Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-11-13
BAGGAGE TRUCKS
SLOW ON RUNS
Usually Come in So Late That
Touring Parties Are Minus
Needful Things

Any old campaigner OF the days of
Glidden Tours. Reliability Runs. etc,
will recall the many amusing incidents
connected with the handling of the
tourists suitcases and other baggage
on those strenuous tours.
The touring cars were always full
to overfiowing. and so il was the Gus
tom to press into service motor trucks
in the hope-yain in most cases
that they would be able to reach the
control point sometime during the
night.
when the motor truck with the
baggage did arrive before bedtime.
there was great rejoicing" says Carl
G. Fisher. (Father of the Lincoln
Highway and now leader of the Dixie
Highway from Chicago to Miami,
Fla.), but more often it became
necessary to arouse the local store
keepers from their slumberS to buy
pajamas and other sleeping outfits,
not to mention extra combs, etc.
Many were the amusing tales told
| of how the trucks got mired and
were helped out by horses, mules,
oxen or any other means that came
handiest. 1t was not unusual, in fact
1t was the regular thing, to see the
Truck towed into town. The men
would work all night trying to get
the baggage car in shape and in the
morning it would start out again
ahead of the touring cars, still hoping
to reach the next control sometime
within "a hours.
Them was the hard days for the
luckless wights who were selected by
the factory for the task of putting
the truck through.
"Reminiscences of those days re-
CURED every evening on the recent
| TOnT tnGniTp6
marvellous performance of the REQ Y =
ton speed wagon, carrying the bag
gage On this tour.
Not only did the REQ truck not
trail in behind, but on the contrary
it was always in the van. No matter
whether the pace-maker held the
speed down to 20 miles an hour; or
over a good straight stretch of road
cut her loose until the speedometer
showed 40 miles, the REQ truck was
always right there in its place and its
occupants seemed to be having as
comfortable a ride as any, on the
pneumatic tired REQ.
ut was after hearing of the re-
markable performance of this truck
in the Michigan Wolverine Paved Way
campaign that I decided to send a
REQ truck along with the Dixie
Tourists" continued Mr.. Fisher. "On
that tour six REQ trucks, each carry
Ing q QrlNeF ana nine InSIuDeTS u
the REQ Band, led the procession. The
first day they We're behind the pilot
car but that proved to be too slow for
the Reos, especially as the program
called for the band on foot, playing,
to head the caravan of automobiles
into each town where stops were
made for the speakers to declaim the
| benefits of good roads.
"The pilot car was too slow. so the
committee decided to put the REQ
| trucks at the front. They not only
stayed at the front but on leaving a
town would sprint so far ahead of the
leader of the caravan of touring cars,
that the members of the band We're
always unloaded and lined up in
marching order ready to lead the
procession into the next town without
a halt on the part of the latter.
"The trucks meantime would make
a detour through the back streets to
a point beyond the speakers platform,
there pick up their load and at 40
-per-hour clip rush on to the next
stopping place.
1.-THE performance of these 1904
pound trucks, which the REQ folk call
hurry up wagons, has demonstrated
in q most conclusive way the practic-
ability and reliability of a new type
of motor vehicle that fills a great
need in various commercial lines, the
need for celebrity with medium carry
ing capacity