Classic Car Information: steam powered

Showing posts with label steam powered. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Disneyland has steam locomotives, some built for the park, and an 1894 engine from a Louisianna sugar plantation

The video is narrated by the above experts, and below is the Fred Gurley, the 1894 plantation train

there are 5 in the Disneyland park,

Sunday, July 1, 2012

the Desert Classic, 1908-1914... the Los Angeles to Pheonix race

old US 80 started its life as the course of the wild 1913 Great Desert Race from Los Angeles to Phoenix. In preparation for the race, Locke took Barney Oldfield over the road to show him how to navigate rough desert terrain.

Front page news, as so many publicity stunt car races were, imagine what passed for news in 1908-1914... not much. Publicity garnered by car companies getting stunts accomplished by the hardy and stamina having tough bastards that could hang in through exposure to all sorts of weather (open cars with no tops) and no roads, well this was nearly hero stuff in that age, and heroes making their way across your country is heady stuff that sold papers... everyone came out a winner. The drivers made a couple thousand per win.

That is why the 1908 New York to San Fran, the Paris to Peking, and the New York to Paris were etched in the cultural knowledge... new things that cars were, plus publicity, added to entertainment and a competition.. it's about as close to amazing as it got in 1908-1914. The times were full of historical firsts, heroes, and miracles. The first human flight in an airplane, the first roads, the first cars, etc etc

The first race was won by a steam powered White. The vehicles White made were so good, one was bought by the White House for President Taft's limo, and Buffalo Bill had one also.

above on the far right is Barney Oldfield, and he is driving the car he took to 4th place in the Indy 500 just months before. He won the Desert Classic with it.

for more about this, see http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/06/june-21st-6pm-san-diego-auto-museum-is.html

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Mario De Biasi, Il Gamba de legn, Milano, 1951

found on http://timtimtim.tumblr.com/

Sunday, April 22, 2012

locomotive collision... must have been at very low speed, probably they couldn't apply enough brakes to avoid the hit.

I have no idea how long I've been looking at this photo, and not posting it. I can't recall where it came from

Sunday, February 5, 2012

I felt the Steampunk desire today, So I watched "Steamboy" and grabbed these screen shots, cool movie, just make sure to select the language options of your native tongue and avoid reading the whole thing

any movie with a motorwheel can't be bad. A steam powered one is even better.

Good kid has a runn in with the bad guys trying to steal the plans and prototype his inventor dad and grand dad sent him, and the kid tries to escape, using that motorwheel, gets chased to a locomotive, which gets attacked by a blimp ...

later the bad guys send out an army of armored soldiers, and this aeronaut

who all are engaging in a war with the british who have these cool old tanks. The time frame is Victorian, and before any vehicles but the trains and tanks.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

More cool vehicles from Steampunkvehicles.tumblr

1910, and I know I've posted about it years ago, but can't find the info,.... it's a custom coachbuilt body over a Rolls chassis if I recall correctly, funky looking.

1918 policeman in San Diego

this 1929 BMW R11 was available with the Royal sidecar

looking like a tank, built over a Tucker sno cat ... my guess is for "burning man"

and lastly two cars built to look like trains. They were great advertising vehicles, mostly used by movie companies to get an audience for the theaters, but the above is advertising tires and the below is lettered with American Legion, Miami Beach to Boston... maybe to sell war bonds?