This article is more extended version of therace description. It gives a more specific report of the race, where the what’s and where’s of some of the contestants is described. Interesting though, the first American application of pneumatic tyres, similar to the ones half a year earlier in the Paris-Bordeaux race. Finally, on page16, a word of defence is given on bad comments on the race. Surely, the race wasn’t such a success; due to many reasons of which one was the bad weather. But in the end, this Times-Herald race showed to what „horeseless carriages“ were capable.
With permission of hathitrust hathitrust.org == Text and fotos compiled by motorracinghistory
The Motocycle (Automobile) — Vol. 1, No. 2, November 1895, pages 11 – 14
The Times-Herald Race.
Several Break-Downs.
The victory of the Duryea machine is all the more remarkable, as this was the one which broke down in the minor race a month ago. Under the box of the vehicle and at the rear there are two chains, which broke several times yesterday, but Mr. Duryea succeeded in repairing them so as to avoid much delay. This inventor was working on two machines which he expected to enter for the race of yesterday in the place of the one which was successful, but the time was not long enough to allow of their completion, and he was compelled to go into the contest with the old machine.
Mr. Adams says one of the significant facts concerning the race is that one of the contestants tried to follow his machine with a two-horse light wagon, but that the horses were unequal to the task.
„No horse on earth could have made those fifty-four miles through the slush and the mud,“ he said. „To me this fact alone demonstrates more than anything else the great value of the horseless vehicle.”
The scene in the neighborhood of the first relay station, Grace Street and Sheridan drive, was picturesque. Westward, along Grace Street, from the lake shore to Sheffield avenue, small groups of men, women and children began assembling as early as 9 o’clock. Squads of boys snowballed each other by way of passing the time until the arrival of the first motocycle. Men stopped in front of the guide board and stared at the big letters as if they might give them some information as to the exact time when the first horseless carriage would wheel into sight, and receiving no answer to the interrogation point, looked down the street in the direction of the lake and over the white, cold expanses covering the vacant lots along the converging streets. Sleighs of many shapes and sizes, drawn by steaming horses, passed by the relay station, their occupants drawing rein now and then to ask some pedestrian if any of the steam race wagons had passed that way yet, and occasionally drawing the fire of the snowball brigade. A good-natured crowd stood in the street and on the pavement at Grace Street and Sheridan drive and stamped the snow with their feet to keep warm.
The first motocycle came into view at this corner at about 11 o’clock. It was the R. H. Macy carriage, No. 22. Operator O’Conner and Umpire Rodman were the occupants. Several minutes‘ stop was made while the operator looked over his machinery, made a hitch or so in his running gear and took on board a supply of oil and water. Two policemen kept the crowd back from the motocycle while Operator O’Conner was getting things into ship-shape, and Lieutenant Rodman was answering good-naturedly the queries of curious bystanders. The wagon had butted into the rear end of a street car it was following too closely, he said, on the south side, and this had thrown the gear out of shape. The heaviest snow had been encountered along the Midway near Washington Park and north end of Lincoln Park. The Macy vehicle left the relay station, steaming north into Sheridan drive at 11:10:30 a. m.
Just twenty-two minutes and thirty seconds later another motocycle came flying toward the relay station at a clipping gait, the snow flying in miniature showers from its wheels as it moved along. This proved to be the Duryea motocycle. It passed through the crowd and went on its way without stopping or even slacking its speed. The umpire yelled out as this wagon bowled along Sheridan drive going northward: „How far ahead is the other fellow?“ A policeman told him, „Twenty minutes, sor.“ „We’ll overhaul him pretty soon,“ said the man in the wagon, as the latter went bowling along. Nearly an hour elapsed before the appearance of the third racer. It proved to be the Mueller moto- cycle. The arriving time at the station was 12:25:30. Its leaving time was 12:28:30.
The Macy wagon was stopped for a short time a few blocks north of the first relay station and this gave the Duryea motocycle a chance to gain on its rival until it finally passed as the two wagons turned south at Evanston on the home journey.
At Evanston great interest was shown in the race. A large number of people gathered near the industrial school at Sheridan drive and Main street and received the first comers with cheers. The Macy machine was then slightly in the lead. Two blocks farther on, just after they had turned north on Forest avenue, the Duryea motocycle was pressing the leader hard, and in accordance with the rules of the contest the Macy drew to one side and allowed the faster competitor to pass. The groups of people along Forest avenue applauded the unusual sight of one horseless carriage forging ahead of a rival. The route north on Forest avenue and west on Davis street was lined with interested spectators.
The favorite point of view at Evanston was at the turn at Davis street and Chicago avenue. The four corners were packed with people. They began to arrive at 10 o’clock and held their places until after one o’clock. In the office and on the veranda of the Avenue House were gathered many prominent residents of Evanston. As the noon hour arrived the watchers became expectant. No definite news could be obtained, because of the deranged telephone wires, due to the recent storm. But before the racers turned west on Davis street the news of their coming had been passed along the street, and the anxious crowd surged toward the middle of the road to catch the first glimpse of the contestants.
It was a bigger jam than assembled at Main street and Chicago avenue on Decoration Day to see the bicycle races make the turn. Up the gentle incline from Forest to Chicago avenue the motocyles ran easily. Shouts of encouragement from the spectators greeted them along Davis street, and as they made the turn on Chicago avenue and started upon the return trip the crowd broke into cheers.
At the turn the Duryea carriage was ahead, but it was followed closely by the Macy vehicle. The pneumatic tires of the former caused it to run more smoothly. The gearing of the latter did not seem to be in the best working order, and thus its engineer was han- dicapped for speed. The turn was made at 12:50 ο‘- clock.
Following the progress of the motocycles was a cutter containing Frederick C. Haas, who had abandoned the race with the De La Vergne machine on Michigan boulavard and Sixteenth street; A. E. Richter and a reporter for the Times-Herald. In crossing the tracks of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Road near Cavalry Cemetery the cutter was just ahead of the Macy wagon. The sleigh’s runner caught in a frog and the occupants of the cutter were thrown on the tracks. Before they had time to pick themselves up and count bruises the Macy wagon came along. The steering gear of the motocycle had given out, and as the wagon came opposite the overturned sleigh it switched suddenly and smashed into the cutter. No damage was done, however, and the motocycle passed along.
While coming back through Rogers Park the Macy carriage met a hack which did not give the right of way. In trying to turn out the tire of the motocycle slipped, and its left front wheel collided with the rear wheel of the hack. By the collision four spokes were badly chipped, and the steering gear bent so as to be almost useless. Fortunately, the gauge of the vehicle was the same in width as the street car tracks, and by keeping on the car tracks it managed to reach the second relay station a mile farther on.
The second relay station at North Clark street and Devon avenue presented a lively scene from II until 4 o’clock. The roadhouse of William Bock at that corner was the headquarters for a hundred men who were enthusiastic over the contest. Several watched the race pass the first relay station at Grace street and Sheridan drive, and then came to the second station by the electric cars. J. A. Lucas, of Ravenswood, was one of those who stayed till the last carriage had arrived. Two fresh teams, with comfortable rigs, were at the relay station to take the men who were driving along with the contestants. Frank R. Macpherson, manager of the Macy outfit, had a team and brought with him plenty of naphtha to replenish the supply for his motor. H. Wedel was at the relay in readiness to care for the wants of the motocycle entered by the De la Vergne Company, but as his machine did not come that far he had nothing to do. Fred B. Mueller, with his cousin, Adolph Ewers, awaited the Mueller machine with supplies. Various motocycles and different styles of motors were discussed while the crowd waited for the motor wagons to make their appearance.
An excited crowd flocked to the street when the Duryea machine was sighted. It came along at a good pace, and crossed Devon avenue at 1:09:41 o’clock. Two men were in the carriage. It did not even slacken speed at the second relay station, but continued south on Clark street. In a short time the Macy carriage came into view. It reached the relay point at 1:16:41 o’clock. In it were Lieutenant Rodman, the umpire, and Engineer Jerry O’Conner. A collision with a hack a little distance back had thrown its steering gear out of order so that it followed the car tracks around the curve, being unable to turn out. A stop of an hour and twenty minutes was made at the relay station for repairs. The machinery was also cleaned. Six gallons of naphtha and seven gallons of water were taken on. The machine resumed its journey at 2:37:26 o’clock.
The third and last motocycle to pass the second relay station was the Mueller machine, which arrived at 3:23:16 o’clock. Upon it were Charles G. Reid, Oscar Mueller and Charles B. King. Several stops had been made to oil and to fix the clutch, which had been bent by the rough roads. The right sprocket chain had also given some trouble. After replenishing the fuel, the machine started again at 3:28:40 o’clock, and was working smoothly as it disappeared around a curve in Clark street.
After passing the second relay station, at Grace and North Clark streets, the Duryea wagon ran smoothly along the car tracks, going at a high rate of speed. The spectators who stood at the corners of the streets cheered as the motocycle passed swiftly by. A mistake was made at Lawrence avenue by the operator. He mistook the direction of the hand on the guide post and went along Clark street instead of down Ashland avenue at far as Roscoe street. He went two miles out of his way, but struck the regular course again by going west on Diversey street. The observation sleigh, which followed later, followed the indication on the guide post, but a search was made in vain for the Duryea wagon. None of the hundreds waiting for the motocycles had seen it, and it was at first thought that the wagon had broken down. But it managed to keep ahead of its rivals. The Mueller wagon passed the Macy at the second relay station, where the New York machine was delayed for repairs. Swift runs were made to the next relay station.
The run out Roscoe street and Belmont avenue, and then southeast on Milwaukee avenue and through Humboldt and Lincoln parks, was fairly uneventful, but slow Western avenue boulevard was not very gay- with sleighs and foot passengers, but in the vicinity of Brighton Park, on Twenty-sixth street, and at California and Ogden avenues, about Douglas Park, and on to Fortieth street, the crowd blocked the sidewalk. They skated, coasted and ran on a dozen false alarms that the first motor was in sight and finally, grown weary of waiting, resolved themselves into snowball parties.
At Douglas Park this form of amusement became so serious that the park and city police sought to make arrests. Then the crowd turned loose on them with their white missiles and completely drove them for a time from the street Two hundred small boys charged on the officer, knocked his hat from his head, covered him with snow and made him retreat. An attempt to call for the patrol wagon revealed the fact that not a telephone nor police alarm box in that district had been working since the storm of Monday night.
Duryea Reaches Douglas Park.
Wet and cold, darkness already coming on, and not a motocycle in sight, the small boys and the little girls and the older folks went home, Consequently, when, a few minutes before 6 o’clock, the Duryea motor came through Douglas Park laboring with every bad roadway, there was no one to greet it on California avenue but a representative of the Times-Herald. Ahead of the machine drove the umpire, and after the good wheeling on California avenue was found he had a lively time keeping ahead of the vehicle. On Thirty-fourth street and the first approaches to Western avenue the roadbed was comparatively hard, and the motor made magnificent time, traveling one pace at the rate of eight miles an hour with ease. Lacking spectators, except here and there a solitary workman on his way home, or the belated watchman of one of the ill-smelling soap factories of the district hastening to his odorous place of duty, the men on the motorgave vent to war-whoops, cheers, cat-calls and other manifestations of joy over the victory they were winning.
Western avenue boulevard was not so easy going The path was poorly broken and the underbed rough. Progress to Fifty-fifth street was slow and tedious, but the motor held to her work without a break. As the boulevard was turned onto the final run on the home stretch the cry rang out: „This is 5:5:55.“
To Ashland avenue but one sleigh‘ was passed. The darkness was on, and, hidden behind two horse-moving rigs, the motocycle was comparatively unnoticed. But at Halsted a woman crossing the street with an escort caught sight of the strange rig and jumped back from the crossing frightened. On the opposite corner at a drug store a crowd of men cheered. Young boys began to chase the motocycle and shout but they could not keep up.
No delays were met with but a stoppage for gasoline and the holding of the motor at the crossing of the Fort Wayne Road by passing trains for four minutes. After this the run to South Park and then to the starting line of the morning was uneventful. Not fifty people saw he last stages of the finish or knew that the Duryea had established a world’s record in the capacity of a motocycle to conquer even King Winter himself. It was just 7:18 when Frank Duryea threw himself out of the seat of the motor and announced the end. His hand was grasped by the few who saw him cross the line. The congratulations were hearty. The crowd of travelers were hungry. The Duryea was wheeled about and started for her quarters on Sixteenth street.
At 8:53, with John Lundy, one of the judges, holding the watch, the Mueller motor crossed the line, second in the race, and, considering the lateness of the hour at which she started, really only twenty-four or twenty-five minutes behind the Duryea. Her journey through the parks and boulevards of the city proper was even more lonesome than that of the Duryea to the spectators. An enthusiast might be found at some point who had waited all the afternoon for the sight, but these were few. The gayeties of the evening had called away the large and jolly crowds of the morning, and only the officials of the race and the reporters saw the end of the great battle against the snow and a too kindly sun.
Lieutenant Samuel Rodman, umpire for the Macy motocycle, reported last night shortly after twelve o’clock that the Macy had been compelled to quit the race at California and Ogden avenues at 6:15 p. in. At that time they were only twenty-five minutes behind the Duryea machine, and were ahead of the Mueller motocyle. Their motor gave out at that point, and although they labored with it for five hours or until 11/30, they were unable to make it run satisfactorily again. They consequently abandoned the race. The Mueller machine passed them while they were trying to repair the defects of the motor, but they could not follow it.
Lieutenant Rodman was convinced that the collision which the Macy had on Evanston avenue early in the day with an ignorant, obstinate coachman, and which injured the steering apparatus, so destroyed the adjustment of that important mechanism that after that time the motor could not be run at its full capacity and eventually broke down altogether. Still, at California and Ogden avenues, where it quit, the Macy was second in the race, with a fair show of overtaking the Duryea and producing a neck and neck finish.
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Page 16 THE MOTOCYCLE. VOL. 1. NOVEMBER. No. 2
THE Motocycle (AUTOMOBILE) COPYRIGHTED 1895 Published 15th of Each Month. Entered as second class matter at Post Office,
THE ridiculing of the Times-Herald contest by certain Chicago papers is to be regrated, these papers have displayed their pique and jealousy in a puerile manner. The time will come and is not far distant when they will be glad to give their support to a movement which will help our country and city incidentally. Macauly says: „Of all inventions the alphabet and the printing press excepted, those inventions which abridge distance have done most for civilization.“ This movement is a national and all absorbing, topic politics aside, you cannot find a paper but finds it to its interest to touch on this subject. The future is very bright and the motocycle has, come to stay, the jealousy engendered by a rivals success will result unless they get out of the way, in an appalling disaster caused by their being run over by the motocycle. That this is no idle talk, is proven by the fact that The Canadian Engineer has made an announcement of a proposed race to be held under their auspices in May next, which formal announcement will be made in our next issue as to date and condition under which this race will be held. We congratulate the Engineer! That it will be a success is guaranteed by their endorsement. Our co-operation goes without saying.