In the latest issue of Veteran Car (no.351 October 2013) Stewart Skilbeck asks for information about a Stanley shown in a parade passing into the city through Walmgate Bar. It is preceded by a Grout steam car currenlty in the Castle Museum York collections.

I attach photos of the parade and the car in question -

The parade photo is pre-November 1935 - that's when the last tram ran
in York ( see
[www.historyofyork.org.uk] )

The Car is definitely a 10hp Galloways wide-bodied Stanley, identical to
the illustration in my 1913 Galloways catalogue.

One of the photos shows the off side - and looks like a door or body
panel has been removed.

Registration no is visible in the Walmgate bar parade photo, it looks
like BT 151.

The car can't be the 1911 Seaham Stanley EP 1167 (now owned by Graham Atkinson of the Scarborough Fair Collection, and featured in the latest isue of the Steam car, No.61 October 2013 )- that has detachable rim wheels and the scuttle is different (tho I do wonder if this has been replaced).

It is unlikely to be Bill Hunter's 1912 Stanley no.6819 either - that
was almost certainly in Scotland at the time, has twin headlamps
(think it had these in the 30s ), and detachable rim wheels. The
windscreen is also different. There are some nice 1938 and 1945 photos
& a potted history of this car in The Steam car, Issue 10 Jan 2001.


Fascinating photos - it will be interesting to see if anyone out there
knows what happened to the car.

I will also ask the Castle Museum at York if the car was ever offered to them, or had been in their collections (their enquiry service is closed until Jan 2014 as they are busy with a major exhibition).



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 10/26/13 10:18AM by Peter Turvey.

And here is a photo of the procession itself





Edited 1 times. Last edit at 10/26/13 10:18AM by Peter Turvey.

Interesting! It's hard to believe that it's NOT the Bill Hunter car - all body panels, the windscreen, and the forward domed canister on the driver's running board are identical. It even has the kink in the passenger front fender in the same place as the 1938 photo in The Steam Car #10, 10-12" back from the lip.

But it's indeed a bit of a deal-breaker that Hunter's car was purchased in Scotland in 1935, ownership continued in Scotland, and yet the attached photos are in York. And according to www.NumberPlates.com, B-T-151 was issued "from Dec 1903 to Aug 1926. This plate would have been issued by Yorkshire East Riding C.C. (currently Leeds (York) ). " Possibly this car's original plate.

And Hunter's car was with its prior owner Ireland as far back as 1915, before living in Scotland, with the registration OI 3348.

One conclusion could be that we have some very nice documentation on the way that this version of roadster left Galloways - 2 nearly identical examples.

It's interesting to note that although the Hunter car has been referred to at various times as 1908/09 and 1911, its serial number is from the 1912-1913 range of production, and it has the rounded rear hood corners that only began appearing in 1912 when bodies changed to aluminium.

Kelly

Thank you, Peter, for posting those photos. I know you are more interested in the Stanley but the car which interests me is the Grout. I have been fortunate in being given a special dispensation by Robert Wake (Collections Facilitator at the York Castle Museums Trust) to inspect the car which is presently in storage. Unfortunately, I had to cancel the visit due to my having taken ill but having now recovered I am minded to make contact again.

As you may be aware, Grouts were built in Orange, Mass. U.S.A. and imported into the U.K. where they were sold as the "Weston" steam car. I understand that this is one such and I was delighted to see DN8 in the parade. I wonder if there is much more information available?.

[www.sturgeconservation.co.uk]

Not a very clear image but one that invites attention.

I had hoped to import an unrestored Grout from the States this year but it was just another wild Goose chase!

Very interesting to see this Stanley as it is very like my own (OI 529) as others have said. I see that it has the springs mounted outboard of the chassis and the suspension lowered, that caused the tyres to rub on the underside of the mudguards on my car. This has been rectified by raising the springs to chassis level. The body work is so similar to mine that it surely was made by the same company, who must have been well established as my body number is 7024. The body is steel with only the door, the off side panel and the rear body skin in aluminium.
Regarding the errors in dating my car, this came about because when my father got the car there was a 1908 10 HP Stanley in the barn as well(OI 288) and he was told our car was the 08 one. Though he was informed his date was wrong he would not change his mind! If only there had been a Steam Car Club at that time it might have been sorted out!
The 08 Stanley was destroyed, along with the barn full of cars, by a bomb during the Clydeside blitz.
I have not been able to find any information about the first owner of my car.
I know there was an annual book published with the details of Irish numbers but as yet have not managed to find the 1913/4 edition.