Locomobile
Encyclopedia
The Locomobile Company of America was an automobile manufacturer founded in 1899. For the first two years it was located in Watertown, Massachusetts
, but production was transferred to Bridgeport, Connecticut
during 1900 where it remained until the company's demise in 1929. The company manufactured affordable, small steam car
s until 1903, then production switched entirely to internal combustion
-powered luxury automobile
s. Locomobile was taken over in 1922 by Durant Motors
and went out of business in 1929. The cars were always sold under the brand name Locomobile.
and automobile. John B. Walker
, editor
and publisher of the Cosmopolitan
magazine
bought the plans for an early steam-powered vehicle produced by Francis
and Freelan Stanley for a price they could not resist: US$250000 (with all of one car built, but 199 more ordered), promptly selling half to paving contractor Amzi L. Barber. Their partnership lasted just a fortnight; Walker went on to found Mobile Company of America
at the Stanley works in Tarrytown
, New York
, while Barber moved house to Bridgeport
, Connecticut
, as Locomobile, the Stanley twins named General Managers. The Stanley twins founded the Stanley Motor Carriage Company in 1902, becoming the sharpest rival to Locomobile.
Locomobile began by producing steam cars. The steam Locomobiles were unreliable, finicky to operate, prone to paraffin
fires, had small water tanks (getting only 20 mi {32 km} per tank), and took time to raise steam; Rudyard Kipling
described one example as a "nickle-plated fraud". Nevertheless, they were a curiosity and middle class Americans clamoured for the latest technology. Salesmen, doctors and people needing quick mobility found them useful. Over four thousand were built between 1899 and 1902 alone. Most had simple twin-cylinder
engines (3x4", 76.2x102mm; 57ci, 927cc) and a wire wrapped 500 psi flash boiler
burning naphtha
. Typical of the product was the 1904 Runabout
, which seated two passengers and sold for US$850. The two-cylinder steam engine was situated amidships of the wood-framed car.
During the Boer War
, Locomobile did establish a new mark of sorts, becoming the first ever automobile to be used in war; it was a generator and searchlight
tractor and catering vehicle, with the useful ability (in British eyes, at least) of being able to brew a cup of tea by tapping the boiler.
This was, unfortunately, not a sure way to guarantee commercial success, even in Britain, and Locomobile started experimenting with gasoline
internal combustion engine
s in 1902, starting with a four-cylinder steel-chassis model designed by A. J. Riker. This encouraged the firm to drop steam vehicles the following year, selling the Stanley brothers back their rights for US$20000.
had a tonneau
, space for five passengers, and sold for US$4500, quite a change from the low-priced steam buggies. The front-mounted vertical water-cooled 'straight-4
' engine produced 16 hp (11.9 kW). A 3-speed sliding transmission was fitted, as on the Système Panhard cars it competed with. The angle steel-framed car weighed 2200 lb (998 kg).
Like other early marques, Locomobile entered motor racing, contesting the 1905 Gordon Bennett Cup
with a 17.7 liter (1080ci) racer; after suffering a transmission gear failure, and with no spare available, driver Joe Tracy
only managed two circuits of Auvergne before the transmission packed up entirely. Tracy did better for the company at the Vanderbilt Cup
, placing third. A 90 hp (67 kW) 16.2 liter (989ci) F-head was sabotaged by tire trouble, so Tracy failed again in the 1906 Vanderbilt, but in 1908, George Robertson (wearing #16) took the win in this car, ahead of fellow Locomobile pilot Joe Florida in third, becoming the first United States-built car to win in international competition. This would be the high water mark for Locomobile racing, and they soon faded from the scene, though Orin Davis did score a win in the Los Angeles
-Phoenix
rally in 1913.
On the strength of this, Locomobile soon became known for well-built and speedy luxury cars. The 1908 Locomobile 40 Runabout was a 60 hp (44.7 kW) two-seater and sold for US$4750. (nearly $100,000 in 2006 dollars)
In 1922 Locomobile was acquired by Durant Motors
, which not only continued using the Locomobile brand name for their top-of-the-line autos until 1929 but still produced the Model 48 until the demise in 1929. Until the mid-twenties, this car was Locomobile's only offering. In 1925, the marque brought out their first new model, the 8-66 Junior Eight, with a more contemporary straight-eight cylinder engine - and, above all, more modestly priced at $1,785.
1926 saw the introduction of an even smaller Junior Six, but this car stayed only for one model year. The larger model 90 that appeared in the same year was produced until 1929.
With the 8-70, Locomobile added one more eight-cylinder car. In the following year, the Junior Eight 8-66 was phased out.
For 1929, a new 8-86 and 8-88 came out but it was too late so save the company. Locomobile died when its parent company, Durant Motors, failed. Production of the volume cars Durant and Rugby lasted until 1933 but that did not help Locomobile.
, in which the protagonist, Amory Blaine, argues for socialism to the father of a college friend, who staunchly defends the capitalist ideal.
In Thomas Savage's 1967 novel "The Power of the Dog", set in the 1920s, the Locomobile is estimated by protagonist Peter Johnson higher than the Pierce-Arrow: "...Those were the vehicles of the high and mighty, and he knew that only the Locomobile (fancied by old General Pershing, among others) rivaled the Pierce"
Clive Cussler
's 2007 novel, "The Chase
", as well as the 2010 novel "The Spy" featured a 1905 Locomobile.
In Dashiell Hammett
's 1925 mystery story "Scorched Face", the rich girls that the Continental Op is looking for were driving a Locomobile "with a special cabriolet body" when they disappeared.
Papa LaBas from Ishmael Reed's 1972 novel Mumbo Jumbo drives a Locomobile.
Watertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
, but production was transferred to Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
during 1900 where it remained until the company's demise in 1929. The company manufactured affordable, small steam car
Steam car
A steam car is a light car powered by a steam engine.Steam locomotives, steam engines capable of propelling themselves along either road or rails, developed around one hundred years earlier than internal combustion engine cars although their weight restricted them to agricultural and heavy haulage...
s until 1903, then production switched entirely to internal combustion
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
-powered luxury automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s. Locomobile was taken over in 1922 by Durant Motors
Durant Motors
Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors CEO William "Billy" Durant following his termination by the GM board of directors and the New York bankers that financed GM.-Corporate relationships:...
and went out of business in 1929. The cars were always sold under the brand name Locomobile.
History
The Locomobile Company of America was founded in 1899, the name coined from locomotiveLocomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
and automobile. John B. Walker
John Brisben Walker
John Brisben Walker was a United States magazine publisher and automobile entrepreneur, in later years a resident of Jefferson County, Colorado.-Biography:...
, editor
Editor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
and publisher of the Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
bought the plans for an early steam-powered vehicle produced by Francis
Francis Edgar Stanley
Francis Edgar Stanley was an American businessman and was the co-founder, along with his twin brother Freelan Oscar Stanley, of the Stanley Motor Carriage Company which built the Stanley Steamer.-Biography:...
and Freelan Stanley for a price they could not resist: US$250000 (with all of one car built, but 199 more ordered), promptly selling half to paving contractor Amzi L. Barber. Their partnership lasted just a fortnight; Walker went on to found Mobile Company of America
Mobile Company of America
The Mobile Company of America was a U.S. steam automobile manufacturer founded in 1899 by John B. Walker after a fallout with businessman Amzi L. Barber, whose financing had earlier allowed Walker to purchase the now well-known Stanley Steamer concern...
at the Stanley works in Tarrytown
Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, while Barber moved house to Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, as Locomobile, the Stanley twins named General Managers. The Stanley twins founded the Stanley Motor Carriage Company in 1902, becoming the sharpest rival to Locomobile.
Locomobile began by producing steam cars. The steam Locomobiles were unreliable, finicky to operate, prone to paraffin
Paraffin
In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
fires, had small water tanks (getting only 20 mi {32 km} per tank), and took time to raise steam; Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
described one example as a "nickle-plated fraud". Nevertheless, they were a curiosity and middle class Americans clamoured for the latest technology. Salesmen, doctors and people needing quick mobility found them useful. Over four thousand were built between 1899 and 1902 alone. Most had simple twin-cylinder
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
engines (3x4", 76.2x102mm; 57ci, 927cc) and a wire wrapped 500 psi flash boiler
Flash boiler
A flash boiler is a type of water-tube boiler, whose tubes are strong and close together with water pumped through the tubes. The tubes are kept very hot so the water feed is quickly flashed into steam and superheated...
burning naphtha
Naphtha
Naphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons, i.e., a component of natural gas condensate or a distillation product from petroleum, coal tar or peat boiling in a certain range and containing certain hydrocarbons. It is a broad term covering among the...
. Typical of the product was the 1904 Runabout
Runabout (car)
Runabouts were a popular car body style at the beginning of the 20th Century. They were small, inexpensive, open cars. Most runabouts had just a single row of seats, providing seating for two passengers. Many also had a tonneau at the rear to provide optional seating for four or five...
, which seated two passengers and sold for US$850. The two-cylinder steam engine was situated amidships of the wood-framed car.
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
, Locomobile did establish a new mark of sorts, becoming the first ever automobile to be used in war; it was a generator and searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
tractor and catering vehicle, with the useful ability (in British eyes, at least) of being able to brew a cup of tea by tapping the boiler.
This was, unfortunately, not a sure way to guarantee commercial success, even in Britain, and Locomobile started experimenting with gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
internal combustion engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
s in 1902, starting with a four-cylinder steel-chassis model designed by A. J. Riker. This encouraged the firm to drop steam vehicles the following year, selling the Stanley brothers back their rights for US$20000.
Switch to internal combustion engines
The 1904 internal combustion Locomobile Touring CarTouring car
A touring car, or tourer, is an open car seating five or more. Touring cars may have two or four doors. Often, the belt line is lowered in the front doors to give the car a more sportive character. They were often fitted with a folding roof and side curtains. Engines on early models were either in...
had a tonneau
Tonneau
right|thumb|260px|1903 [[Ford Model A |Ford Model A]] rear-door TonneauTonneau cover , describes a hard or soft cover used to protect unoccupied passenger seats in a convertible, roadster, or for a pickup truck bed. Hard tonneau covers open by a hinging or folding mechanism while soft covers open...
, space for five passengers, and sold for US$4500, quite a change from the low-priced steam buggies. The front-mounted vertical water-cooled 'straight-4
Straight-4
The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
' engine produced 16 hp (11.9 kW). A 3-speed sliding transmission was fitted, as on the Système Panhard cars it competed with. The angle steel-framed car weighed 2200 lb (998 kg).
Like other early marques, Locomobile entered motor racing, contesting the 1905 Gordon Bennett Cup
Gordon Bennett Cup
There were three Gordon Bennett Cups, all established by James Gordon Bennett, Jr.*Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing*Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning — for a time, a separate cup was also awarded for powered air racing...
with a 17.7 liter (1080ci) racer; after suffering a transmission gear failure, and with no spare available, driver Joe Tracy
Joe Tracy
Joe Tracy was a racing driver born in Waterford, Ireland who emigrated to the United States at age 19 and became an American citizen...
only managed two circuits of Auvergne before the transmission packed up entirely. Tracy did better for the company at the Vanderbilt Cup
Vanderbilt Cup
The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing.-History:An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held at a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. The announcement that the race was to be held caused...
, placing third. A 90 hp (67 kW) 16.2 liter (989ci) F-head was sabotaged by tire trouble, so Tracy failed again in the 1906 Vanderbilt, but in 1908, George Robertson (wearing #16) took the win in this car, ahead of fellow Locomobile pilot Joe Florida in third, becoming the first United States-built car to win in international competition. This would be the high water mark for Locomobile racing, and they soon faded from the scene, though Orin Davis did score a win in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
rally in 1913.
On the strength of this, Locomobile soon became known for well-built and speedy luxury cars. The 1908 Locomobile 40 Runabout was a 60 hp (44.7 kW) two-seater and sold for US$4750. (nearly $100,000 in 2006 dollars)
Model 48 and the Durant years
The most important model for the marque became the impressive Model 48. Introduced in 1919, it had a very conservative, perhaps dated, concept. It had a conventional but huge chassis with a wheelbase of 142 in. Its engine was a straight-six with side valves; cylinders were still cast in pairs and it featured a non-removable cylinder head. Displacement was 525 c.i., giving it a 48.6 H.P. tax rating by North American Chamber of Commerce (N.A.C.C.). Quality of materials and workmanship were impeccable and among the best in the world. Such was its pricing: A typical open-bodied cost about $10,000 when the average Model T Ford Phaeton cost about $300.In 1922 Locomobile was acquired by Durant Motors
Durant Motors
Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors CEO William "Billy" Durant following his termination by the GM board of directors and the New York bankers that financed GM.-Corporate relationships:...
, which not only continued using the Locomobile brand name for their top-of-the-line autos until 1929 but still produced the Model 48 until the demise in 1929. Until the mid-twenties, this car was Locomobile's only offering. In 1925, the marque brought out their first new model, the 8-66 Junior Eight, with a more contemporary straight-eight cylinder engine - and, above all, more modestly priced at $1,785.
1926 saw the introduction of an even smaller Junior Six, but this car stayed only for one model year. The larger model 90 that appeared in the same year was produced until 1929.
With the 8-70, Locomobile added one more eight-cylinder car. In the following year, the Junior Eight 8-66 was phased out.
For 1929, a new 8-86 and 8-88 came out but it was too late so save the company. Locomobile died when its parent company, Durant Motors, failed. Production of the volume cars Durant and Rugby lasted until 1933 but that did not help Locomobile.
Locomobiles in fiction
A Locomobile is the setting for one of the final scenes of F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel, This Side of ParadiseThis Side of Paradise
This Side of Paradise is the debut novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Published in 1920, and taking its title from a line of the Rupert Brooke poem Tiare Tahiti, the book examines the lives and morality of post-World War I youth. Its protagonist, Amory Blaine, is an attractive Princeton University...
, in which the protagonist, Amory Blaine, argues for socialism to the father of a college friend, who staunchly defends the capitalist ideal.
In Thomas Savage's 1967 novel "The Power of the Dog", set in the 1920s, the Locomobile is estimated by protagonist Peter Johnson higher than the Pierce-Arrow: "...Those were the vehicles of the high and mighty, and he knew that only the Locomobile (fancied by old General Pershing, among others) rivaled the Pierce"
Clive Cussler
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
's 2007 novel, "The Chase
The Chase (Clive Cussler)
The Chase is a western novel by author Clive Cussler in November 2007.-Blurb:April 1950: The rusting hulk of a steam locomotive rises from the deep waters of a Montana lake. Inside is all that remains of three men who died forty-four years before. But it is not the engine or its grisly contents...
", as well as the 2010 novel "The Spy" featured a 1905 Locomobile.
In Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...
's 1925 mystery story "Scorched Face", the rich girls that the Continental Op is looking for were driving a Locomobile "with a special cabriolet body" when they disappeared.
Papa LaBas from Ishmael Reed's 1972 novel Mumbo Jumbo drives a Locomobile.
Further reading
- Ball, Donald L. The Genealogy of the Locomobile Steam Carriage, 1899-1904, 1994
External links
- Old 16 Locomobile (VanderbiltCupRaces.com)
- 1906 Locomobile The story of the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup win
- Locomobile Catalog on DurantCars site 1920s Locomobiles
- Locomobile items on Henry Ford Museum site
- Locomobile Society Home Page
- Locomobile Advertising View the old locomobile ads
- 1923 Locomobile Model 48 Sportif in the 'Hemmings' magazine