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Weekly News July 31, 2017Description
Steam Car Tour at Quechee (Woodstock): Ten of our active volunteers with three Stanley cars plan to attend the Eastern Steam Car Tour in Vermont next week. This will be the first steam car tour with headquarters there since 2000, but in the 40 years before that, there were a lot of them. It is a wonderful place for a tour, and I was privileged to have a steamer there 11 times, seven of which were driven over the road from Auburn Heights.
One of two good reasons why Woodstock hosted early steam car tours was that local attorney Paul A. Bourdon (1913-2001) lived there. He was known as an early collector of Stanley cars, owning his first in 1930 at the age of 17 and driving another, along with his new bride and another couple from their home to the New York World’s Fair and return in 1939. The other reason was that Frank H. Gardner (1920-2004), another Stanley operator, fell in love with the area in the late 1950s, bought property there, and spent many happy summers steaming around the countryside. His widow, Eloise, still spends her summers at Sky Farm, about 8 miles southeast of Woodstock, and their daughter, Nancy Powlison, has been a long-time member of FAHP. Don Bourdon, the 2017 tour chairman, is Paul’s younger son.
The Glidden Tour of 1954 stopped there, and I attended two Brass and Gas Tours sponsored by the Veteran Motor Car Club of America (1970 and 1973). In 1981 I drove our Model 607 to Woodstock and left it in Frank Gardner’s garage following the first trip to Kingfield, Maine. In 1985, a double-hub tour was held between Quechee and Shelburne, and in 1991 Don Bourdon and Brent Campbell ran a 12-day circle tour of northern New England that started and ended at Quechee. In 1962, 1976, 1980, 1992, and 2000, I attended strictly steam car tours there, and I missed at least two of them (1968 and 1972). Before the old Woodstock Inn was demolished in 1969, that was always the headquarters, then it was the Shire Motel in Woodstock several times (with the New England Inn and other motels for overflow), before it was moved to Quechee in the late 1980s. Only one of our several Stanleys participating in tours at Woodstock/Quechee is no longer in the collection, it being a 1912 Model 88 Mountain Wagon now owned by Allen Blazick.
The 2017 tour book, prepared by Kathryn May, will feature five exciting days of touring. From past experience, here are some of the things participants can expect (not that all can be included on one tour): Typical small Vermont villages with greens, country churches, and inviting inns. A floating bridge at Barnard. A country home at Orford (NH), with its spacious lawn sloping toward the Connecticut River. A fine early New England inn at Grafton. Newfane, county seat of Windham County, with its small inns facing the Green, which 30 years ago had only two lawyers in town. Weston, with its world-famous Vermont Country Store. Plymouth, birthplace and boyhood home of Calvin Coolidge. Hanover (NH) and Dartmouth College. Simon Pierce glass-blowing factory, showrooms, and restaurant at Quechee. Windsor, the first capital of Vermont, with its American Precision Museum and the longest covered bridge over the Connecticut River. Laurance Rockefeller’s home and gardens, now a tiny National Park. The Bourdon home and shops, where Don builds boilers, restores cars, and turns out mega gallons of maple syrup each year. Who can ask for anything more?
Advance thanks to Don Bourdon and his step daughter and to Mike and Kathryn May for co-chairing this exciting tour which will bring so much pleasure to well over 40 steam cars and their occupants.
Work Report: On Tuesday, July 25, nine volunteers turned out, as follows: Mark Russell (in charge), Mark Bodenstab, Steve Bryce, Anne K. H. Cleary, Bob Jordan, Ted Kamen, Bob Koury, Dave Leon, and Brent McDougall.
The newly painted wheels for the Model 607 were brought from the body shop. The museum and A.V.R.R. train shed were cleaned from the heavy rainfall Sunday night, and the drains through the wall from the parking lot were opened. The track was cleared of debris and checked over in anticipation of Thursday’s upcoming run for a field trip. Drywall work continued in the shop.
A wooden trim piece on the rear of the Model 87 was refit and attached. Some slightly leaking fittings were repaired on the Model 76. In anticipation of the Auburn Heights Invitational car show in September, the display stands were counted and evaluated. There are 24 complete and three more that require concrete bases. One bag of concrete and some black paint will make all ready for use.
On Wednesday, July 26, four volunteers turned out: Jerry Lucas (in charge), Steve Bryce, Tom Marshall, and Gary Fitch.
From the Model 76, the throttle was removed, lapped in, and re-installed. It now appears to be tight. The chain on the filler cap for the water tank was re-attached. The boiler was filled on the Model 87. For the Model 607, the tires and lock rings were retrieved, and the rings were sanded and primed. Installation of the correct hub bolts was begun. The brake drums were sanded and painted with high-temperature flat black. The speedometer gear was mounted on the right front wheel.
On Thursday, July 27, 11 volunteers attended, as follows: Bob Stransky (in charge), Kelly Williams, Tim Ward, Jim Personti, Tom Marshall, Geoff Fallows, Lou Mandich, Ted Kamen, Bob Jordan, Devon Hall, and Steve Bryce.
On the Mountain Wagon, the speedometer issue was addressed, and a new cable was decided upon, replacing the old chain-type. New ends need to be fabricated, which was begun. Organization of supplies for the upcoming steam car tour in Vermont was started. In checking over the Model 71 for that tour, the vaporizer cable was “lost and stuck” inside the vaporizer, and attempted removal was not successful.
The hood of the Model 725 was removed and brought to the shop, and the trim was touched up in preparation for pin-striping. The brake drums for the 607 were fastened onto the wheels, and the remainder of the hub bolts were installed and tightened. The felloe clips were also attached. The Model T Ford was checked over for its use on August 6, and brief operating reviews were given by Lou Mandich to Devon Hall and Bob Stransky. The ’37 Packard was cleaned and a foot rest for the back seat was located. Unfortunately, this is not the correct rest for this car.
Mark Dugan, a pin striper, came Friday morning and finished striping the hood for the Model 725 and minor striping on the Cretors popper. He will come back on August 1 to work on the Model 607’s wheels. The Model 76 was fired up, and the throttle’s leak is corrected; the boiler siphoned full after blow-down.
On Saturday, July 29, seven volunteers were on hand, with six of them preparing for the upcoming steam car tour. Dan Citron, who is not going on the tour, fired up the Mountain Wagon and had a brief driving lesson, as he will be operating it on Sunday, August 6 for our “Steamin’ Day.” Tim Ward, Steve Bryce, John, Robert, and Mark Hopkins, and Tom Marshall worked on the Models 71, 76, and 725, the three cars going to Vermont.
The 725 was gone over thoroughly and the newly striped hood was re-installed. Final adjustments were made to the Model 76. More tour supplies were assembled. The big project was getting the cable out of the vaporizer on the Model 71. Neither end protruded, but it could be moved about one foot inside the vaporizer by forcing another cable against each end. The car was fired up (the vaporizer was not choked), and finally one end emerged so the cable could be pulled out. After the vaporizer was cleaned by running a larger cable back and forth, a new cable about 6 feet long was made and inserted in the front (hot) end. On Sunday, with Kelly Williams also on hand, everything was “buttoned up,” and the car was fired up and driven successfully. Steve Jensen brought his Model 62 for display in the museum while three of our regular cars are on the tour.
On Tuesday, August 1, the work session will be abbreviated as the Evening at the Museum series of lectures takes place, this time featuring the Mitchell family and its success with the manufacture of Woodside Farm ice cream. On Thursday night or Friday, the three Stanleys going to the Vermont tour will be loaded in our trailers for departure early Saturday morning.
