Western Tool Works (automobile company)
Encyclopedia
Western Tool Works was a pioneering brass era 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...

 manufacturer in Galesburg, Illinois
Galesburg, Illinois
Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County....

.

Western in 1905 produced the Gale Model A, an open roadster, for sale at US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

500, which was less than high-volume Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...

 Runabout
Oldsmobile Curved Dash
The gasoline powered Curved Dash Oldsmobile is credited as being the first mass-produced automobile, meaning that it was built on an assembly line using interchangeable parts. It was introduced by the Oldsmobile company in 1901 and produced through 1907...

, at US$650, the Ford "Doctor's Car" at US$850, or the Holsman
Holsman Automobile Company
The Holsman Automobile Company was an early United States automobile manufacturer Chicago, Illinois between 1901 and 1910. Founded by Henry K. Holsman, the company produced a high wheeler automobile until production ceased.-Display Models:...

 high wheeler
High Wheeler
The high wheeler was an early car body style virtually unique to the United States.It is typified by large-diameter slender wheels, frequently with solid tires, to provide ample ground clearance on the primitive roads in much of the country at the turn of the 20th century...

, but above the Black
Black Motor Company
The Black was a brass era United States automobile, built at 124 East Ohio Street, Chicago, Illinois, in 1906.It was a high wheeler buggy priced at a surprisingly low US$375-$450, when Gale's Model A was US$500, the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout went for US$650, and the Ford "Doctor's Car" was...

, as low as $375, and well above the Success
Success Automobile Manufacturing Company
Success was a brass era United States automobile, built at 532 De Ballviere Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1906.It was a high wheeler buggy priced at an exceedingly low US$250...

' amazingly low US$250.

It came standard with a 5×6-inch (127×152mm) water-cooled engine (mounted beneath the tilting body), chain drive
Chain drive
Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another. It is often used to convey power to the wheels of a vehicle, particularly bicycles and motorcycles...

, 34 in (86 cm) elliptic springs, 28×3-inch (71×7.6-cm) spoke wheels with tube tires, and repair kit.

The same year, Western offered the US$650 Gale Model B. It also used the standard 5×6-inch (127×152 mm) water-cooled engine, chain drive, 34 in (86 cm) elliptic springs, 28×3-inch (71×7.6-cm) spoke wheels and tube tires, and repair kit. It offered available leather buggy
Buggy (automobile)
-See also:* Dune buggy* Swamp buggy* Moon buggy* Rock buggy* Buggy body...

 top, clincher tires, horn, and brass headlights.

Also in 1907, Western offered the 26 hp (19 kW) Gale Model K-7 phaeton
Phaeton body
A Phaeton is a style of open car or carriage without proper weather protection for passengers. Use of this name for automobiles was limited to North America or its products....

 at US$1250.

Sources

  • Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950).

See also

  • List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers
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