1900 Skene Steam

The early years of automobile production and evolution saw many companies come-and-go throughout the United States and the world. It was the dawn of a new era and companies were quickly trying to adapt, innovate, and produce a product that could attract buyers. The J.W. Skene Cycle Company of Lewiston, Maine was one such company. It was founded by James W. Skene who completed one steam carriage in 1900, with two additional examples being worked on. Around this time, the R.H.B. Warburton of Springfield, Massachusetts offered their assistance to help Skene organize, with a capital stock of $500,000. The company headquarters were in Springfield while the factory remained in Maine.

The Skene Steam buggy had a 5 horsepower double-acting two-cylinder engine with a boiler that had a working pressure of 160 pounds. The gasoline tank could carry five gallons of fuel, and the tank for water could provide transportation for 25 miles. The company claimed the car could achieve 30 mph.

To help promote its product, the company planned to display its Skene Steam models at the Philadelphia Automobile Show. Unfortunately, a problem with the railroad system meant that only one Skene model was on display, while four other Skene vehicles were absent. The Skene space at the auto show was very bare.

Money soon ran out and the company entered receivership. Skene subsequently became a Rambler dealer. In 1936, he lost his life in an accident in the garage he then owned in Augusta.

by Dan Vaughan

Spindle Back Runabout

The J.W. Skene Cycle Company in Lewiston, Maine, built its first steam car in 1900, and advertising that year claimed it had 125 cars under construction at its factory and a showroom in Springfield, Massachusetts. But throughout its one year of existence, the company was constantly in search of investors and capital, and it quickly went out of business. Skene boasted that every part of their light steam buggy was made at their works, which distinguished it from many assembled machines. The design was conventional, using a vertical 2-cylinder five horsepower engine, single-chain drive, and tiller steering. An unusual feature was that a single-passenger body could be fitted as well as the typical two-passenger Stanhope.

This 1900 Skene Spindle Back Currier Cameron & Company Runabout is the only surviving Skene steam car in the world. It is one of only a few Maine-built automobiles known to exist.

This Skene was originally owned by an American soldier who came to Europe in 1917 to fight in the First World War and was killed. The car was then locked up in a barn in Readfield, Maine, and rested there for 53 years until 1973 when Leslie Mynard Leighton, a noted Maine steam car collector, was able to purchase it for an English friend who arranged for the Skene to go to Mr. Reg Parsons, in England, for restoration. Mr. Parsons subsequently purchased the car and eventually sold it to a Mr. Hugh Mothersole. Under both Mr. Parsons and Mr. Mothershole, the car participated in several British steam car meets, including London to Brighton Runs, the longest-running motoring event in the world. The Skene was acquired by the Richard C. Paine Jr., Automobile Charitable Trust in 2010, and after undergoing complete restoration by M.S. Harmon & Company of Georgetown, CT., was placed on display in the Museum on May 19, 2014.

The Engine

This vehicle is powered by a five-horsepower steam engine. It is a double-acting, reversing, twin-engine type, cast in grey iron with an aluminum frame and steel braces. It weighs less than fifty pounds.

The Boiler

The boiler is an upright straight tubular type, made of tempered copper with forged heads and containing 308 cold-drawn seamless copper tubes tested to 100 pounds cold water pressure. The working pressure of the boiler is 160 pounds, which will give a speed up to 30 m.p.h.