New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-03-07
OLdtin1e Steamers a
Problem for Drivers

such time that knew we could better
Vsnderbilts time il the car stood up.
Finally Brown went on strike, hiked
over 70 a railroad station and left me
alone with steamer that was leaking
steam through every joint and brakes
that were almost worthless.
That was mid -afternoon, and deter
mined to keep going. The leather was
worn from the inside Of the tin brakes,
but bought several pounds Of rosin,
and by dropping il in they would hold
fairly we'll. When | used them there
arose such a shrieking as might have
been made by hundreds Of yiolins.
When | put on the brakes on the hill
at Port Chester after dark, and this
awful screech sounded. fully a quarter
OF the population rushed to the street
10 find out where the riot was. All
they saw was a cloud of steam, with
two little oil lamps peeping through II.
| made New York about 8 o'clock, al
most dead, but an hour ahead Of the
record, and the proudest man IN the
city.
Our customers knew little or nothing
about the operation OF the steamers,
and they were continually burning OUT
the boilers. That meant call for help;
perhaps only half mile Of travel, and,
Just as likely, to IIighbridge. would
find the gauge showing plenty OF water
stopped up, however, and all the
pipes contracted through the heat.
That meant pushing the machine to the
nearest shade tree or lamp post and
getting the front of il into the arr with
the aid of a rope and pulley. We sold
an expanding tool, tapere.i Ike lead
pencil, and with that the pipes could
be expanded and the car would run
again.
Stops like that. or crossing ferries,
on which we would have to put out the
flame, meant getting up steam anew,
and for that we used what was called
starting iron. 1t was a little curved
pipe, one end fitting TO the gasolene
tank, the other perforated. Laid on a
piece of burning waste that had been
oil leaked, it would quickly heat and
would spray the gasolene so that the
necessary blue flame could be obtained.
At the first show in Madison Square
Garden we had an incline built Up
the side of the tower about fifty feet
long and steep enough to make 1t dit
fcult to walk up. | don't know what
the grade was. To make our car
climb that we screwed a nut on the
safety valve, and just before the ma
chine was due to go literally up in
the air Joe McDuffie would make the
run TO the top. Then four rousta-
bouts would turn 1t around and Joe
would descend triumphantly. Great?
The first gasolene car we handled
was the three-wheeled Knox, which
had no reverse gear. Il had a one.
cylinder motor, air cooled. The steer
ing gear was adjustable, and when we
wanted to turn around in a narrow
street we would throw the handle
to the front and lead the car around
as a boy does with a toy express
wagon. There was a good demand for
them, and still have some customers
who have their old machines and
wouldn't part with them.
/ We sold the Waverly electrics when
they came out. They had a radius Of
twenty-five or thirty miles, and most
of them had to be towed part of the
way on every trip, because the owners
would take chances on the amount Of
juice they had.
The Duryea Model l., little gaso-
lene car, came along about 1900. II had
seats back To back, and was considered
pretty neat. Then came the four-cylin-
der Stevens Duryes in 1904, and later
on the six"
am about through, think, with the
automobile business. The Stevens
Duryea business is drifting into his
tory, and when | get affairs cleared up
In abolt six weeks Pm going on a long
automobile trip, and then come back
and play golf for the rest of the year
/ Al Reeves says I'm not through, but
think I'll fool him.