It’s the last day of 2024! I’m not exactly sure how this happened, and I’m even less sure how we’ve somehow ended up an entire flapjacking quarter into the 21st century! When I see the date 2025, I can’t help but picture a world full of gleaming spires and jetpacks and lasers, and then I look around and it’s all bitcoin and Soylent and everything is always eavesdropping on you. Kind of a letdown. But, whatever, whatever will be will be, so let’s end the year by looking backwards, far, far backwards to what I think is the oldest car we’ve just randomly spotted driving around.
And by “we” I mean our own contributor Emily Velasco, who was riding her bike through El Monte, California, when she saw a cloud of what appeared to be smoke that made her think that a car was on fire, or maybe someone blew a head gasket. But, as she approached, she realized it wasn’t either of those things.
It was something far better. It was this:
Yes, an actual, running steam car! Making those amazing and charming chuffing sounds, belching huge white clouds of steam, and taking off at a surprisingly good clip! It’s keeping up with traffic shockingly well, considering most of the cars around it are a solid century newer.
When Emily showed me this clip I thought this had to be Jay Leno in one of his steam cars, but Emily confirmed it was not Jay, and, even more interesting, I’m not sure this is one of Jay’s steam cars.
This looks like a White Steam Car, maybe from 1907 to 1909 or so, and while Jay does have such a car, his is green:
That’s very similar, a 1909 White. But you know what? Jay also has a red White Steam Car, a 1907 one, but that one isn’t this car, either!
So, it appears that the Greater Los Angeles Area has at least three operational White Steam Cars running around in it? That has to put it on the top of some list, right?
The company that built the White Steam Car was actually the White Sewing Machine Company, which may explain why these cars were built to such precision standards. The company was used to small, fairly complex machining of parts!
Also interesting to note is that the White company was based out of Cleveland, Ohio, making their cars wonderful examples of Cleveland Steamers, a phrase that I’m sure you don’t need to Google or anything like that.
Look at that ad slogan up there, boldly finishing the sentence started by the name of the car “is the Most Desirable Car.” In Emily’s little video, compared to everything I see around it, I’d say that statement is true.
Sure, these seem like sort of a pain to start up and there’s always a danger of catching on fire or getting scalded, but there is an undeniable magic to steam, and cars that use it as a motive force feel so strangely alive. They’re incredible machines.
The White Steamer was even more advanced than Stanley Steamers of the era, making a bit less outright speed but being much more efficient and able to travel a lot longer and get going faster, at least in part because they only brought a small amount of water to boil at a time, instead of getting a whole boilerful going.
All good things to consider as the year ends; we’ll have a lighter-than-usual day today, and we’ll be off tomorrow, but we’ll be hitting this new year strong with all sorts of good stuff. Big, fun, stupid stuff. And smart stuff. You’ll see.
Have a fantastic New Year, everyone!
I was relieved that I had to do a search for the Cleveland steamer thing when I found out what it was.
The oldest car I’ve ever ridden in was a 1917 Stanley which my dad and I happened upon in a church parking lot when I was a very young Wail.
It impressed me as a very social car, because when you need to stop and generate steam you’re going to be parked for a while and you’ll have lots of time to chat with your companions and people who stop to see what’s going on. You might even invite a small child and his dad to ride along and create a lifetime memory.
On a short trip around the parking lot it was incredibly smooth, punctuated by the repetitive “fssssst…fssssst” of the power train.
I few years ago, I found a Stanley registry online and was happy to see this particular car still listed decades after we encountered it.
Jay’s Stanley Vanderbilt video has more chuffing sounds.
“Main steam stop valve.”
“Min stim stop walf.”
“No, main…steam…stop…valve.”
“Ya, min stim stop walf.”
Gotta love Steve McQueen.
Maybe I need to watch “The Sand Pebbles” after all.
I’ve noticed that he had the accident and getting set on fire by one of his steam cars, Jay Leno hasn’t put out much new steam car content…
He has, he’s just got A LOT of cars and most he does on the show/channel aren’t even his
Oh, yes, Jay Leno is still…chuffed with his steam cars; a little mishap ain’t gonna make him lose steam in his enthusiasm for such cars.
Hey! You promised me old and steamy, and I don’t see a single picture of Dame Judi Dench!
Last “Regert is horny for Judi Dench” joke of 2024, I promise.
Time keeps on slipping into the future, and I’m old and steamy!
“Feed the babies
Who don’t have enough to eat
Shoe the children
With no shoes on their feet
House to people
Livin’ in the street
Oh, oh, there’s a solution”
A successful and civilized society is neither if it can’t provide basic health care to its people.
Or if it simply refuses to.
It is likely an oversimplification to place all blame on the vast amounts spent lobbying, but I am convinced it is a significant corrosive. The voting public should demand that lobbyists pay 3 dollars to national debt before 1 dollar to their cause. Same for Super PACs. Then reinstate higher income tax on the ultra wealthy. There was a time when it was a source of pride to be successful enough to pay taxes, and the top bracket went to 94% in 1944! It is 35% now with too many loopholes.
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/whole-ball-of-tax-historical-income-tax-rates#:~:text=The%20top%20income%20tax%20rate,decline%20began%2C%20ending%20in%201987.
I saw an ’06 Stanley Vanderbilt Cup racer (appropriately styled like a coffin) launch up a decently steep hill like a modern car accompanied by the almost comical low rpm chuffing exhaust. That thing was awesome. The driver said it made 1000 lbs/ft at throttle opening and spinning the wheels inside the tires could be a problem.
Edit: I looked up to check the torque spec matched my memory and I think I found the exact car, which was apparently a hot rodded one by a noted Stanley expert that briefly put out 300 hp on a dyno (keep in mind max engine speed was probably around 1000 rpm, maybe 1500 on a hot rodded one?). Looks like it did an impressive run up the somewhat famous, steeper, Dead Horse Hill:
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/26618/lot/153/1906-stanley-30hp-vanderbilt/
Given that a steam engine piston is motivated by the differential between ambient and steam pressure, does this mean a steam car gains power during the course of a hill climb race?
Internal combustion engines lose power going up Pike’s Peak as the air thins out, something that can be partially mitigated by turbocharging/supercharging. Battery electric cars have to haul a heavy battery the entire time. In contrast, as the climb progresses, a steam car sheds weight (water turns to steam and departs) and ambient air pressure drops.
A quick internet search found several articles about old steam cars participating in hill climb races, but I couldn’t find any word on this niche point of engineering geekery.
Maybe you’re thinking of Stirling engines?
I’m not an expert, I just did some studying on them about 30 years ago, but I would say you probably didn’t find anything because it’s not a factor. It’s not steam like you might be familiar with, these cars ran super heated steam from flash boilers to achieve immense pressures and the pistons were in sealed crank cases, like ICE (they also used the steam several times, exhausting it into smaller pistons—double- or triple-expansion—before the steam’s power was too low to be of use, which not only made better use of the power, but also helped with condenser efficiency if it had one). There must have been some kind of crankcase vent, but even that would be a more minimal factor than ICE with the low operational rpms, even at full power. On total loss steamers (those without condensers), the car would lose significant weight underway, but the biggest issue is the boiler’s ability to keep up with high power demands, so they lose power once they’ve run hard long enough to exceed whatever head of steam it had and the boiler’s ability to generate more. At high altitudes, it would have more trouble keeping up due to the reduced oxygen for the burner and the colder air temperature fighting the boiler that’s trying to generate steam as quickly and as hot as it can. Steam cars want heat so they can generate and maintain the steam at as hot a temperature as possible without blowing up (something that was not that uncommon).
Ah excellent point. I was so fixated on the steam pistons I forgot about the boiler. Anything dealing with fuel+air will be fighting against reduced air.
Thank you.
No problem. It’s kind of funny, but my fondness for steam tech made it easier to understand EVs in terms of power being almost more about the battery than the motor itself because of the boiler analog with steam. When I was learning about steam, though, knowledge of ICE was almost a detriment as I made a number of wrong assumptions. (Again, I don’t want to sound like I’m an expert on steam, more like just above the basics.)
“The White Steamer was even more advanced than Stanley Steamers of the era, making a bit less outright speed”
Ha, the twins F.E. and F.O. Stanley, despite their conservative and stern Calvinist upbringing and adherence thereof in adulthood, were rather the speed demons, especially in their own products. An illustrative anecdote about the Stanleys’ affinity for speed tells of one of the twins going to court to contest a speeding ticket he got while driving a Stanley Steamer; he pleaded not guilty to the speeding ticket because he wasn’t doing 35 mph per the police officer’s claim as he was actually doing 70 mph. He might not have won the case but he got good publicity for his company; the twins were averse to advertising as they deemed word of mouth good enough to garner interest in their cars. (Yeah, perhaps needless to say, the relative paucity of actual advertising was one of the factors in the company’s demise.)
I grew up with easy access a mint Stanley Steamer. And have seen it run on the grounds of the Stanley Hotel. And a parade downtown, but not certain for sure. July 4th maybe but the haze of that day still exists 50 years later.
Have great picture of my wife standing by it in the Stanley Hotel.
The brothers Stanley were both a trip.
And did a lot for my community Estes Park back in the early 1900s.
For example building a hydro plant on the Big Thompson River and running the power many miles up the canyon to town.
And providing power FREE to the entire town.
You read that right.
Looks like my 90’s era Chevy and with a blown head gasket minus the chuff chuff. Wonder what that car.is worth today… Oh nevermind
Now all we need is a Red Green Steam Car
Not handsome cars, but handy.
I will never not like a Red Green reference.
I totally need to add a diesel heater and steam stack to my Electric Ranger, that take off was awesome!
Happy New Year everyone! 2025 is going to be a great Year of the(checks Zodiac) Snake…..
sonofa
You all had a busy year and deserve some time off. How many hospital visits did you do in 1 year? Take some time off!
David needs to spend time with his new bride.
I say, hand the keys over to Adrian and Stephen for a few days! What could it hurt?
I, for one, cannot WAIT for the color scheme to change to all black, and all the stories to be about rescuing cars that could double for the Swamps of Dagobah (the Star Wars one, not the reddit one).
Don’t you dare mess with my steam machine
It’s long, it’s slick, and it’s…
olive greenred???Gotta work on that rhyme.
We have (almost) completed 24/100 of the 21st century, which is somewhat short of a quarter. Since there has not been a year zero, the 20th century ran from 1901 to 2000, and the 21st century began in 2001.
Happy New Year 2025, everyone!
Why I am simply chuffed. Chuffed, I say!
Indubitably!