1903 Stanley Model BX

The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was founded by twins Francis E. and Freelan O. Stanley after selling their photographic dry plate business to Eastman Kodak. They built their first car in 1897 and sold over 200 cars between 1898 and 1899, making them the highest producer of automobiles in the United States during that time. The Stanley brothers later sold the rights to their vehicle design to Locomobile, and in 1902 they formed their own Stanley Motor Carriage Company. Due to patent issues, the Stanley brothers developed a new model with twin-cylinder engines geared directly to the rear axle.

The early Stanley vehicles used a tubular steel frame with full-elliptic springs, lightweight wooden bodies, and powered by steam generated in a vertical fire-tube boiler. Initially, the vertical fire-tubes were made from copper, later replaced by welded steel fire-tubes. The boilers used safety valves, and if they failed, an over-pressure would rupture one of the joints long before the boiler shell could burst. Several layers of piano wire were wrapped around the boiler for reinforcement.

The boiler was mounted beneath the seat, with a vaporizing gasoline burner underneath. Later models had the steam boiler located at the front of the vehicle, and these are known as 'coffin nose' Stanleys.

Slight design changes were made to the body in 1903. By 1904 the Stanley's had adopted a naming scheme for its models, A, B, and C. The models were distinguished by the seat configurations. The Type 'B' had a solid panel driver's seat and an open front seat. The Model BX was also a runabout but with Spindle Seats.

by Dan Vaughan

Runabout

There were three recognized sources for power in the early days of the automobile; gasoline, electricity, and steam. Though steam took longer to produce 'real power,' there were a number of companies that thought it was the best.

The Stanley twins, Freelan and Francis, were early pioneers in steam technology. Less than 1,000 Stanley cars were produced during each production year. They made their first car in 1897 after selling their photographic business to Eastman Kodak.

Each Stanley features lightweight wooden bodies mounted on tubular steel frames. Steam was generated by a boiler mounted underneath the seat. Despite safety concerns raised by the obvious, these cars were actually quite safe. Eventually, the boiler was moved to the front of the car.

Stanleys weren't the most prolific of steam cars, but they were the most persistent and have become synonymous with the era of external combustion automobiles. The Stanley Motor Carriage Co. was established in 1902 by Francis and Freelan Stanley, twin brothers from Massachusetts, who made their mark - and fortune - in the photographic industry, an enterprise they eventually sold to Eastman Kodak. By the time they formalized their automotive operations, they'd already built a number of steamers, dating to 1897. Their early cars were elegant, simple in design, relatively lightweight, and surprisingly robust.

One of five known to exist, this 1903 runabout was propelled by a two-cylinder steam engine, sending power to the rear axle via a hefty drive chain. The system entailed only 30 moving parts. The boiler was heated by gasoline and other combustibles such as naphtha, and the runabout was capable of cruising around 25 mph. The operating range was about 40 miles, limited by the boiler's water supply. A water gauge told the owner when a refill was needed, and this 1903 model is the only known original still in working condition, according to its owner. Stanley achieved early fame with spectacular speed records - over 127 mph at Ormond Beach, Florida, in 1906 - but as gasoline engines became increasingly reliable, steam car popularity diminished correspondingly. The Stanley Motor Carriage Company became the Steam Vehicle Corp. of America in 1924, and the last steamers left the company's Newton, Massachusetts work in 1927.