Locomobile
In 1899, John Brisben Walker (editor and publisher of The Cosmopolitan magazine) purchased the plans for a
steam-powered vehicle from Francis and Freelan Stanley and partnered with paving contractor Amzi L. Barber to fill the
199 orders. Walker and Barber soon split, with Walker founding the Mobile Company of America in NY at the
former Stanley plant, and Barber founding Locomobile with the Stanley twins as general managers in Watertown, MA.
One of the earliest car manufacturers, it derived its name from “locomotive” and “automobile” and moved to
Bridgeport, CT, in 1900.
Until 1903, it manufactured small, affordable steam cars. Despite the cars being described by author Rudyard Kipling as
a “nickel-plated fraud” and prone to kerosene fires, Locomobile sold over 4,000 unreliable steam-powered runabouts
in seven different body styles. They were the first automobiles to be used in war, joining the British in the Second
Boer War, where they were used to dismantle a minefield and even to serve tea by tapping the boiler.
Andrew L. Riker designed a four-cylinder, steel-chassis, internal-combustion-powered luxury car in 1902 and pivoted
production, selling the rights to the steam vehicle back to Stanley. The Stanley twins would go on to found the Stanley
Motor Carriage Company, becoming Locomobile’s closest competitor. By 1908, George Robertson had won the
Vanderbilt Cup with a Locomobile, making the company the first American manufacturer to win an
international competition.
In 1911, the prestigious Type M was introduced, known more commonly as the Model 48 for its 48 HP, with an open body,
large chassis, straight-six T-head engine with side valves, and impeccable workmanship and materials. It came with a
hefty price tag, going for $10,000 (over $330K in 2025), and offered custom lamps and metalwork from Tiffany
Studios.
Orin Davis won the Los Angeles–Phoenix rally with a Locomobile in 1913, but Locomobile did not make much
more of an impression in racing history, although Eva Mudge chose the Locomobile as her race car. She is believed
to be the first female to hold a driver’s license, race a car, and get into an accident. Locomobile joined the war
effort again in 1917, selling the Riker Truck to the British Army and contributing more vehicles to WWI than any other
American company.
Durant Motors, Inc., led by Billy Durant, former CEO of General Motors, acquired Locomobile in 1922 and continued
producing the Model 48. The company came out with its own Locomobile 8-66 Junior Eight, featuring a
straight-eight engine and a much lower price tag, along with several other vehicles, until it placed a Lycoming engine
in the 8-70 of 1927, damaging the Locomobile name. Production ended in 1929, despite efforts to save the
company’s reputation with the new 8-86 and 8-88 models after the stock market crash.
Locomobiles were known to be speedy, well-built luxury cars, revered for their precision engineering and beautiful
craftsmanship. It’s no wonder Locomobile Automobile Co. used the slogan, “The Best Built Car in
America.”
Locomobile: 1909 Model 30 Touring
This extremely rare 1909 Locomobile Model 30 is almost in exact
original barn-find condition with all original and correct accessories. The vehicle has had three owners, the
first of whom, a fruit-and-vegetable salesman, purchased the car in Connecticut. In the 1940s, he moved to
Victor, NY, to farm and he used the car until the 1950s. After that time, the vehicle was tucked neatly into a garage
alongside boxes until 1997. The family considered a restoration at one point and removed most of the original deep
blue paint but got no further than that. The son of the original owner met a father and son, Clark and Clark
Rittersbach, driving an 1899 Locomobile steam carriage at a local show, and sold the Model 30 to the enthusiastic
pair. They declared that the “Locomobile found them.”
The upholstery did not weather the years as well as the rest of the vehicle, and since the vehicle entered the
collection of Dick Shappy, the upholstery has been painstakingly replaced and repaired with era-correct leather, along
with the top. The clutch has been repaired, and multiple mechanical engine and drivetrain adjustments were performed. It
now runs smoothly and is ready for touring and shows. It comes with the VIN PSR17676 and the Rushmore Lens-Mirror
Searchlight Solar Model 726B Lamps manufactured by Rushmore Dynamo Works in Plainfield, NJ. Rushmore also patented the
Automatic Shaking Grate Generator. The ignition is a dual-coil Bosch, and the MotoMeter is a traditional Boyce
from The MotoMeter Company. It also comes equipped with an Ingraham steering-column-mounted clock, a
Locomobile speedometer, and a Lavigne Mfg. Co. lubricator from Detroit, MI.
Watch the video: The 1909 Locomobile Model 30
Touring
(3 minute video).
Produced by Nicole LeBoeuf
Posted by Dick Shappy April 12, 2026
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