Category Archives: 1908 New York to Paris Race
The Old Motor Feature Series – The New York to Paris Great Race of 1908 – Part 6
San Francisco Here We Come!
By Jeff Mahl:
After traveling from NYC and reaching Chicago the teams hoped for the end of the snow that they were forced to endure so far. The snow would soon end but the mud would then begin and it was a thick, sticky sand and clay mixture the racers would call “gumbo”. The greater problem would be the hundreds of pounds it would add to the Flyer’s already too heavy weight, rapidly approaching 3 tons! With still freezing night time temperatures, leaving the mud on the car would result in a solid block only to be added to the next day.
Entering a small midwest town, Schuster spotted a local firehouse. After finding the chief, the alarm soon sounded and the firemen responded with a horse drawn “pumper” wagon powered by four men. Rocking the handles on either side of the apparatus by the men, pressure was created in the fire hose which an additional two firefighters used to squirt off the mud from the Thomas. Little did they realize, they had created what we know today as a “car wash”. It was so effective that the Flyer crew planned stops around towns large enough to have a well equipped fire station.
By the time they reached Cedar Rapids on March 1, T. Walter Williams, the New York Times, reporter had reached his limits. This would be the end of the line for a reporter who had traveled with President Teddy Roosevelt covering his African Safaris. However, this was not a Presidential excursion; this was brutal and exhausting daily ordeal. He thought the rest of his team mates would surely die if they continued! Giving his reporter’s notebook and camera to Schuster, he took the next train back to New York City. With the task of keeping the Flyer running, George had no time to write news dispatches, so the job of reporting back to the Times was left to the Associated Press and local newspaper reporters along the way.
Miller, Hansen and Schuster in coon skin coats to protect themselfs from the Alaskan cold
The empty seat would soon be occupied by Capt. Hansen in Omaha, Nebraska, who you may recall quit the French De Dion team in Chicago. E.R. Thomas had asked Schuster if he would accept Hansen on the Flyer Team. With Hans living in Siberia, able to speak Russian and knowledgeable of Arctic conditions, it seemed like a good idea to all concerned.
Arriving at Cheyenne, Wyoming meant the planned departure of Monty Roberts, as he had a prior commitment to drive in the Briarcliff Race back east. Before he departed, Monty gave George the Automobile Club of America 45 star U.S. flag which the winning team would return for a $1000 prize. That flag would become one of the most precious items that George was responsible for in traveling around the world. Mr. Morse, the Thomas Factory sales manager was also in Cheyenne to give Schuster $500 cash for expenses (worth $12,500 today). He asked George if he had a gun, where upon Schuster displayed a .32 caliber Savage pistol he had carried in his jacket pocket since Times Square. Morse replied “Get a real gun and carry it in a holster”! George then purchased a .38 caliber Colt with a six-inch barrel. Charles Duprez, a N.Y. Times photographer, had also purchased an Iver Johnson pistol at the same time.
While in Cheyenne a 13 year old youngster named Floyd Clymer (son of a doctor in Berthound, Colorado) came 60 miles to see the Flyer Team and the Thomas. After a three minute ride in the Flyer, he went back home and started to advertise that he was handling the Thomas. Clymer was already famous as the “Kid Dealer” of the West, and later went on to become well known as a publisher of automobile books.
The Flyer departed from Cheyenne the morning of March 9. A moving picture cameraman left Cheyenne just ahead of the Flyer and captured the Thomas driving through a Wyoming canyon. This was the second of two known films made of the Flyer. The first was taken at the start of the Race in Times Square by the American Vitagraph Company on February 12, 1908 showing the competitors in front of Hammerstein’s. It was titled Starting of The Around The World Automobile Race, and was played in movie houses on Broadway. The American Film Institute Catalog also refers to it in a Variety Magazine article dated February 22, 1908. The quest continues to find either of those two historic films.
- The original Union Pacific train order making the Flyer Engine #274
One of the problems west of Cheyenne would be the terrific beating the Flyer took with no roads. Upon reaching Carter (a stop on the Union Pacific Railroad), they could go no further. It was there Schuster telegraphed the UP offices back in Cheyenne for permission to drive on the railroad bed. Driving on the steel rails would have disqualified the team, but nothing in the rules said they could not straddle the rails and drive on the ties. With permission granted, and a UP conductor making the Thomas Flyer an “official” Union Pacific locomotive #274, they started west. With no stone between the ties as you would see today, they didn’t get far on the unballasted bed and soon blew a tire. This repeated problem nearly meant the total destruction of the Thomas and her crew by an oncoming locomotive with the Flyer stuck square in the middle of the tracks and unable to move. After a narrow escape, they continued west.
The Flyer narrowly escapes a westbound Union Pacific Express – Painting by Peter Helck
Finally the American team reached the Rocky Mountains. Though it was then mid-March, snow still blocked the mountain passes and the Southern Pacific Railroad officials near Ogden, Utah refused permission to use their tracks as the tire chains had seriously damaged the Union Pacific ties. So the team was forced to change direction and turned south through Nevada, which would mean traveling into Death Valley and then approaching San Francisco to the north west by traveling through California.
In 1908 there were no bridges as are seen today for stream crossings, just rocks which were strewn across creek beds, that were used by ranchers for crossing with wagons or horses. One particularly bad crossing was at a place called Twin Springs, notorious for its quick sand bottom. Part way across, the Flyer drive train was severely stressed on the uneven footing and six teeth were broken from the drive pinion.
With no parts stores or overnight Fed Ex, which modern racers would turn to today, George set out on foot walking to Tonopah, Nevada some 75 miles away. In the town was a Thomas that had been sold to a local doctor, and the plan was to secure the needed pinion from his car and then return to the creek bed to make the repairs. After walking, buying a horse for $20 and finally getting a ride in a Simplex the plan worked out. Schuster then returned to the creek and had to tunnel out under the partially submerged Flyer. He replaced the damaged pinion gear and once again the Flyer was on its way to San Francisco. You can hear the actual sound of the Thomas Flyer engine in this audio clip
The other crews had suffered their own perils. Lieutenant Koeppen with the German Protos contracted “mountain fever” west of Cheyenne. The Protos had also become mired in a stream bed, and Koeppen set out on foot for help to a place called Rock River. Walking on a path at 2,600 meters high (8,600 feet) he collapsed. The staunch German Army officer would later recount in his memoirs: “ Stretching myself out to collect new strength for the continuation of the march. It was a feeling of desolation and dejection, which I had never thought to be possible”. Fortunately, a rancher found him before Koeppen could have possibly frozen to death. The New York to Paris Race was to become the ultimate long distance automobile endurance test of men and machines, never since equaled.
The young Italian lads in the Zust had fared a bit better, though still far behind. They did not seem to share the same sense of urgency as the other teams. Young Antonio Scarfoglio would write of their journey through California approaching San Francisco, after finally arriving on April 5:
“It is called El Camino Real, the name which was given to it by the Spaniards on account of its regal beauty. And I am quite unable to imagine anything more grandiose and splendid than this marvelous road. It is flanked by numerous towns, lost in a wealth of flowers; Los Olivos, Ventura, Santa Clara, through which we pass as quickly as possible so as not to yield to the desire, so delicious are they, to put on our brakes and dismount beside one of these gardens, near one of these white robed women who send us smiles and kisses on the tips of their fingers, and to finish here our race and our lives”
Thomas Flyer arrives in San Francisco (note famous clock tower in background)
On March 24, just 41 days, 8 hours, 15 minutes and 3,836 miles from Times Square, the Thomas Flyer, with George Schuster now in charge, arrived in San Francisco. He had become the first man to travel across the country in an automobile during winter. Well in the lead, it was now time for the Flyer to be loaded on the City of Pueblo steamer bound for Seattle, on route north to the final destination Valdez, Alaska. Little did anyone realize, the most treacherous and grueling part of the ordeal was yet to come…
Click to view previous Parts 1-5
For more information, pictures, and video visit: www.TheGreatAutoRace.com
Copyright 2013 © Jeff Mahl – Great Grandson of George Schuster – All rights reserved
Posted in 1908 New York to Paris Race, Auto photos 1885 - 1920, Auto Racing Photos 1894 - 1942
Tagged American Vitagraph Company, Automobile Club of America, Briarcliff Race, Cedar Rapids, Cheyenne, Chicago, E. R. Thomas, Floyd Clymer, French De Dion, George Schuster, Omaha, Southern Pacific Railroad, Thomas Factory, Thomas-Flyer, Union Pacific Railroad
The Old Motor Feature Series – New York to Paris Great Race of 1908 – Part 5
Racers and officials head north single file on Broadway from the NY Times Building starting line.
By Jeff Mahl:
It was 11:20 the cold crisp morning of February 12, 1908; just minutes after the President of the AAA New York City Chapter fired the gold pistol above the Times Square crowd. For the Race Teams, the feeling was nothing like the life or death ordeal that would lie ahead for the next six months. On the contrary, exhilaration was probably the better word to describe driving through hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers straining for a glimpse of these “horseless carriages” headed to Paris. Proceeding north on Broadway, the streets were lined with tens of thousands of people 8 to 12 deep for miles to the northern city limits. Hanging from towering windows on either side were flags, and waving children. The deafening cheers drowned out the sounds of the engine and unmuffled exhaust.
While there was no snow in Manhattan, that would soon change. Mud and snow, lots of it greeted the drivers as they proceeded north. With few paved roads and snowplows yet to be invented, the crews were often forced to hand shovel the path ahead. When that became overwhelming, horses would be hooked on front dragging the unwilling vehicles through the quagmire. Exhilaration soon turned to exhaustion…
The competitors slowly made their way up what is today Route 9 along the Hudson River, with most teams suffering their first setbacks. The Motobloc skidded in the snow, and went into the ditch. Everyone had need of their chains. The French Sizaire-Naudin just 40 miles into the Race developed rear axle trouble while climbing Splitlock Hill.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) joined the NY to Paris Race Effort! (As reported February 5, 1908 in the NY Times)
There were no spare parts, and the driver August Pons spoke no English. After struggling to Red Hook, NY the Sizaire was out of the Race for good.
Of much concern to Schuster, the Thomas Flyer was hitting on only three cylinders! The Thomas dealer in Poughkeepsie put a new spark plug into No. 4 cylinder* which helped a little. Some Vassar College coeds crowded around the Flyer which also helped, if only to lift spirits…
The snow turned to sleet by Syracuse, NY. With no roads, the Flyer had taken to the tow path used by mules to drag barges along the Erie Canal between Albany and Buffalo. The soon ice glazed towpath made sliding into the frozen waters of the Canal far too likely, so it was off to the snow covered fields, barnyards, orchards, and the Montezuma Swamps of upstate New York.
Listen to George Schuster himself describe what it was like: Driving in the winter of 1908-Audio Clip (Please allow time to load file)
Progress was painfully slow, shoveling, pushing and often towing with teams of horses. Finally the Flyer reached the outskirts of Buffalo on Sunday February 16. As was often the case in larger towns and cities (especially those with AAA Chapters), local residents would take their automobiles out of winter storage and be waiting at the city line. Then follow the Flyer with horns and cheers to the center of town.
Thomas Flyer in the lead enters her home City of Buffalo, New York.
Buffalo would offer several things all of the Racers needed, some rest and a grand banquet hosted by the Buffalo Auto Club. For the Flyer in particular, some much needed repairs including a new #4 cylinder and replacement of the drop front axle with a new straight one for greater road clearance. It also gave Schuster a chance to discuss with E. R. Thomas a greater problem. Monty Roberts was scheduled to leave the team in Cheyenne returning for a prior racing commitment. That would leave George the only Thomas employee on the car, and if something should happen to him in the coming months it would be the end of the Race for the Flyer. E.R. quickly offered Great Gramp his pick of any employee in the factory. The first choice a chap by the name of Miller, was dashed by a wife who refused to let him go. The second pick was also a Miller, a 25 year old by the name of George. As Miller was not married, that choice got quick approval! While George Schuster would be the only Flyer crew member to make the entire journey from Times Square to the Eiffel Tower, George Miller would make it from Buffalo to Paris.
Plans in Buffalo were cut short by the Italian Zust, who instead of stopping for the banquet pressed on leaving Schuster a simple message “we will see you in Paris”! The New York to Paris Race had turned from a gentlemanly event into an all out competition.
The Thomas buried in snow, makes progress being towed by teams of horses
Soon the Flyer was in hot pursuit of the Zust, driving into one of the worst blizzards in recorded history as they rounded the shores of Lake Erie. Progress at some points was measured in feet per hour as teams of up to 8 horses dragged the Thomas slowly westward.
Crew of the Thomas Flyer – (Front) Monty Roberts, George Schuster, (Rear) George Miller and T. Walter Williams.
The Thomas and its four crew members forged westward. Starting driver behind the wheel (above) is Monty Roberts. George Schuster is seated next to him who began in NYC as mechanic and then in charge of the Flyer and driver from Cheyenne to Paris. Behind Monty is George Miller, who joined in Buffalo and standing is T. Walter Williams a well known reporter for the NY Times (co-sponsor of the Race).
As the Flyer neared Chicago on February 25, optimism began to emerge as they hoped to be clear of the Snowbelt around the Great Lakes and been promised a warm welcome by the AAA. Arriving at the South Shore Country Club at 4:25 PM, it had taken 13 days, 6 hours and 10 minutes to drive the 1,403 miles from Times Square. Just 2 weeks into the Race, it had also taken a physical and mental toll. Monty weighed himself at the Chicago Athletic Club to discover he had lost 20 of his original 164 pounds!
French DeDion-St. Chaffray at the wheel with Capt. Hansen standing directly behind
Hans Hansen, a Norwegian Ship Captain also came to a stark realization! Riding with the Frenchman St. Chaffray was unbearable. The De Dion had different size snow shovels on board, and every time they were used St. Chaffray (who was a bit bureaucratic considering himself the “Napoleon of the Automobile”) always made sure Hansen was given the biggest. Hansen would later return to Buffalo, and request Mr. Thomas add him to the Flyer Team.
The French were not the only Team with morale issues. There was also great dissension in the ranks of the German military aboard the Protos. Knape and Maas felt they had been slighted by the American press and “given a lower rating” than LT. Koeppen the Prussian officer who didn’t even know how to drive. That frustration had grown to the boiling point by Chicago, and an ultimatum was given. Either Koeppen would have to leave the Protos “wagon”, or they would. As luck would have it, the LT found an unemployed German-American chauffeur by the name of Snyder who agreed to continue with the Protos to Paris.
Down to five teams, the competitors set their sights on San Francisco. They would soon be in the “wild” American West, sparsely populated and many times with nothing even closely resembling a “road”.
Unlike the so called “endurance” auto races of today which pale in comparison, 1908 was to become the ultimate automotive racing challenge yet to be equaled. For nearly 6 months, it would be a daily test of men and machines against the worst possible conditions to reach the finish line 3 continents away. Catastrophic breakdowns, hunger, disease, blizzards, raging rivers, snow covered mountains, deserts, wild animals, bandits and even death would have to be squarely faced.
Many were destined to fail….
* The Thomas Flyer had a very large 4 cylinder engine of 571 cu inch (9.375 Liter)
Click to view previous Parts 1-4 or here for Part 6
For more information, pictures, and video visit: www.TheGreatAutoRace.com
Copyright 2013 © Jeff Mahl – Great Grandson of George Schuster
Posted in 1908 New York to Paris Race, Auto photos 1885 - 1920
Tagged Chicago Athletic Club, de Dion-Bouton, E. R. Thomas, George Schuster, German Protos, horseless carriages, Italian Zust, Monty Roberts, New York to Paris Great Race of 1908 Part 5, Sizaire-Naudin, The New York to Paris Race, The Old Motor Feature Series New York to Paris Great Race of 1908 Part 5, Thomas-Flyer
The Old Motor Feature Series – New York to Paris Great Race of 1908 – Part 4
- The Start of Something BIG!
By: Jeff Mahl
In early 1908 preparations were frantically being made in Europe with teams from Italy, France and Germany building automobiles that would carry them around the world. The effort equaled what we witnessed in our lifetimes preparing for a journey to the moon. Countries would meet head to head to prove their superior automotive technology, and regain the title of “Automotive World Champion” then held by the Italians with their recent victory in the ’07 Peking to Paris Race.
- Italian 1908 Brixia-Zust Specifications:
- Engine: 4-cylinder 40 HP / 4 Speed transmission
- Speed: 60 mph
- Weight: 3,500 pounds / 114” wheelbase
- Fuel Capacity: 132 gallons in three reservoirs
- Team members: Giulio Sirtori, 26; Henri Haaga, 22; Antonio Scarfoglio, 21
France would be represented by three teams in the competition.
Conspicuously absent from the fray were the Americans? Not surprising, as most in the world knew the vastly superior European machines would easily conquer any American builder foolish enough to challenge them. The level of confidence was not that much better on this side of the “Pond” with Henry Ford flatly refusing to enter such a competition. Even Ransom Olds knew it would be best to watch such an undertaking from the sidelines. After all, no automobile had ever crossed the United States in winter, and only a handful had successfully driven across the U.S. in summer months. In 1908 snowplows had not been invented, and neither had antifreeze. Why this was shear madness, none of the automobiles would get past Chicago on their way to Alaska much less on to Paris. The Buffalo News editorialized such a Race would be “…. a Homeric adventure outdoing all the wanderings of Ulysses, Aeneas and the Argonauts combined”.
- French 1908 Sizaire-Naudin Specifications:
- Engine: 1-cylinder 15 HP
- Weight: 3,300 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 40 gallons in three reservoirs
- Team members: August Pons, 32; Maurice Berlhe, 24; Lucien Dechamps, 24
That was the problem! They MUST start in the dead of winter to accomplish their plan. You see, to drive from New York City all the way to Paris they would use the frozen Bering Strait as an ice-bridge across the Pacific Ocean. The “Ice Road Truckers” of today, wouldn’t even consider such insanity. However, in 1908 these were men who saw no challenge too great, and there was always a way to accomplish what others thought “foolish”. One of those men was President Teddy Roosevelt. Upon hearing that Italian, French and German motorists were going to race horseless carriages across the United States, the President didn’t care which American manufacturer entered an automobile, but there would be a Team to represent the United States in that Race!
Click for the 1908 New York to Paris Race Route complete with stops and dates along the route.
As fate would have it, Teddy did know an automobile manufacturer by the name of Edwin Ross “E.R.” Thomas in Buffalo, NY. He also knew of the Thomas automobile’s solid reputation, as his cousin James Roosevelt in Hyde Park had purchased a “Flyer”. James’ son, Franklin D. Roosevelt even learned how to drive the Thomas while home from Harvard. If Ford or Olds would not take up the challenge, Teddy knew someone who would….
- French 1908 Motobloc Specifications:
- Engine: 4-cylinder 30 HP
- Weight: 6,437 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 86 gallons in four reservoirs
- Team members: Charles Godard, 31; Arthur Hue, 26; Maurice Livier, 19
E.R. was soon “encouraged” to enter a Thomas Flyer, just days before the February 12 start in New York City. Still reluctant about the chance of success, E.R. knew it would take his best people with proven talent to make a good showing.
For starting driver, 25 year old Montague Roberts would be the choice. From today’s perspective, “Monty” might compare with someone like Jeff Gordon early in his career. An accomplished racing driver, young, charismatic and a bit of a “ladies man” who loved to tell stories with a good sense of humor. For mechanic, there was only one logical choice. It would be the factory Chief Troubleshooter George Schuster. Quite different from Monty, George was 35 years old, quiet and intensely focused on the mission (whatever it might be at the moment). As different as they were, each had a respect for the other from the start for they had proven their abilities to E.R. as well as others in the factory.
- French 1908 DeDion-Bouton Specifications:
- Engine: 4-cylinder 30 HP / 4 speed transmission
- Speed: 50 mph
- Weight: 6,600 pounds
- Fuel Capacity: 185 gallons in seven reservoirs
Team members: G. Bourcier de Saint Chaffray, 36; Alphonse Autran, 25; Hans Hendrik Hansen, 43
Monty and George had a brief discussion about the prospects for the New York to Paris Race shortly before the event. Still, at a time when no American auto manufacturer gave the thought for completion of such a race much chance of even making it across the US, the conversation was largely hypothetical. On February 8 just four days before the New York to Paris Race was to start, George stopped in New York City on his way to New England to demonstrate the new 1908 model to perspective buyers. Monty wanted to drive a Flyer in the Race, and asked if George would go along? With a simple reply George agreed “Sure, I will go as far as you will”. It was half joking because just days earlier George heard E. R. exclaim “We will not enter. None of those cars will reach Chicago!” Little did Monty and George know the coming events would be the ultimate test of the two men, and in many respects far greater than that of the machine they would drive.
- German 1908 Protos Specifications:
- Engine: 4-cylinder 40 Hp
- Speed: 70 mph
- Weight: 6,000 pounds / Length 16.0’ Width 6.5’
- Fuel Capacity: 211 gallons in six reservoirs
- Team members: Ernst Maas, 33; Hans Knape, 29; Hans Koeppen, 33
Just 3 days later, the scenario dramatically changed. George was in Providence RI, and received a phone call from E.C. Morse, the Thomas sales manager. “We are entering a car in the Paris Race. Will you take the night train and be in New York tomorrow morning? You will be the mechanic and Monty Roberts will be the driver. He wants you, and says you are willing. Your salary will be doubled to fifty dollars a week.” Though George was coming down with a cold, and had a suitcase full of dirty laundry, his answer was a quick “OK, I will be there.”
- United States 1907 Thomas Flyer Model 35 Specifications:
- Engine: 4-cylinder 60 HP / 4 speed transmission
- Speed: 60 mph
- Weight: 5,700 pounds / Length 11.7’
- Fuel Capacity: 125 gallons in two reservoirs
- Team members: George Schuster, 35; Montague Roberts, 24; George Miller 25; Harold Brinker, 21
Times Square was an appropriate starting point for an event the world media would use terms like “stupendous”, “a Gallic dream” and “beginning of the end for European supremacy” in describing the unfolding adventure. 250,000 spectators jammed in to the Square to see the competitors with their marvels of automotive technology. The world super-powers were well represented.
Italy fielded the Zust, to defend her title as world champion earned just the year before in the Peking to Paris Race. For the young Italian team it would be a grand romantic adventure.
The start was to be far more elaborate than the simple waving of a green flag we would see today. This would be the Mayor of New York City firing a gold plated pistol into the air above Times Square. Something unthinkable in today’s world…
As it turned out with a quarter of a million people crowding the Square, even with a police escort Mayor George B. McClellan could not reach the starting line. The honor of the start was then given to Colgate Hoyt, the President of the Automobile Club. At 11:15 AM he raised the gold pistol and fired the shot that began the Race Around the World!
These machines represented the best of worldwide automotive technology, and the manufacturers with the courage to put their machines to such a grueling test. Defeat would be a marketing disaster; victory was the only option and would make the winner famous around the world.
Next stop, Paris 22,000 miles away! Click to view Part 3. Part 5 can be found here.
For more information, pictures, and video visit: www.TheGreatAutoRace.com
Copyright 2013 © Jeff Mahl – Great Grandson of George Schuster – All rights reserved
