Tag: locomobile

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Another Idea for a Two-Engine Automobile

The sheer number of ingenious Americans that eagerly dove into developing and improving automobiles around the turn of the century is nothing short of amazing. The following article about one of those men, Henry K. Hess, appeared in a 1902 newspaper.

A search of the patent database indicates that Hess was a prolific inventor and holder of many patents. From 1901 to 1905, he was granted several related to steam-powered automobiles. These patents include ideas for both the overall design of the system and improvements to pieces of it such as the means for producing combustion, the distribution of fuel in the combustion chamber, and the maintaining of a uniform degree of steam pressure.

1902 advertisement for Locomobile steam cars

The technology for steam engines, and even steam-propelled road vehicles, had been around for centuries, and a number of steam-powered cars were developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many of them used kerosene for fuel, but, like Hess’s charcoal version, other types of fuel were experimented with. There were barriers to be overcome with steam, however: The engines were heavy and slow to start, the fuel was bulky, hot ashes needed to be removed, and the engines needed to be supplied with water in addition to fuel.

Gasoline-powered internal combustion engines also had problems. They had to be started with hand cranks, and many serious injuries were caused by the cranks kicking back during the perilous process. People were also concerned about the dangers and cost of gasoline as seen in the following letter inquiring about the Hess Charcoal Burner that appeared in a 1903 issue of Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal. The publication’s answer appears underneath the letter.

Henry K. Hess also wrote a letter in response:

Hess obtained another very interesting patent in 1909 for the design of a self-propelled vehicle that featured two motors. Unlike the Carter Two-Engine Car which was patented in 1907 and focused mostly on reliability, Hess’s main focus was on efficiency. His idea was to incorporate both an internal combustion engine and a steam engine, operating both with the same fuel required for the operation of the gas motor by using the heat of the exploded gases to generate steam to power the steam engine:

“It is well known that the temperature of these exploded gases reaches a very high degree, far in excess of that produced by any open flame burner, and that in many self-propelled vehicles in which gas or vapor engines are used as the motive power apparatus, the highly heated products of combustion are allowed to escape into the atmosphere, thereby losing a considerable power which I have sought to utilize to generate steam for the operation of a steam engine in conjunction with a gas engine.“

According to the patent, both engines could be employed either individually or jointly in the propulsion of the vehicle.

“Another distinguishing feature of my present device is the clutch mechanism of the transmission gear, whereby I am enabled to throw either or both engines into and out of operative connection with the running gear of the vehicle so that the vehicle may be propelled by either the steam engine or gas engine alone, or both may be combined to transmit power to a single shaft which makes it possible to use this combination in the propulsion of boats as well as wheel vehicles.“

These are the drawings included with Hess’s patent:

In addition to operating two engines with the same amount of fuel required for one, Hess pointed out other advantages to his design such as eliminating the open flame commonly used with steam and obviating the need for exhaust mufflers. Unfortunately for Hess, steam mostly fell by the wayside with the invention of the electric start for the internal combustion engine and the production of Henry Ford’s affordable and plentiful Model T. A search of old newspapers indicates that Hess may have gone on to become a building contractor in Syracuse. It does not appear that he ever found success in the automobile industry, and that is a shame because he had so many innovative ideas.

1922 Ford Model T Coupe
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The Locomobile and General Pershing

According to a 1918 story in the New York Herald, Locomobile developed this model for the use of General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, and his staff, in Europe where Pershing was serving as the commander of the American forces during World War I.

According to the story, after observing British commanders using Rolls Royces and French commanders using Renaults, General Pershing requested a vehicle from Locomobile which would be representative of America and be able to meet the physical challenges of being driven 200-300 miles per day over war-torn roads at high speeds.   Locomobile first shipped two of these automobiles and they were used simultaneously, one following the other, so that the General could change cars without losing any time in the event of a blown tire.

The Locomobiles successfully met the challenges, and then more units were supplied for the use of the General Staff.  The automobile company wasted no time including this information in their advertising:

You can’t blame Locomobile for being proud of its association with General Pershing, a great general as well as a good and decent man.  He still holds the distinction of being the only active-duty six-star general in American history.  For more information on this man, I highly recommend a documentary created by University of Nebraska professor Barney McCoy called “Black Jack Pershing:  Love and War,” which is available on Amazon Prime.  If it doesn’t make you shed a tear, you better check your pulse.

 

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Daredevil Joe Tracy

While reading up on some old race history, I kept seeing the name “Joe Tracy”.  Since we share a last name, I was intrigued and had to know more.  The Joe Tracy whose name is written in the annals of race history is this man:

He was born in Ireland in 1873 and eventually immigrated to the United States and became a citizen.  He is best known for racing Locomobiles in the Vanderbilt Cup Races and, according to the Vanderbilt Cup Races website, is the only driver  to compete in the first five Vanderbilt Cup Races.  Many contemporary sources describe his temperament as being quiet, thoughtful and steady.  He was said to use good judgment and to be extremely knowledgeable.  On the race track, however, he earned the nickname “Daredevil” Joe Tracy.  A 1906 Chicago newspaper called him “America’s Greatest Race Car Driver,” explaining that he was without peer as an expert and the equal of any foreigner as a driver.  This was high praise at the time as Europe was far ahead of America in car building and racing.

The Vanderbilt Cup Races were held on Long Island from 1904 to 1910.  In the 1905 race, Tracy drove a 90-hp Locomobile to a third place finish.  He drove 283 miles in four hours, 58 minutes and 26 seconds.  His average lap speed was 56.90 mph and his fastest lap speed was 61.38 mph. The day before the race the cylinders of his Locomobile had cracked, and Tracy stayed up most the night replacing them.  There was no time to try them out before the race, but they did work, and Tracy didn’t have to stop at all during the race except for gasoline.  He crossed the finish line behind two French drivers, proving that America could produce a race car that could hold its own against the Europeans.

The Locomobile was appropriately named for its likeness to a locomotive.  Here is a picture of Tracy in a Locomobile in 1906:

Locomobile was established in 1899 and was steam-powered in its first years of existence but had converted to gasoline by 1905.  They were well-made and expensive automobiles.  An ad from 1905 describes the Model H as follows: “35 horse power Magneto, make and brake ignition, double chain drive.  The finest car on the American market.”  They were fine automobiles and Locomobile priced them accordingly by asking $5,000 for the Model H and $3,000 for the cheaper Model E.  Locomobile celebrated the fact that they had created the first American automobile to threaten European racing supremacy:

Tracy’s next Vanderbilt Cup race was the Elimination Race in September of 1906.  That race consisted of ten laps around a 29.7 mile course with nine turns,  and Tracy completed the 297 miles in 5 hours, 27 minutes, 45 seconds.  He and the Locomobile he was driving won big, beating the nearest competitors by more than 20 minutes.

This picture of the Locomobile appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:

This great description of the car appeared in the Boston Globe:

These pictures of the car and driver appeared in the Los Angeles Times:

According to some sources, Tracy was told to slow down by the Locomobile’s owners (they communicated with hand signals).  Tracy disregarded these instructions, and the reason why may involve a certain young woman who had promised to marry him if he won the race.    A Pittsburgh Press article, “Sweetheart Fainted as Her Fearless Lover Safely Piloted Locomobile Across Finish Line,” included this quote from the young lady, a Miss Taylor:  “I am so very, very sorry, that I gave my consent for Joe to enter this race.  Every moment I expect to hear of some accident to him.  When he rushes by on two wheels hardly touching the ground, my heart stops beating . . . After I have seen how he is risking his life every minute, I will marry him whether he wins or loses.”  Of course he won, but they apparently never married.  A 1915 article titled, “The Danger of Adoring a Speed Hero” revealed that “Miss Taylor” was a name invented by Tracy to protect the female’s true identity.  She was actually Fannie Collins Coles, she had married a wealthy New York broker, and the paper reported that she had “offended her husband by continuing her girlhood devotion to the racer, “Daredevil” Tracy.  So much drama, and the public likely ate up every word.

Tracy was a favorite going into the Victory Cup race in October, but he lost too much time, at least 40 minutes, due to tire problems.  Numerous replacements were required and he ended up coming in a disappointing tenth.  On the one lap that his tires held, he did have the fastest lap speed at 26 minutes, 20 4/5 seconds.  He was also the only racer to pass every contestant in one lap.  If only he’d had decent tires!

Another feature of these early races was how reckless the crowd was, underestimating the danger at their own peril.   After Tracy crossed the finish line in the 1906 Elimination Race, the crowd flooded the course.  The second and third place finishers had to drive through the throng , and the remaining drivers were unable to finish at all.  During the Vanderbilt Cup race in October, one paper reported that 10,000 people formed a “solid segment” on both sides of the road at one of the turns on the course, the Jericho turn.  After a race car would pass, the crowd would push forward to the center of the road until police beat them back with nightsticks.  The same paper reported 20,000 spectators at Hairpin Turn where drivers were cruising along at 60 mph or better as they approached the turn.  The human alley was so small that the suction of the racing automobiles nearly sucked the skirts off some of the female spectators.  Tracy even stopped during the race to yell at Mr. Vanderbilt himself that people would die unless they were kept off the roads.  He was obviously correct because another paper reported that the cost of the race included three men dead, one woman dying, one boy mortally injured, two or three fractured skulls, several broken legs and dozens of serious injuries but added, “And yet race enthusiasts said that it was a very satisfactory and successful contest.”

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Tracy quit racing in 1906, but stayed involved with automobiles.  He joined Locomobile as a consulting engineer in 1906.  In 1908, he was hired as a consulting engineer for Diamond Rubber, a tire maker.  There he was put in charge of the racing department and it was the first time that a tire company had hired an expert driver.   In 1913, there was a story about Tracy moving his testing plant and laboratory to larger facilities due to increased demand for his services.  At the new place, six to eight motors could be tested simultaneously.

Unfortunately, Locomobile did not experience the same happy ending.  According to the Standard Catalog of American Cars, the company ran into financial trouble in 1919.  It became part of Hare’s Motors for a short time until it was purchased by William Durant of General Motors fame.  The stock market crash of 1929 severely hurt Durant and marked the end of the Locomobile.

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1914 Locomobile Roadster

Tracy lived to a ripe old age, not passing away until 1959 at the age of 86.   There is a great story about him in a 1946 issue of the Kingston Daily Freeman.  There was a celebration of “old-time” automobiles in June of that year at Mineola, New York.  A dirt track race was part of the festivities, and it was won by 74-year-old Joe Tracy driving the very same Locomobile from the 1906 race.  White-haired and wearing a long duster and goggles, Tracy beat a 1916 Stutz and a 1912 Mercer among others.  I guess he was still Daredevil Joe Tracy, and they likely never stood a chance.