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Weekly News February 24, 2014Description
(Repeat from 2010) Notable People on the 1957 Glidden Tour: I took part in 12 Glidden Tour revivals from 1947 through 1984, the first 11 in Stanley cars from our collection (in 1984, I drove our 1937 Packard to French Lick, Indiana, and return). I drove the Model 76 four times, the 71 and the 607 twice each, and the 78, 87, and 735 just once. My father went on seven of these tours (1947 through 1953) and used the 87 three times, the 735 twice (he and I shared this car in 1953), and the Mountain Wagon twice. All these trips were memorable, we drove the cars over the road as we had no trailers, and the tour in 1957 was a highlight.
The tour began in Roanoke, Virginia, and Bob Way (my third cousin and the owner of a 1919 Model 735) and I drove from home in the Model 76 to Luray, Virginia, over 200 miles the first day and on to Roanoke on the second. On the first official day of the tour, we were headed for Charlottesville, via Natural Bridge and Waynesboro, our luncheon stop. As we approached Waynesboro, I looked in the rearview mirror, and just behind was Locomobile #16, with its owner, Peter Helck, and a friend at the controls. For those who don’t know, this is perhaps the most famous antique racing car in the world, in which Barney Oldfield won many races. Helck was a well-known artist who depicted in great detail many of these early auto races. That afternoon, we visited Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, with the Glidden Tour cars climbing the mountain by the old driveway used in Jefferson’s time. Arriving at the historic site, I needed water for the Stanley and asked a groundskeeper if there was a spigot nearby. He told me to pull onto the front lawn of Monticello, where numerous connections for attaching a garden hose existed. This worked out well, but seeing the Stanley on the front lawn, everyone on the tour wanted to be photographed there, and the yard was soon full of Glidden Tour cars. Today, it’s not possible to drive within ½ mile of Monticello itself.
The next day we went to Williamsburg, via Richmond, where I dropped off Bob Way, as he had to return home by train. On the last stretch, it was a very hot afternoon, and as I stopped for water, an exhausted man and his wife pulled in with their 1906 Jenis boiling over. This was an impressive car with a lot of brass, and it happened that its owners were in the room next to me at the Williamsburg Motor Lodge for the next two days. I invited them to ride to an outdoor picnic in the Model 76, and the husband was somewhat impressed. It turned out this was Carl S. Amsley (1921-1998), who, within a couple of years, was in the business of restoring and building Stanleys in a big way. While we were in Williamsburg, Queen Elizabeth II was in town to help celebrate the 350th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown. She spoke in front of the Wren Building at the College of William and Mary, and most on the tour went to see and hear her. I did not. However, I recall riding with Curtis L. Blake (co-founder of Friendly’s Ice Cream) in his newly restored 1920 Pierce Arrow.
At Mount Vernon, I took on water at the rear entrance to the grounds, and the next day in the rain on the final leg to Hershey, Pennsylvania, I came up behind a most unusual vehicle traveling about 30 m.p.h. It was a huge machine and had a rear platform like an old-fashioned railroad observation car. Sitting on this platform and bouncing up and down on the overhang was its owner, James Melton, well-known tenor of the Metropolitan Opera, Hollywood, and the radio, probably the most famous collector of old cars in the mid-twentieth century. The “car” was an oversized Winton of about 1918, built especially for Sam Pennypacker when he was running for Governor of Pennsylvania. We ended the tour at Hershey and had to clean up our cars that night for displaying them at the annual Fall Meet of AACA the next day. A fun tour!
Work Report: On Tuesday, February 18, 12 volunteers plus five more attended the work session and the Events Committee meeting. (Steve Bryce and Jerry Novak attended both.) At the Work Session were Jerry Novak (in charge), Steve Bryce, Ted Kamen, Bob Jordan, Jerry Lucas, Dave Leon, Tim Nolan, Gerhard Maute, Eugene Maute, Ken Ricketts, Mac Taylor, and Tom Marshall.
Scenery is being added and improved on the Lionel trains layout. Rock wool insulation was packed into the boiler ring for the Model 740, after the ring had been straightened and reinforced. New hoses were found for this car’s water tank, and one was installed after the tank had been fastened in place under the car. With the new hole and cover completed to accommodate the absorbent “sock,” this project is nearly finished.
The new closet partition at one end of the garage was primed. Sorting and filing work continued in the office library. At the Events Committee, the following attended: Anne Cleary (chair), Ryan Cleary, Brent McDougall, Art Sybell, Richard Bernard, and Dan Citron.
On Thursday, February 20, seven volunteers were on hand, plus another 15 or so who attended the FAHP Board Meeting upstairs. The mechanical volunteers were Tim Ward (in charge), Bob Stransky, Dave Leon, Bob Jordan, Ted Kamen, Jim Personti, and Geoff Fallows.
The #2 set of driving wheels from Locomotive 402 were turned in the big lathe, and it appears this procedure will be successful, as the overall diameter was reduced very little. New cutting tools will be required to finish the job of turning the four sets, all to the exact same size. These tools have been ordered. Cleaning the old finish on our Model 750 continued with work on fenders and splash aprons on the driver’s side of the car.
The boiler ring having been installed under the Model 740’s boiler, an attempt was made to hook up the superheater fittings. To accomplish this, it became necessary to unhook and drop this ring in order to turn the superheater 180 degrees, after which the connections fit together correctly. A hose of a different size is still needed to make the final water connection to the tank Next week, the burner should be fastened in place.
Painting in the garage continued, as well as touch-up on the rim of the left rear Mountain Wagon wheel. Some of this work is done outside the hours of the work sessions.
