New-York tribune., 1908-08-16
WORKING FOR CUP RACE
MORE COURSE DETAILS.
Railroad Making Special Plans to
Take Care of the CrovdS.

While the fame of the Vanderbilt Cup is
probably greater than that of any of the auto
mobile races of Europe with the possible exception
of the Grand Prix. little is lyet known about the
cement course on Long Island over which
the 1908 is TO be run on October "a
is fitting that the big American motor classic
should now come into what might be termed us
permanent historic and picturesque
Long Island, over the public roads of which 1t has
been run three times
Eleven miles of the Long Island Motor Parkway
will be completed early in October for elimination
trials of the American cars which going to try
for the cup. This eleven miles is not sufficient for
the entire course. but it is situated the great
plateaus of the famous Hampstead plains. which
crossed by many public highways With sur
faces almost as level as that of the cement park
way itself.
Through the cooperation of the supervisors Of
Nassau County the vanderbt Cup Commission has
permission to fourteen miles of these excellent
county and state roads. which, joined to the park
way at either end, make an ideal triangular race
of about 254 miles.
The will start, usual. soon after daylight.
and the grandstand. which is to be located on a
portion of the new cement way where the spec
tators get the finest view of the cement course,
will be reached directly by special trains on the
Long Island Railroad. a branch of this road runs
directly from Long Island City to Garden City,
which Is about four miles west of the beginning of
the course Although the regular trains do not run
below Garden City at present the tracks are IN
Boou repair as lar BelnpdSe, WHICH Aile oaSI-
ern terminus of the parkway and the railroad com
pany purposes to run sidetracks to the rear or
the grandstand.
1t may be possible for visitors to the race from
long distance to take sleeping at Long Island
City the night preceding the race and remain in
it on the grandstand sidetracks until the racing
cars called to the line at daylight.
Never before have such complete arrangements
been made for the accommodation of visitors TO an
automobile race. There will be eleven miles Of
rl airh sid of ha
under the control of the Vanderbilt Cup Commis-
sion, Heavy steel wire fences will linethe parkway
from beginning to end so 1t will be impossible Tor
cars to pack at any particular spot They will be
admitted at the Whaleneck avenue entrance, whlch
is the eastern entrance and beginning of the park
way and lined single file. in accordance with the
official parking space diagrams These spaces TO-
gether with boxes and seats in the grandstand may
be obtained by application to Jefferson de Mont
Thompson chairman of the Vanderbilt Cup Com
mission, at the offices of the American Automobiie
Association, No. 437 Fifth avenue,
The cement portion of the Vanderbilt Cup
course will be twenty-eight feet wide, crossing all
intersecting railroads and highways overhead by
cement yfaducts, in course OF CONSTRUCTION
These viaducts and bridges the most expensive
portions of the motor highway. They must
be fully twenty feet above the level OF the INTER-
secting dirt and rail roads. The approaches must
be tapereG down that the racing cars can take
them at full speed. All the turns on the cement
highway are symmetrically rounded and banked
permitting a maintenance or the same speeu
which the cars attain the straight stretches
After leaving the grandstand the racers will have
very fast run over the cement for six or eight
miles eastward to Bethpage, where the parkway
ions what is known the Round Swamp Road
which runs north on slight grade to the begin
ming of the Plainvew Road. Following this road,
the car continues or north tc its intersection with
new extension of the Jericho Turnpike. AT this
point the course bends directly west, around what
has been dubbed the "Flatiron Turn
The cars have a very speedy stretch, nearly all
downgrade westward along the Jericho Turnpike
extension to Jericho, of the turns on the lSOo
Vanderbilt course. From there the new course IS
over the old Jericho Road to its intersection with
the old Westbury Road. thence south across fiat
country to the Hampstead plains, thence to the
beginning of the cement way and eastward over
this IN the grandstand, the start and finish
Near the beginning of the parkway portion OF the
new Vanderbilt Cup course is the famous Meadow
Brook Hunt Club. To the west of this, along the
Old Country Road, is the town of Mlneola west
of the town and about four miles from the en-
trance to the parkway, is the Garden CITY Hotel
which will be the headquarters for the vanderbilt
Gun Commission. Il is short run from this nos
fiery down the Old Country Road to the cement
narkway and along this to the grandstand, so II
will he possibIe for visitors u the cup race 10 re-
main as heretofore in the Garden CITY Hotel over
in the morning.