Identical twin brothers Freelan Oscar and Francis Edgar Stanley 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 by the Stanley brothers. The brothers were appointed as General Managers. To aid in the acquisition, Walker took Amzi Lorenzo Barber as a 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.

The partnership between Walker and Barber did not last long, and soon the men parted company. Both men went on to establish separate car companies. Barber kept the Locomobile name and moved operations to Massachusetts. He purchased numerous plant sites before finally settling on a plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Production began in early 1901. A year later, over 4,000 Locomobile steam-powered cars were delivered. Part of the popularity was due to a Locomobile steam-powered racer driven by S.T. Davis Jr. a distance of one mile in just fifteen seconds. Davis Jr. was Barber's son-in-law who had joined the Locomobile company in 1900 as its treasurer. He later became a founder and president of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

In 1903, Davis Jr. took over the company as president, and under his care, the company's reputation flourished and given national recognition. This was the same year that the company merged with the Overman Wheel Company. The Overman Wheel Company had been supplying Locomobile with parts and boilers.

It was not long before the Stanley brother's steam-powered car began gaining popularity and providing fierce competition for Locomobile. Locomobile decided to add internal combustion engines beginning in 1903 to their vehicles to diversify the products and increase sales. By 1905, the Locomobile Company no longer offered a steam-powered model and had switched completely to gasoline power.

Locomobile's powerplant was designed by Andrew Lawrence Riker, and it would quickly gain a reputation for its durability and power. It was initially a twin-cylinder unit but soon was made into a four-cylinder version featuring automatic inlet valves. As 1905 came into sight, only the T-head four-cylinder models remained.

Motorsports

Locomobile's success in motorsports led them to claim their product was 'Easily the Best Built Car in America.' This claim was backed up by winning America its first victory in a major international race, making Locomobile the first American racing car to triumph over European competition. In 1908 a Locomobile wearing number 16 and driven by racer George Robertson won the grueling Vanderbilt Cup. From that day forward, the racer became known as 'Old 16' and instantly became a racing legend.

'Old 16' was one of two Locomobiles built specifically for motorsport competition. In 1909, George Robertson drove 'Old 16' in the Cobe Trophy AAA Indy Car Race on the Crown Point, IN street circuit. He started ninth and led three laps to finish on the podium. This would be the final race for the Bridgeport-based manufacturer as rule changes brought an end to racing for Locomobile.

The other Model I was chassis number 9, known as the 'Cobe Cup Racecar.' It shared its 40 horsepower four-cylinder engine and dimensions with its 'Old 16' sibling, and together they reinforced Locomobile's reputation as 'the best-built car in America.'

by Dan Vaughan

Old 16, America's First International Champion

Chassis number: 1619

The inaugural Vanderbilt Cup took place in Nassau County in 1904 and was America's first hosting of an international automobile racing event.

This car was the first American automobile to win an international auto race. Built by the Locomobile Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, it was the fastest car in the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup race, but eleven tire failures kept it from placing. The Vanderbilt was not run in 1907, but in 1908 Old 16 won the Cup, becoming the first American car to do so.

The Vanderbilt Cup was America's first great international auto race. Run over the public roads on Long Island, the early races were dominated by European cars. By beating the Europeans in racing, this car demonstrated that America would be a player in the new technology of automobiles.

This 1906 Locomobile, known throughout the car world as 'Old 16,' is celebrating an important 100th anniversary in 2008. There, this Locomobile, driven by 23-year-old New Yorker George Robertson and sporting the number 16, won the prestigious 1908 Vanderbilt Cup race on Long Island, New York. This race car initially cost an extravagant $20,000 at a time when a decent-sized house could be had for about $1,500. Now in the care of the Henry Ford Museum, Old 16 is still in running condition and is entirely original.

The F-head engine had overhead intake valves, a displacement size of 1,200 cubic inches (a bore of and stroke of 7.75 inches), and produced approximately 120 horsepower.

Old 16 has never been restored, has always been maintained in running condition, and is on display daily in The Henry Ford Museum.