Tag Archives: Packard
Packard trucks delivered by the Citizens Packard Motor Car Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio
This is the third truck in the series of early Packard trucks we are featur-ing, which were sold by Citizens Packard Motor Car Co. of Cincinnati. The truck appears to be loaded with Wurlitzer pianos and above the drive chain on the side of the truck bed can be seen a sign reading: Wurlitzer Cooperative Piano Club.
The Wurlitzer company was started in Cincinnati in the 1850s by Franz Rudolph Wurlitzer, they made organs, pianos and other musical instruments. The company stayed in the city until 1941, when it then moved to Chicago.
Interestingly there must have been some relationship with Wurlitzer and the Victor Talking Machine Co. at the time because Nipper the famous dog representing Victor at the time is on top of the radiator and hood.
You can take a look back on the rest of the Packard trucks photos in this series courtesy of Kim Westendorf.
Packard trucks delivered by the Citizens Packard Motor Car Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio
Here is an early Packard truck setting out from the Bowman-Harman Brewery of Cincinnati (1912-1916), with a load of beer to to quench the citizens thirst. We found that the city has a long history of brewing beer, starting way back in 1811. At the time the photo was taken of the Packard, it appears that there were also two other breweries in the city plying their trade. The photo is courtesy of Kim Westendorf and came from a note book containing 1914 and earlier Packard truck photos that belonged to B. J. Schweinlin her great-grandfather.
Just above via Just a Car Guy we found a 1909 Packard truck brochure that you will find to be very interesting, it originates from the NYPL Digital Gallery and three plates are shown here.
Since we have many more trucks to share with you, we are searching to try to find photos or good illustrations of the technical details of the 1914 or earlier Packard truck chassis. We are also looking for the specifications of the engine and drivetrain and if you can help send us a comment.
Below is a photo from a 1912 issue of the Horseless Age magazine, that shows us the chassis costs and the standard three-ton chassis without a body.
Packard trucks delivered by the Citizens Packard Motor Car Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio
We will be posting a series of 1914 and earlier Packard truck photos that show the truck after the body builder had finished and it had been delivered to the customer. The photos are courtesy of Kim Westendorf and came from a notebook that belonged to Friederich “Fred” Philipp Schweinlin her great-grandfather. He worked for Citizens Packard Motor Car Co. as a foreman, possibly in the truck department. The dealership was located at the intersection of Main St. and 7th in Cincinnati, OH. Citizens first opened in 1907, at 904 Broadway, they then moved to its second location, at Main and 7th and had its formal opening on Feb. 15 1908.
The Packard shown here was sold to the Voss Grocery Co. which it appears was in business between 1900-1962 in Cincinnati, and at one point in time had over a dozen stores in the city.
The photo is clear enough that in the front bottom corner of the body, it can be read that it was built wagon company in the city but its full name cannot be made out.
The Packard Motor Car Co. first experimented with a few delivery trucks that were based on passenger car chassis as early as 1902-03. By 1904, Packard recognizing the need and seeing a business opportunity, started manufacturing its first truck, the Model TA, a 1 1/2 ton. It carried a two-cylinder engine, had chain drive and used many of the standard Model N passenger cars parts in its make up. The TA was a success and by 1908 Packard introduced its first four-cylinder truck, the model TC which became the basis for most of the chain-drive models to follow with further development.
Packard later on also developed a shaft drive model and manufactured many of the trucks used in WWI. The company remained in the truck business until 1923, when tough competition came from Mack, White and others, who began slashing truck prices to fleet buyers. At that point it was no longer profitable for the company to manufacture their high-quality trucks. From then on the focus was on the Packard automobile.
The photo below shows the Citizens Packard Motor Car Co. building that evidently was torn down in the 1990s. Editors note: The Citizens Motorcar Company, home of a Packard Museum, believes that the building below was actually the building in Dayton, OH., which they use that is still standing. It appears that possibly Cincinnati and Dayton firms were some how connected. Can any of our readers confirm this?
