1911 Locomobile Model 30

The editor of the Comopolitan magazine, Mr. John Brisben Walker, incorporated the Locomboile Company of America in June of 1899 and was joined by a wealthy asphalt developer named Amzi Lorenzo Barber. Walker had convinced the Stanley Brothers to sell their steam car business for $250,000 and had convinced Mr. Barber to 'front' the investment. The partnership between Walker and Barber would quickly dissolve, with Barber retaining the Locomoible name and Watertown factory, and Walker left for Tarrytown, New York, to build the same vehicle using a different name - the Mobile. Barber quickly acquired additional factories in Worcester and Westboro, Massachusetts, followed by a factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Production was consolidated into the Bridgeport factory by early 1901, and by mid-1902, over 4,000 examples of the Locomboile had been produced. Production would remain at the Bridgeport factory until the company's demise in 1929. The company had been taken over by Durant Motors in 1922, before eventually going out of business in 1929.

The early Locomobile vehicles were small steam-powered vehicles with tiller steering and chain drive. They gained a reputation for their unreliability, small water tanks, prone to kerosene fires, and - as author Rudyard Kipling described - a 'nickel-plated fraud.' The runabout was initially the sole body style available and was priced at $600. By 1903, production switched entirely to internal combustion and luxury vehicle production became paramount. Their Touring Car had a tonneau and seating for five passengers. Unlike their low-priced steam buggies, this new model sold for $4,500. The front-mounted, straight-four engine produced 16 horsepower and was backed by a three-speed sliding-gear transmission.

Locomobile, like many other manufacturers, understood the importance of motor racing to promote the brand. In 1905, the Locomobile Company contested the Gordon Bennett Cup with a 17.7-liter racer. Driver Joe Tracy completed two circuits of Auvergne before the transmission suffered gear failure, forcing an early retirement. At the Vanderbilt Cup, Tracy placed third. A 16.2-liter F-head model with 90 horsepower was driven by Tracy at the 1906 Vanderbilt, but damage from tire trouble resulted in another early retirement. In 1908, George Robertson drove the number 16 Locomobile to a victory at the 1908 Vanderbilt, ahead of fellow Locomobile driver Joe Florida who finished third. This became the first United States-built car to win in international competition. The car, 'Old 16,' set a new record average speed of 64.3 mph. The car spent much of its later life with Peter Helck, and is currently in the collection of The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. This would be the pinnacle victory for Locomobile, who soon left racing, though Orin Davis did win in the Los Angeles-Phoenix rally in 1913. The Locomobile team also entered a front-wheel-drive Miller car, called the 'Junior Eight Special,' in the 192 Indianapolis 500.

Along with their racing prowess, Locomobile was regarded as one of the finest cars of the period, made to uncompromising standards of quality with equally impressive levels of cost. The Andrew Riker-designed gasoline automobiles were heavily influenced by the European Panhard system, which placed the engine up front, the transmission in the middle, and the driver at the rear wheels. Power was from a T-head four-cylinder engine which allowed the use of very large valves. Early models used dual chain drive rear ends, and by 1908, a new and more advanced model was introduced - the Model 30. It had a similar power-to-weight ratio to the larger Locomobiles but was lighter and easier to manage. Its 286 cubic-inch displacements were formed from a 4.5-inch bore and stroke and produced 38.5 horsepower. The four-cylinder configuration and square dimensions of the motor resulted in a smooth free-revving powerplant, which sent power via a shaft drive rear end. It used a four-speed Sliding Gear manual transmission, semi-elliptic leaf spring suspension, and rear-wheel Cable-Operated drum brakes.

The 1911 Locomobile Model 30 rested on a 120-inch wheelbase with prices that ranged from $3,500 to $4,600. Body styles included a five-passenger tourer, a four-passenger Torpedo, a six-passenger limousine and Landaulet, and a four-passenger Baby Tonneau. The other model in the lineup was the Model 48, resting on a 125-inch wheelbase and equipped with a six-cylinder engine that produced approximately 48 horsepower. Prices for this model ranged from $4,800 to $6,150. Most of the four catalog body styles had seating for seven.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2021