cars just weren't user friendly enough for many customers, Thurber said. "The problem with steam cars, it took almost an engineer to drive them," he said. "They were very complicated. On the plus side, they are quiet," Thurber said.

"It's really fun to drive these at night because they're absolutely noiseless; so you just kind of ghost along