1911 Stanley Steamer
Car owner, Norman D. Shanklin
Photo by Ozzie Sweet
The Stanley Steamer utilized a noncondensing steam powered engine which was mounted directly over the rear axle and fueled by a front mounted boiler. By 1906 the Stanley Steamer had been given its familiar "coffin-like" nose and the steering tiller had been replaced by a steering wheel. In 1911 the Stanley Steamer offered a wide variety of steamers ranging from a 104 to a 120 inch wheel base models. All of the cars ran on the two cylinder steam engine, which was rated from 10 to 30 hp. The one shown here was an eight year restoration project. This model was made for long distance transcontinental journeys.
I have operated steam engines in a production facility before and am a little bit familiar with them in general. It is amazing to me to think of this car being very efficient when I think that there has to be both the steam engine to run the car and also a steam boiler to furnish steam for the engine. There would also need to be a coal storage bin on board to keep the coal in that was needed to fire the boiler. I don't foresee a return to the steam powered cars of yesteryears but if gas prices keep going up it may well be that we do return to some other type fuel for our cars in the future.
