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Auto pioneer Charles Duryea (say: dur-yay) began building
innovative three cylinder cars like this in 1900 in Reading,
Pennsylvania. Several of these very early
automobiles can be seen in the museum.
The 1872 carriage factory in Boyertown where this buggy was
built by Jeremiah Sweinhart still stands as a part of today's
museum facility. This buggy is part of the
museum's horse drawn vehicle collection. Dozens
of cars, trucks, and other vehicles tell the transportation
history of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Plan to
visit the museum as you travel in Pennsylvania.
Auto pioneer Charles E. Duryea, who with his brother built
the world's first commercially produced automobiles,
manufactured cars in Reading beginning in 1900. A
brilliant engineer and innovator, today's cars still utilize
the steering geometry Charles Duryea patented in 1900.
How can you deliver engine power to the drive wheels without
using gears, clutch, drive shaft or chains ?
Duryea's unique drive provided two forward speeds and reverse
in this simple, light weight system. The roller
gripped the sheave as a v-belt grabs the pulley.
It eliminated problems associated with the drive chains used
on most cars; constant cleaning and lubrication, high
cost, frequent adjustments, and noise.
This now rare Dragon was produced in Philadelphia in
1907. Its gears were selected sequentially, not
in an "H" pattern. It is powered by a four
cylinder water cooled engine.
For only a few dollars more, the 1914 DILE automobile built
in Reading, Pennsylvania, was a good alternative car in a
country overpopulated by Henry Ford's Model "T".
To provide good service on its home delivery routes, a
Berks County laundry had Reading's Himmelberger Wagon Works
build a custom body on a new 1915 electric powered chassis
from the Commercial Truck Company of
Philadelphia. Today it is frequently seen moving
silently across the grounds at museum special
events. It is a part of the museum's large
electric vehicle collection.
The respected Fleetwood nameplate identified
a car hand-built to the buyer's own specifications on his
own chassis. Later, in 1927, GM acquired the firm
and limited production solely to LaSalle and
Cadillac.
This 1928 LaSalle was restored in 1967
by several craftsmen retired from the company.
In a speedster like this 1912 SGV, you could top 60 miles
per hour if you could find a road smooth
enough. The initials stand for the owners names,
Sternberg, a Reading manufacturer, Graham, the company's San
Francisco sales representative, and Van Tine, an engineer
experienced with the sought-after Italian Lancia, which
accounts for its desirable Lancia-like
engine. Many body styles were offered.
Thanks to economic depression and war your mailman was still
driving antiquated model "A" Fords in 1949. The
U.S. Post Office finally replaced them with 2,050 of these
1949 Ford based "walk-in" mail trucks developed by the
Boyertown Auto Body Works, a successor to the Jeremiah
Sweinhart Carriage Factory.
Visitors enjoy learning from a variety of cars and trucks at
the museum's annual Duryea Day Antique and Classic Car Show on
the Labor Day weekend. For a look at
2003, go to Duryea
Day - The Story in Pictures.
This factory building complex, where vehicles were built
from 1872 to 1990, houses the museum's
collections. Ever changing stage-set exhibits
display vehicles as they would have been seen in earlier
times. The buildings include the 1872 carriage
shop, large exhibit areas, an orientation theater, research
library, and museum store featuring vehicle related books,
gifts, and toys.
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It was also Mr. Carr, in early 2003, who coaxed the General, a 1939 Chrysler Imperial, on a 5,000 mile safari through South and Central Africa. The nineteen-day peregrination started in Cape Town on February 16th and finished on March 6th against the towering (19,331-foot) backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro. The automobile adventurer who has actually driven across every continent on our planet (except Antarctica) is – Ray Carr.
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| This
Did You Know //
Automotive Excerpts and Did You Know // Ray Carr page was first posted on Thursday, June 14 th, 2001, and last appended on Thursday, April 29 th, 2004. |