Twin brothers Francis E. and Freelan O. Stanely were creative designers and gifted businessmen raised in rural Maine, about halfway between Waterville and the Canadian border. Their ingenuity and talents would result in two successful businesses, the first involving dry photo plates for photography and the second being steam automobiles.

Frank was a talented artist who made living painting portraits with an airbrush. He later acquired a camera to take pictures of his portrait clients and quickly discovered the clients appreciated the photos at least as much as they did the portraits. Being a perfectionist, he was dissatisfied with the quality of the dry photo plate gelatin emulsions and decided to create his own dry plates. The business venture was both successful and profitable, competing with the likes of George Eastman. The brothers later moved from Maine to the Boston suburb of Watertown, where they expanded their dry plate business and eventually took over sales directly to their customers, improving their competitiveness and margins. Later, a second factory in Canada was added, which resulted in even more wealth for the Stanley brothers, allowing them to indulge in the rapidly evolving automobile market.

By late 1896, the internal combustion engine had been proven as a practical and viable source of power, demonstrated by those of Benz, Daimler, deDion-Bouton, and others in Europe. The Stanley brothers, however, decided to concentrate on steam power.

The early Stanley automobiles were lightweight and simple, with piano wire wound boilers that operated at 150 psi and could produce a maximum pressure of 300 psi. They built three steam cars, two of which they drove. The third example was sold for $600.

In 1898, four official entrants were displaced at an automobile show in Boston with trails in Cambridge. The list included a deDion-Bouton, a Haynes-Apperson, a Whitney steamer, and a Riker electric. The Stanely brothers attended as spectators but joined the trial, turning the fastest three laps of the Cambridge velodrome and were the only one of the five that was able to climb the test hill's 30-percent grade.

The well-publicized trial resulted in a plethora of customers eager to acquire a Stanley steam car. Encouraged by the strong demand, the twins acquired an empty bicycle factory and began filling orders. A few months later, the brother's burgeoning operation was joined by John B. Walker, publisher of Cosmopolitan. Walker later acquired the entire operation after the brothers had quoted an outlandish price of a quarter-million dollars. Walker's business eventually would become Locomobile.

Two years later, the Stanley brothers re-acquired the factory and resumed production of Stanley automobiles. George Whitney challenged the twin's use of a chain tensioner which he claimed infringed on a patent he held, but the Stanleys later resolved this issue by using a spur gear in the center of the crankshaft to drive the rear axle's differential directly.

The Stanely automobile was simple yet effective, with the wood frame and body supported by simple tubes and axles on full elliptical leaf springs. Poles known as 'perch rods' connected the front and rear axles and maintained their relative location. Many of the engine's components, including the valve gear, connecting rods, and crankshaft, were exposed except for a sheet metal cover to collect some of the hand-applied oil of the bearings and valve gear to guard against grit, dirt, and road dust. A box covering the boiler doubled as the seat. The boiler was fed by gasoline, and steam was exhausted to the atmosphere after it passed through the engine, thus, the onboard water tank had to be replenished regularly. In 1905, the boiler was moved to the front of the chassis resulting in a 'coffin-nose' appearance. Around this time, the tiller steering was replaced with a wheel, and the boiler's working pressure steadily increased from 150 psi to 350 psi in 1905. By 1908, it produced 550 psi.

Among the Stanley brother's accomplishments was a streamlined bright red racer built in 1905 and driven by Fred Marriott to a land speed record on Florida's Ormond Beach. The slippery steam-powered racer covered the measured mile in 28 1/5 seconds at a speed of 127.659 mph. This record would not be surpassed for another five years.

The most potent Stanley model was the Model M, introduced in 1908 and powered by a 26-inch boiler with a 4.5-inch bore and a 6.5-inch stroke with a twin double-acting cylinder. Its load-hauling sibling was known as the Model Z Mountain Wagon and could carry guests and luggage from the railroad terminus to the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley Hotel was a project undertaken by Freelan Stanely, who suffered under the effects of tuberculosis. He found relief in the idyllic mountain valley of Estes Park, Colorado, where the Stanley Hotel was built on 160 acres purchased from Lord Dunraven.

By 1907, the Loveland-Estes Park Transportation Company began operating a fleet of Model F Stanley steamers from the railhead at Loveland. Since the Model F could only carry five passengers, a more efficient and larger capacity vehicle was needed. In the fall of 1907, F.O. returned to Massachusetts and saw to the construction of the first Model Z Mountain Wagon. It had a 118-inch wheelbase with seating for up to nine passengers. To cope with the steep mountain inclines, it was given a lower, 1.75:1 gear ratio. The popularity of the steam-powered Mountain Wagons was contagious, and soon other mountain resorts enlisted their service, including in New England. A 12-passenger Model 86 appeared in 1911, and production continued through 1917.

The Model Z Mountain Wagon was a 30-horsepower, open omnibus with two rows of seats behind the driver or could be configured as a pickup truck.

by Dan Vaughan