Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-07-11
SAXON COMPLETES
COAST-TO-COAST RUN
Journey From New York to San
Francisco Over Lincoln High
way in Thirty Days

Arrival in San Francisco ended the
3,3S9-mile trip of the Lincoln High
way Saxon car across the continent
from New York. According to a dis
patch from San Francisco the car
reached its destination July on
schedule time, arriving in excellent
mechanical condition and averaging
thirty miles to the gallon of gasoline
and $50 miles to the quart of oil on
its long journey. This Saxon holds
the distinction of being the first autos
mobile to traverse the Lincoln way on
continuous run, and the first car
of it's size and price ever to cross the
continent.
The true far-west spirit marked the
reception given the car and it's driv-
ers, M. A. Croker and Fred wilkins,
at the completion of the run. An es-
cort party went twenty-five miles out
of San Francisco and piloted the coast
| to-coast Saxon into the city. En-
/ thusiasm among the crowds that
awaited the arrival of the car was at
a high pitch and many cheers went up
! when the ocean-to- ocean traveller pa
raded through the streets of the city.
Upon reaching San Francisco Pilot
| Croker drove the front wheels of the
car into the Pacific ocean so as to
|
! ocean run. He also emptied a bottle
of water carried from the Atlantic
ocean into the Pacific ocean. This
unique ceremony at the end of the
run was similar to that at the start
when the rear wheels of the car were
dipped into the Atlantic ocean.
The finish of this coast-to-coast
journey proved spectacular, the Saxon
showing a remarkable burst of speed
in covering the last 290 miles from
! Reno to San Francisco in two days
| For considerable way of this dis
tance the road leads down hill across
| California, but the route in the Lake
| Tahoe district provides one of the
severest tests in the way of mountain
climbing on the whole Lincoln high
way.
A run of 1876 miles in a day be-
tween kimball, Neb, and Denver,
| Col, was the record mileage made by
the coast-to-coast car. Runs of 10
miles and more were frequent west
of the Mississippi, despite the fact
! that for the most part the road is al
most one continuous uphill climb.
over all kinds of roads and hills
and through all kinds of weather, this
car maintained the schedule mapped
out for it at the start of the run. 1t
|
ghenies between New York and Can
ton, o., without requiring the addi-
ton of extra water in the radiator.
1t plowed through hub-deep mud and
sand and negotiated washed out roads
where the water at times came up al
most even with the radiator
Before undertaking this trip, the
same car made a run of f35 miles
day for thirty consecutive days in De-
troit The 4,050 miles which it COW
cred on that occasion. coupled with
the distance of 1889 miles across the
Lincoln highway, have brought it's to-
tai for sixty days of travel up to
7,439 miles, or the equivalent of two
years of service in the hands of the
average owner.
In automobile circles this run has
been a much discussed event. The
performance of the Lincoln Highway
Saxon car is taken to indicate the
progress that has been made in the
art of building automobiles. 1t is re-
called that up to a few years ago
even the highest priced, most power
full motor cars would hardly have at
tempted the feat that has just been
accomplished by the 1895 Saxon.