1910 Pullman Model O Raceabout

The Pullman motor car was introduced in 1905. The following year its manufacturer, the York Motor Company of York, Pennsylvania, offered four models priced from $1,850 to $2,500.

In 1906, Colonel Samuel Baily purchased the Pullman Carriage Works. The following year he converted the plant to Automobile Manufacturing. Although he never drove an automobile himself (for fear they would catch on fire and explode), he demanded his car be, 'as powerful and reliable as a Pierce Arrow.' He proved this in 1908 when he hired a crew to drive a Pullman from the factory in York, PA, to San Francisco and back. They succeeded in just over one month.

After having financial problems, the company worked to find additional capital. Two New York financiers, Thomas O'Connor and Oscar Stevenson, responded. Although they provided the company with an injection of capital, they did not get along with company president Samuel Baily or general manager James Kline. Kline left, and soon Baily followed, forming a new company in York that would build the Kline Kar.

O'Connor and Stevenson then reorganized the York Motor Car Company into the Pullman Motor Car Company. A Pullman car had a win in the 1910 Fairmount Park Race in Philadelphia and three gold medals at the 1911 Russian Exposition at Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia. Even with their successes, they were still in need of additional capital. This time a syndicate of local businessmen headed by John Schmidt, arrived late in 1915. Engineer E.T. Birdsall was enlisted from White in Cleveland to design a lower-priced line. This was too little too late, and by December 1916, the company entered bankruptcy.

This car was purchased by Fred Rosenmiller from Thomas Zedlovich in Flushing, New York. Prior owners included a gentleman in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and Messrs. Clyde Kleindinst and Gerald Bury, both of whom tried their hand at restoration but never finished.

Over an 11-year prior, this car was given a restoration with the final three years being overseen by Jeff Hammers at his Penn-Dutch Restoration Services in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania. The work was completed in 1992. It then went on to win an AACA First Place Junior Award in May of 1992 in Newark, Delaware. The following year, it earned Senior status.

The current owner's father purchased it from Mr. Rosenmiller.

The car is finished in medium yellow paint with black pin-striping. The upholstery is brown buttoned leather. It has brass headlamps, side lamps, and a center-mounted spotlight on the cowl. Inside, the instrumentation consists of a Stewart 60 mph speedometer, a clock, and a radiator-mounted MotoMeter. A monocle windscreen is mounted to the steering column, and a Boa Constrictor bulb horn is fitted on the driver's side fender.

Currently, there are only 23 known surviving Pullman cars. There is only one example of the Model O.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2016