The Great American Race '88
The Culligan Steam Team
Less than a month after the conclusion of the '87
run, I was on the phone talking to Carl Amsley
about the possibility of us doing the GAR again
in '88. Neither one of us were too enthusiastic
about it. We experienced so many problems
during the '87 run that may have been small
problems to any other type of vehicle but became
major difficulties to a steam powered car primarily
because of the time constraint of the road rally..
We had a great deal of difficulty keeping up with
our water tanker and frequently we would be out
of water with a tanker nowhere in sight. The
problem was not only getting water but also
getting good water.The water throughout the
middle of the United States has lots of minerals.
We had boiler problems from the fourth day out and those problems continued on until the end of the run. The Stanley Mt Wagon did not have a very sophisticated odometer and consequently we never really knew how fast we were going. The rules of the race require that you change and maintain speeds along certain portions of the route and it became an impossibility for us. Carl was understandably dubious about entering the Mt Wagon once again and he was adamant about the need for good water and plenty of it along the way. I told him that I would try to get a sponsor for us and would get back to him in a few weeks.
I contacted the Culligan pure water company and arranged to meet with their executive staff. My proposal to them was that if they would supply the water for the Stanley along the route it would be a fantastic bit of advertisement for them. An opportunity to have Culligan water driving from coast-to-coast. The amount of money required to sponsor us in the race would be miniscule compared to the advertising return. I proposed that we set up a series of stops along the way where would Culligan water distributors would meet us and would supply pure mineral free filtered water for our boiler. I also requested that Culligan set up a booth at each one of the overnight stops as well as the midday stops along the way. After approximately 6 weeks Culligan agreed to sponsor us and the Culligan Steam Team came into being.
Carl Amsley was once again in his element as he prepared to rework the Stanley Mt Wagon for the 88 run. We decided that we didn't need a very large water tank in the car if we were going to be able to be resupplied along the way. In so doing, it cut down the weight and thus increased the mileage per gallon efficiency. Not having a tanker to keep up with was a major advantage. Experience in the '87 run convinced us that we must do something about the brakes as well is the odometer. There was no need trying to do anything more to the engine or the boiler because the 20 horse power boiler produced more than enough steam to run the car between 50 and 55 mph as long as the pumps held up. We tinkered with the car throughout the year and took it out on several practice runs of 30 to 50 miles along some of the back roads in St. Thomas Pennsylvania, the site of Carl Amsley's garage. It was at this time that Terry Amsley told us that he would like to go on the run so we decided that he would be the designated driver, I would do the navigating and Carl would be the overall supervisor. It should be noted here that Terry Amsley grew up around steam-powered vehicles and has a great deal of skill and experience in driving the Mt Wagon. Few in the steam fraternity can match his know-how in this arena.
As the months passed, we met with several of the Culligan District managers throughout the country. The object was to set up the water supply but in reality that became impossible because none of the participants could know the route or the direction to be taken cross-country until the time of the race. The only information we could get from the G A R was the location of the overnight stops and we only got that information a month or so prior to the start of the race. Once we had a general idea of the direction and the route we prevailed upon Culligan to set up as many locations as possible so that we can get the water that we needed. All of the Culligan people were excited about the prospect and where very, very helpful.
The 1988 Great American race was scheduled to start on July 22 at Disneyland California and end at the City Hall in Boston, Massachusetts on the 3rd of July. This time the team consisted of Terry Amsley, Yours Truly and Carl (who decided to ride along in the back seat and be a real back seat driver). Those of you who knew Carl can just imagine what a hoot it was with him behind us all the way. In truth, he was a joy and we had a great time with him.....he had a habit of yelling for us to "STOP" from time to time and that meant "STOP NOW". There were times when he would hear something unusual and would want us to pull over so that he could check it but most of the time It meant that he needed a pit stop and we had many along the way.
All of the racers were advised to meet at the Emerald Hotel in Anaheim on Saturday, June 18 through June 21 for registration, technical inspection, shakedown rally, orientation meeting and a host of instructions for drivers and support vehicles. Some of these meetings were optional but the technical inspection and orientation meetings were mandatory. As usual, the crowds were voluminous in Disneyland at approximately 9:30 a.m. The first cars began staging in the Bambi parking lot. I don't really recall what time we actually got out of the parking lot and on the way but our first time stop was to be in Lancaster California somewhere around 2:30. I don't think we got there on time.
Overnight was in San Luis Obispo but we caught on fire and were very late in arriving. While we were pulled over to the side of the road, someone called the fire department and soon we had two trucks and a brigade of firemen around us. They were more interested in the car than the fire and Carl was at his best dealing with them. We waited for the fire to burn out, allowed the raw fuel to evaporate and then we 'fired up' again and were on our way. It was a very long day when we finally arrived in San Luis Obispo.
A special welcome was arranged for us with lots of food, ice cream and other goodies. We left the next morning and went from there to King city CA and then to Santa Cruz CA. There are usually two short morning and afternoon stops for rest refreshment and a stretch of the legs. Midday was in San Francisco at fisherman's wharf and then on to Vallejo and overnight at Sacramento. Friday, June 24 found us in Auburn CA, Reno NV, Winnemucca NV and an overnight in Elko NV. Elko was a real hoot: we had a jazz band, artists from the show lounge in Elko and barbecued steak for the drivers.
The next morning we left for Wendover NV and had our midday stop in Salt Lake City Utah. From there we went through Wyoming stopping at Rock Springs for the evening. The Mayors of Rock Springs, Green River, and the Chamber of Commerce were there to welcome us. The crowds, hospitality, food and drink where in ample supply. The next morning we stopped in Rawlins Wyoming for coffee and donuts. The noonday stop in Cheyenne, Wyoming was really a treat. The Cheyenne visitors Bureau had a very special menu for us buffalo burgers on the BBQ with sweet corn and barbecued beans while listening to the lovely music of the "Sweet Adeline’s" and a red-hot Bluegrass Country band. The Cheyenne Shrine Clowns were there to entertain the children and the afternoon stop was over all too soon. We got under way and went on down to Loveland Colorado and then overnight in Aurora, Colorado. The Aurora Symphony; food and refreshments provided by the Chamber of Commerce treated us to music. A large crowd gathered at the front door of the hotel to watch us 'blow down the boiler' for the night. My daughter Susan and several of my grandchildren met us and stayed with us that night.
The next morning we are off to spend the rest of the day driving through the state of Kansas. We arrived in Salina Kansas late in the evening because we broke down again along the way and had to come limping in. From this point on in the race we were so far behind the clock that we would no longer qualify for any of the awards so what we opted to just drive along as best we could and to try to make it to the evening stops. There were many occasions where we decided not to stop but to continue on to the midday lunch stops and try to get to the overnights before it got too dark.
Thanks to the Culligan people water was no problem. We had a few minor scrapes but nothing of any significance. The burner flooded and caught on fire on one or two occasions but that became typical of the trip. The cable got clogged with carbon and we had to pull it and I clean it and replace it. That particular exercise took most of the afternoon and we were very late getting into St. Charles Missouri. We had a major problem in Cincinnati: the pumps weren't working and we were not able to keep the water level in the boiler so we stopped and pulled the pumps apart and repacked them. On Friday July 1 we were in Akron, Ohio at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. for lunch. We're allowed to go on to the Goodyear test track and take a spin around the oval, have our picture taken and then head out for Erie Pennsylvania. For the next two days we were driving through New York and Pennsylvania and what I recall most about those two days was the weather. It was awful. When it wasn't hot it was raining and when it wasn't raining it was muggy and when it wasn't muggy it was hot again. Then it was on to Boston.
I told you about the command to "STOP" that Carl would frequently roar from the back seat.....well, it was the last day of the race and we were in the tunnel under the Charles river going into Boston when Carl yelled "STOP". It was not because he heard something unusual in the engine,......it was because it was a very hot day and he had been drinking the best part of a double six-pack all afternoon and needed a pit stop. I tried to convince him that we were in the middle of the tunnel, one way traffic and no place to stop. He would have none of that and insisted that we "STOP". Up ahead there was a small opening where the road way took a turn. We pulled over. Carl jumped out and while cars from the GAR were passing and honking at him, he grinned, waved back at them and calmly watered the tunnel floor. It was a moment to remember!!!
We finished the run, got our medallion and went to the party in Boston. It was the 4th of July. Boston celebrates that date with a fury and we all had a wonderful time. The race was over, the Stanley Mt Wagon held up and so did we. It was an effort that Carl, Terry and I will never forget nor have any desire to repeat. To have any hope of success in the GAR one needs to be able to stay on the clock for the entire race. It cannot be done in a steam-powered auto of Stanley Mt Wagon vintage. The rigors of the event are such that to be able to go the distance is remarkable. To date, no one else has entered a 'steamer' in the GAR and I expect that no one else ever will. We hold that dubious distinction. We did it in '87 and we had to try it again in '88 knowing that we were in over our heads. There are things that some of us just have to do.
When I think back on it I ask...... why?
Then again......why not?
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The Culligan Steam Team
Less than a month after the conclusion of the '87
run, I was on the phone talking to Carl Amsley
about the possibility of us doing the GAR again
in '88. Neither one of us were too enthusiastic
about it. We experienced so many problems
during the '87 run that may have been small
problems to any other type of vehicle but became
major difficulties to a steam powered car primarily
because of the time constraint of the road rally..
We had a great deal of difficulty keeping up with
our water tanker and frequently we would be out
of water with a tanker nowhere in sight. The
problem was not only getting water but also
getting good water.The water throughout the
middle of the United States has lots of minerals.
We had boiler problems from the fourth day out and those problems continued on until the end of the run. The Stanley Mt Wagon did not have a very sophisticated odometer and consequently we never really knew how fast we were going. The rules of the race require that you change and maintain speeds along certain portions of the route and it became an impossibility for us. Carl was understandably dubious about entering the Mt Wagon once again and he was adamant about the need for good water and plenty of it along the way. I told him that I would try to get a sponsor for us and would get back to him in a few weeks.
I contacted the Culligan pure water company and arranged to meet with their executive staff. My proposal to them was that if they would supply the water for the Stanley along the route it would be a fantastic bit of advertisement for them. An opportunity to have Culligan water driving from coast-to-coast. The amount of money required to sponsor us in the race would be miniscule compared to the advertising return. I proposed that we set up a series of stops along the way where would Culligan water distributors would meet us and would supply pure mineral free filtered water for our boiler. I also requested that Culligan set up a booth at each one of the overnight stops as well as the midday stops along the way. After approximately 6 weeks Culligan agreed to sponsor us and the Culligan Steam Team came into being.
Carl Amsley was once again in his element as he prepared to rework the Stanley Mt Wagon for the 88 run. We decided that we didn't need a very large water tank in the car if we were going to be able to be resupplied along the way. In so doing, it cut down the weight and thus increased the mileage per gallon efficiency. Not having a tanker to keep up with was a major advantage. Experience in the '87 run convinced us that we must do something about the brakes as well is the odometer. There was no need trying to do anything more to the engine or the boiler because the 20 horse power boiler produced more than enough steam to run the car between 50 and 55 mph as long as the pumps held up. We tinkered with the car throughout the year and took it out on several practice runs of 30 to 50 miles along some of the back roads in St. Thomas Pennsylvania, the site of Carl Amsley's garage. It was at this time that Terry Amsley told us that he would like to go on the run so we decided that he would be the designated driver, I would do the navigating and Carl would be the overall supervisor. It should be noted here that Terry Amsley grew up around steam-powered vehicles and has a great deal of skill and experience in driving the Mt Wagon. Few in the steam fraternity can match his know-how in this arena.
As the months passed, we met with several of the Culligan District managers throughout the country. The object was to set up the water supply but in reality that became impossible because none of the participants could know the route or the direction to be taken cross-country until the time of the race. The only information we could get from the G A R was the location of the overnight stops and we only got that information a month or so prior to the start of the race. Once we had a general idea of the direction and the route we prevailed upon Culligan to set up as many locations as possible so that we can get the water that we needed. All of the Culligan people were excited about the prospect and where very, very helpful.
The 1988 Great American race was scheduled to start on July 22 at Disneyland California and end at the City Hall in Boston, Massachusetts on the 3rd of July. This time the team consisted of Terry Amsley, Yours Truly and Carl (who decided to ride along in the back seat and be a real back seat driver). Those of you who knew Carl can just imagine what a hoot it was with him behind us all the way. In truth, he was a joy and we had a great time with him.....he had a habit of yelling for us to "STOP" from time to time and that meant "STOP NOW". There were times when he would hear something unusual and would want us to pull over so that he could check it but most of the time It meant that he needed a pit stop and we had many along the way.
All of the racers were advised to meet at the Emerald Hotel in Anaheim on Saturday, June 18 through June 21 for registration, technical inspection, shakedown rally, orientation meeting and a host of instructions for drivers and support vehicles. Some of these meetings were optional but the technical inspection and orientation meetings were mandatory. As usual, the crowds were voluminous in Disneyland at approximately 9:30 a.m. The first cars began staging in the Bambi parking lot. I don't really recall what time we actually got out of the parking lot and on the way but our first time stop was to be in Lancaster California somewhere around 2:30. I don't think we got there on time.
Overnight was in San Luis Obispo but we caught on fire and were very late in arriving. While we were pulled over to the side of the road, someone called the fire department and soon we had two trucks and a brigade of firemen around us. They were more interested in the car than the fire and Carl was at his best dealing with them. We waited for the fire to burn out, allowed the raw fuel to evaporate and then we 'fired up' again and were on our way. It was a very long day when we finally arrived in San Luis Obispo.
A special welcome was arranged for us with lots of food, ice cream and other goodies. We left the next morning and went from there to King city CA and then to Santa Cruz CA. There are usually two short morning and afternoon stops for rest refreshment and a stretch of the legs. Midday was in San Francisco at fisherman's wharf and then on to Vallejo and overnight at Sacramento. Friday, June 24 found us in Auburn CA, Reno NV, Winnemucca NV and an overnight in Elko NV. Elko was a real hoot: we had a jazz band, artists from the show lounge in Elko and barbecued steak for the drivers.
The next morning we left for Wendover NV and had our midday stop in Salt Lake City Utah. From there we went through Wyoming stopping at Rock Springs for the evening. The Mayors of Rock Springs, Green River, and the Chamber of Commerce were there to welcome us. The crowds, hospitality, food and drink where in ample supply. The next morning we stopped in Rawlins Wyoming for coffee and donuts. The noonday stop in Cheyenne, Wyoming was really a treat. The Cheyenne visitors Bureau had a very special menu for us buffalo burgers on the BBQ with sweet corn and barbecued beans while listening to the lovely music of the "Sweet Adeline’s" and a red-hot Bluegrass Country band. The Cheyenne Shrine Clowns were there to entertain the children and the afternoon stop was over all too soon. We got under way and went on down to Loveland Colorado and then overnight in Aurora, Colorado. The Aurora Symphony; food and refreshments provided by the Chamber of Commerce treated us to music. A large crowd gathered at the front door of the hotel to watch us 'blow down the boiler' for the night. My daughter Susan and several of my grandchildren met us and stayed with us that night.
The next morning we are off to spend the rest of the day driving through the state of Kansas. We arrived in Salina Kansas late in the evening because we broke down again along the way and had to come limping in. From this point on in the race we were so far behind the clock that we would no longer qualify for any of the awards so what we opted to just drive along as best we could and to try to make it to the evening stops. There were many occasions where we decided not to stop but to continue on to the midday lunch stops and try to get to the overnights before it got too dark.
Thanks to the Culligan people water was no problem. We had a few minor scrapes but nothing of any significance. The burner flooded and caught on fire on one or two occasions but that became typical of the trip. The cable got clogged with carbon and we had to pull it and I clean it and replace it. That particular exercise took most of the afternoon and we were very late getting into St. Charles Missouri. We had a major problem in Cincinnati: the pumps weren't working and we were not able to keep the water level in the boiler so we stopped and pulled the pumps apart and repacked them. On Friday July 1 we were in Akron, Ohio at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. for lunch. We're allowed to go on to the Goodyear test track and take a spin around the oval, have our picture taken and then head out for Erie Pennsylvania. For the next two days we were driving through New York and Pennsylvania and what I recall most about those two days was the weather. It was awful. When it wasn't hot it was raining and when it wasn't raining it was muggy and when it wasn't muggy it was hot again. Then it was on to Boston.
I told you about the command to "STOP" that Carl would frequently roar from the back seat.....well, it was the last day of the race and we were in the tunnel under the Charles river going into Boston when Carl yelled "STOP". It was not because he heard something unusual in the engine,......it was because it was a very hot day and he had been drinking the best part of a double six-pack all afternoon and needed a pit stop. I tried to convince him that we were in the middle of the tunnel, one way traffic and no place to stop. He would have none of that and insisted that we "STOP". Up ahead there was a small opening where the road way took a turn. We pulled over. Carl jumped out and while cars from the GAR were passing and honking at him, he grinned, waved back at them and calmly watered the tunnel floor. It was a moment to remember!!!
We finished the run, got our medallion and went to the party in Boston. It was the 4th of July. Boston celebrates that date with a fury and we all had a wonderful time. The race was over, the Stanley Mt Wagon held up and so did we. It was an effort that Carl, Terry and I will never forget nor have any desire to repeat. To have any hope of success in the GAR one needs to be able to stay on the clock for the entire race. It cannot be done in a steam-powered auto of Stanley Mt Wagon vintage. The rigors of the event are such that to be able to go the distance is remarkable. To date, no one else has entered a 'steamer' in the GAR and I expect that no one else ever will. We hold that dubious distinction. We did it in '87 and we had to try it again in '88 knowing that we were in over our heads. There are things that some of us just have to do.
When I think back on it I ask...... why?
Then again......why not?
Home Contents Previous Page Next Page
Somewhere On The Long, Long Road
Terry Amsley & Charlie
Oh My Oh My.....A Flooded Burner
Carl Said It Never Happened To Him Before