1899 Locomobile Stanhope Style I Runabout

Identical twin brothers Freelan Oscar and Francis Edgar Stanely were one of the first motorcar producers in the United States and one of the more successful in steam-powered car production. Freelan Oscar and his wife are credited with being the first individuals to drive an automobile to the top of New Hampshire's Mount Washington on August 31st, 1899. Their Locomobile steam runabout took two hours and ten minutes to climb the slope, excepting the time required to refill the boiler with water. Their journey took about half the time required by a team of horses.

The Stanley brothers had created a successful business in manufacturing photographic plates. When the world was introduced to the motor car, the brothers began to tinker. By the autumn of 1897, they had produced their first motor car, with their automobile business opening in November 1898.

Their cars were shown at the Boston motor show in 1898, but prior to this, John Brisben Walker, publisher of Cosmopolitan magazine, acquired about buying the business. The brothers quickly stated a very high sum of $250,000, which was accepted, to much surprise of the Stanley brothers. The brothers were appointed as General Managers. To aid in the acquisition, Walker took Amzi Lorenzo Barber as partner in this venture. Barber had made a fortune paving America's cities and was known as 'The Asphalt King.' By June of 1899, deliveries of the Locomobiles had begun.

Almost as quickly as these acquisitions and alliances formed, they began to degrade. Quarrels between Walker and Barber broke out, which later led to Barber running the Locomobile production on his own, with the help of his son-in-law Samuel Davis. In the very early 1900s, they significantly changed the Stanley brother's design. By 1904, Barbed decided to leave Locomobile.

This vehicle is an 1899 Locomobile Steam Runabout that sits on a wheelbase that measures 66 inches and is powered by the 3.5 horsepower twin-cylinder double-acting steam engine and powers the rear wheels through a single chain drive. Its wheelbase is longer than that of a standard runabout. There are wooden artillery wheels wearing Lincoln Highway 28x3 tires. The original wheels measured 28x2.5.

The standard boiler size was 14 inches in diameter, this example has a 16-inch boiler. The engine is a 'Number 5' type which was introduced around 1901, after around 3,000 examples had been produced. This is chassis number 33, meaning it was treated to modifications after it left the factory, later in its life.

This vehicle was offered for sale at the Vintage Motor Cars sale at Hershey, PA, presented by RM Auctions. It was estimated to sell for $25,000 - $30,000 and offered without reserve. Bidding quickly surpassed the estimates, with the final bid settling at $71,500.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2007