Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-14
Los ANGELES HERALD: SUNDAY MORNING. JUNE 1908.

began to run at the rate OF forty
Ave miles an hour. An occasional ditch
or hole In the road made faster driving
risky and the conservatism of Renton
held the car down to safe pace. He
was not content to let the car out II
he was likely to wreck 1t, as he ex-
pressed the opinion that a record with
q wrecked car was of no value. but,
II tho car was in as good condition
at the finish as at the start, that rec
ord was worth more to him than one
Of reckless speed alone.
Bakersfield was reached in three
hours and forty-seven minutes, low
ering the best authentic record to that
place by twenty-eight minutes.
Ten minutes were used up in taking
on gasoline and water and oiling up,
and the car started again. A detour
had to be made from the regular road
to reach the garage, and this cost time,
as 1t was slow running through the
city traffic there.
Out OF Bakersfield the car few,
reaching Rose station at the mouth
Of the TETON In one hour fat. The
distance was thirty-two miles and 1t
is believed that the record OF one hour
Is the best time made to that place.
The road between Adobe and Rose
stations, nearly twenty miles, was
made in a long pair OF wheel ruts
through u DESERT OF bduQ anu duODo
dust. in many places several inches
deep.
The long climb up the steep TETON
was made easily, but when the Ante
lope valley was reached a strong head
wind was encountered that held the
car back very much. While 1t had
been running easily from thirty-flve
miles an hour to above forty miles at
times. without opening the throttle
81 t.txv t@ae. kI.n
could make against the wind, while in
many places, where It blew straight at
the car, twenty was all that could be
accomplished. The wind continued to
blow strong until after Fremont pass
was surmounted.
At the foot of Newhall grade the car
was delayed several minutes by, a long
freight train that was getting rid of
the helper engine that had been at
tached. Down the Fernando valley the
car flew at forty-five miles an hour
until within fifteen miles of Los An
geles, when the motor missed fire for
the first time on the whole trip. Two
miles were done with the motor miss
ing, and then an inspection was made
and the trouble located in a broken
wire between the switch and the coils.
Every other place had been pros
pected first and when the tbreak was
found the leeway of twenty-five min-
utes under the record was lost. Re-
pairs were made and the car rolled
in at the slowest pace of the whole
trip, as all ambition had been lost In
the disappointment of losing out. Not
once did the motor have to be touched
on the thousand miles, and only one
puncture was had. That was caused
by a rusty nail that went through the
casing when the car was north bound
and fourteen miles this side Of San
Francisco. A
The tires on the car had 1900 miles
to their credit when the trip was be-
gun, and this was increased to 1900 by
the time Fresno was reached and still
the tires stood the test of running
800 miles further at record speed with
out giving the slightest trouble. At
the finish they appeared to be in as
good condition as at the start, except
for slight evidence of wear on the
tread where they had slid on the grades
a few times.
The car was equipped with Goodrich
36 by casing and two extra ones
were taken|aboard at Fresno, but they
were never unwrapped until after the
car was put in the home garage to be |
cleaned up after q thousand-mile trip
that could not have been more pleas
ant from a motor point of view, or
easily exceled from any other.
The successful elimination of the
trip, with the car in first-class shape
and the passengers ready to do the
work piled up waiting for them, speaks
volumes of praise for the construction
of the Great Smith; and 1t would take
similar volumes to tell of the remark