Walking the Red Brick Road

Dancing the Charleston with musketry at a speakeasy

Roxie — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:00:18 PDT

1909 Model T. Note the red bricks on the street. That’s where the Red Brick Road originates.

If driving on horrible roads without any protection from the elements were not hardship enough, the Model T was a nightmare to drive. Time recently named it one of the Fifty Worst Cars of All Time.
Car and Driver compared driving it to “trying to do the Charleston while loading a musket after a big night at the speak-easy.”

So why was it so difficult?

Model T pedals

How Stuff Works describes the pedals as follows:

The pedals aren’t in the standard placement that we’ve grown accustomed to over the last 100 years or so, and in fact, only one of the three pedals does what we might expect from a floor pedal these days. I’m talking about the brake pedal. Yes, the brake pedal stops the car — but even then, it’s in the far-right position (where you would normally find the accelerator pedal). So what are the other two pedals for, you ask? Well, in addition to the brake pedal, you’ll find a gear selector pedal that provides first gear (all the way to the floor), neutral (half-way out and used for stopping) and second gear (all the way out). Next to that pedal, you’ll find a separate reverse gear pedal. In other words, if you’re driving a Model T, you’d better be up for some pretty fancy footwork.

steering wheel with throttle control

steering wheel

The little extra levers hanging out are not just decoration. They had a purpose. Again from How Stuff Works:

[I]n a Model T, your hands will get a pretty good workout, too. Aside from steering the car where you want it to go, with your left hand, you’ll be adjusting the firing of the spark plugs (down to advance and up to retard), and with your right hand you’ll control the throttle (down to open and up to close).

I suppose all this becomes second nature after awhile, but it seems very difficult to me. I have a new respect for those who are driving these cars from coast to coast.

Model T Fords and cultural survivals

Roxie — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:00:52 PDT

Model T tail light

When I saw this Model T’s tail light, I was immediately reminded of a college professor’s discussion on “Cultural Survivals”. When carriages became horseless, they still retained much of the carriage look. No one knew what a motorized vehicle should look like, so many of the carriage features were retained.One feature, the high-riding body, was essential in the period’s horrible roads. When wet, most of these roads were seemingly bottomless mud pits. Our current low-slung vehicles would have lost their undercarriages at least under those conditions.

1925 rear end

Even by 1925, the first model year for a pickup, the axle and wheels still looked like an old horse-drawn wagon. This car apparently hails from Buena Vista, Colo., and is displaying a Pikes Peak Highway license plate. I wonder if this Model T did surmount The Peak. If so, that’s quite an achievement for an 84-year-old vehicle.

Early headlights were fueled by kerosene, just like the lamps people used in their homes. (Maybe that’s why many of these Model Ts carried fire extinguishers?) I believe this is a fuel reservoir. LOVE the brass. Hubby is the elongated gentleman wearing braces at right in the reflection.

1912 Model T

Even though the vehicle looked much like a carriage, some items definitely had been found on no previous carriage. Before 1919, a crank was needed to start the vehicle. If the engine backfired, the starter was likely to receive a broken arm from a sudden jerk on the crank.(No, Model T crank starters were not where the word cranky originated. )

Once started, driving these things was quite a skilled operation as well.

But that’s another post for another day.

Ocean to Ocean

Roxie — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:00:07 PDT

Model T driving down the highway

A few days ago, Model T cars came through on their Centennial of the 1909 Ocean to Ocean Endurance Contest. We were one of the original stops in the 1909 race, which ran from New York’s City Hall to Seattle’s Drumheller Fountain, now on the University of Washington campus. The Model T entrants were stripped of nearly everything, including their windshields, to save weight. His local dealer network acted as guides while the other cars often got lost. The Model T crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified later because of an engine switch, which was against the rules. Second-place finisher, a Shawmut, was later declared the winner. Ford ignored this technicality and mounted a major marketing push.

Spin wins. Which company is still extant and which is now hardly remembered?

Wheat fields, lagoons and mud

Roxie — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:08:29 PDT

green wheat head

Wheat harvest is nearing on the High Plains. By now, this green head is probably nearly ready for cutting. We are expecting a possible Friday date for a combine ride when Marilyn gets her wheat cut. Wendy has never ridden a combine before and I haven’t ridden one for probably 10 years. We are excited. A lovely little shower fell last night, which probably pushed back harvest a bit, but that remains to be seen.

river runs through it

This rainy summer has filled a lot of low spots in various farmers’s fields. I hope the wheat he’s lost to this lagoon is well compensated from the wheat yield he’ll gain from the rainfall that caused it.

Chocolate curls in the mud

Lighted chocolate curls in the mud.

I don’t usually look at mud, but I was intrigued by these curled-up mud flats in the road next to the lagoon. The texture in the top one fascinated me. I loved how the light played on the curls in the bottom one. Beauty is everywhere, if only we look.

Switching

Roxie — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:34:53 PDT

Blogger has quit working for me. It no longer allows me to update my blog, so, after a week of fussing with it, I booted it.

Now I’ve got to learn an entirely new software package, but that has never stopped me before. I’m looking forward to experimenting.