History Photos taken before WW2 - history in black and white

Those crazy ALCO boys. In 1906, Schenectady’s American Locomotive (ALCO), known for building 75,000 steam engines, licensed the French company Berliet to make their first automobile in Providence, RI. The first ALCO models in 1905 were equipped with a chain driven four cylinder automobiles with 24 horsepower. Introduced in 1907 was a shaft driven four cylinder 40 horsepower engine. It lasted until 1908 when ALCO decided to make the cars itself (both touring and racing varieties). In 1906, a six-foot, 200-pound test driver named Harry Fortune Grant was ALCO’s chief test driver. Pleading with the company to let him race, but with no luck, he quit, and began to work for one of their dealers out of Boston, C.F. Whitney. Whitney purchased a 40hp car from ALCO and gave Grant and his riding mechanic Frank H. Lee a chance to race. They entered a series of races in Massachusetts, and won the 5- and 25-mile events and just missed the 50-mile race when a tire blew.

The ALCO was a well-built car. It took 19 months to build each one and customers could choose from a variety of 54 body styles, as well as chassis. The engines in the ALCO were large: a four-cylinder engine displacing 453 cubic inches, and a six-cylinder displacing 579 cubic inches. They weren’t cheap either, ranging in price from $6,000 to 7,000 apiece.
Even though the company had gross earnings of $34 million, they made no money from their car sales. One source says the company lost an average of $460 on each of the 5,000 cars it built. It wasn’t because of manufacturing costs. They used the cars as inducements to buy locomotives. If you were a customer looking to buy steam locomotives, they would simply give you a car to win your purchase.

ALCO also made some of the first trucks for commerce. By 1912, ALCO had sold over 1,000 trucks. ALCO trucks did the work of five horses and could carry three tons per load. One customer claimed he replaced 20 horses with one ALCO truck. One pulled four trailers with 36,000 pounds of coal.

An ALCO truck with five crewmembers made the first transcontinental truck delivery carrying three tons of Parrot Brand Olive Silk Soap. The cross-country trip (4,145 miles) was made in 91 days, ending at City Hall in San Francisco on September 20, 1912. The start of this trip coincided with a big truck parade and display sponsored by the Philadelphia Inquirer. There were 509 commercial cars of 71 separate makes, ranging in size from mammoth trucks with 13,000-pound capacity down to light delivery of 500-pound capacity. Average speed on the trip was a fraction over 10 mph with 412 hours actually on the road and 776 hours total.


One of ALCO’s last efforts was a motor chapel complete with cathedral glass in 1913. ALCO stated: “The equipment of the motor chapel is complete in every respect, including all the Paraphernalia prescribed by the rubric of the Catholic Church.”

One of the last orders completed by ALCO was for 80 trucks for the US Postal Transfer Service.

In 1910, a man named Walter P. Chrysler willingly took a cut in pay to go to work for ALCO as foreman for their Allegheny (PA) plant, where they made their cars (and trucks). However, realizing that ALCO was abandoning car manufacturing, he left for Detroit to work for the Buick Motor Company in 1912. On June 6, 1924, the former ALCO foreman started the Chrysler Corporation.

 

That one is great. There's got to be some kind of 1930s or '40s college gag going on there.

-Dave

 

I hope you're right, Dave. Otherwise, those 2 gals up top got Fs in Physics. They're NOT gonna help get that machine anywhere pushing from there! LOL

 

Miss Preparedness!


Miss Preparedness' sister on vacation -- Miss Demeanor!


Shoulda bought that NASH!

 

That dame's number was up. Here's a bunch of people who are numbered. Car on left is a 1907 Franklin model D.

 

There have been some interesting winter rigs on this thread, but nothing quite like this. Check the treads...

 

Railroad train station at Tazwell, Virginia. Anybody date & type the car?

 

Maple Shade Inn, Pulaski, VA, 1935

 

PREPARENESS????

Being prepared means getting someone that can spell to do the signs!

Reminds me of the "Think Ahea
d" sign gag.

 

That vehicle or one like it is in the Smithsonian Post Office Department Museum in Washington D.C. next door to the Railroad Station. I think the treads turned in different directions like the propellors on a P-38 fighter so that the vehicle would go in a straight line.
I really like this thread and appreciate the work you guys put into it.

 

I'll take your word for it. I didn't even give that vehicle a second look at the time.

No excuse, I thought it was one of the pre WW2 SS Jaguars (1935-).

 

Motobloc



http://www.armyvehicles.dk/motobloc1913.htm

 

Daimler - Marianfelde

 

De Dietrich - 1900 (?)



De Dietrich - 1905 (?)

 

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7760/dedietrich19001ro2.png

 

http://a9.img.v4.skyrock.net/a97/automobile-mathis/pics/2822694790_small_1.jpg

 

http://www.gloubik.info/sciences/local/cache-vignettes/L500xH361/automobile-1902-3-13-1cc1b.jpg

 

Vermorel



http://www.laberezina.com/images/Ecuries/anciennes/vermorel/vermorel.jpg

 

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...292811582_100000080358382_160828_896393_n.jpg

Vinot-Deguingand (?)

 

Vermorel - 1913 (?)



http://www.laberezina.com/images/Ecuries/anciennes/vermorel/1913.jpg

 

http://recensement-du-vanneau.blogspot.com/

 

RodZombie, great material on the ALCO auto company on Post #5673 !!! That's one we need to get to over on the Extinct/Ultra-Rare thread, too, fer shur.

Not to put ya on the spot, though, but the recent, color pic of the restored #8 ALCO racer in front of the brick factory wasn't taken before the start of World War II. Per the title of the thread, we all try and keep to just pre-war pix (and real color graphics like hand-colored postcards, posters, genuine color photos from the latter '30s and very early '40s, e.g.). Those are okay. I recently found a World War I shot, in fact, showing three French soldiers in front of their Renault truck; it was true color, through a three-plate process called AutoChrome. I don't think I've posted that yet, but think it would be OK since it was NOT taken after 1941.

I hope you won't take offense, but the #8 racer pic is out of bounds. Can you revise & repost your otherwise praiseworthy post there, buddy? (Heck, you're WELCOME to post that color racer pic over on the "extinct" thread!)

 

Ansbach



http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...86134626_100000080358382_162898_6853809_n.jpg

 

Benz staff car with spring wheels - 1916 (?)



http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...66134618_100000080358382_162906_7546783_n.jpg

 

Benz ML13 - 1912 (?)



http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...69467951_100000080358382_162907_3470187_n.jpg

 

Benz



http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...272801284_100000080358382_162908_217777_n.jpg

 

Audi staff car



http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...89467959_100000080358382_162899_4985144_n.jpg

 

You can be forgiven for thinking that as they are similar. The give away is the headlights. The earlier cars had headlights like anti-aircraft search lights. They were huge. The pre-war SS Jags and the post war Mk IV had large headlights that were all free standing units. Mk V were smaller and molded into the guards.