Stanley automobile
|
|
Stanley was an American manufacturer of steam engine automobiles. Twins Francis Edgar Stanley (1849 - 1918) and Freelan O. Stanley (1849 - 1940) founded the company after selling their photographic dry plate business to Eastman Kodak. They produced their first car in 1897. They sold the rights to this design to Locomobile. They then developed a new automobile model with twin cylinder engines geared directly to the back axle.
The company they formed to produce this car was called the Stanley Motor Carriage Company and operated between 1902 and 1917. The cars made by the company were referred to as Stanley Steamers." When they shifted the steam boiler to the front of the vehicle, the resulting feature was called by owners the "coffin bonnet." In order to cut down on noise, condensers were used, beginning in 1915. A Stanley Steamer broke the world record for the fastest mile in a steam car (28.2 seconds). At first, production was limited, but it rose to 500 cars in 1917.
In 1917, the brothers sold their interests to Prescott Warren. The last Stanley Steamer was produced before 1927.
External link
- Museum web page (http://www.stanleymuseum.org/Museum-ME.html) on the Stanley Steamers in Kingfield, Maine.