1900 One Thousand Mile Trial

Reports.^[1]

1900 January. List of entries.^[2] ^[3]

1900 April 23rd. Organised by the Automobile Club it started from London and went through Bristol, Birmingham, Derby, Manchester, Kendal, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Leeds, Sheffield, Lincoln, Nottingham, Leicester, Northampton and back to London.

It left from Grosvenor Place, London and there were 83 entries of whom 65 actually started. By Edinburgh 51 were still running. 35 vehicles made it back to London.

Eleven of the Daimlers took awards.

The great Thousand Miles Trial of 1900 extended from April 23 to May 12. No fewer than sixty-five vehicles started, the majority of which completed the course. The following maintained a speed of not less than the legal limit throughout:—

See also -

Section I. (Manufacturers):—

Gladiator,
De Dion and
Wolseley voiturettes,
Motor Manufacturing Co (MMC) Iveagh,
6-hp Daimler,
Ariel quadricycle, and
Ariel tricycle with trailer.

Section II. (Private Owners):—

6-hp Panhard ( Mr. T. B. Browne),
8-hp Napier ( Mr. E. Kennard),
12-hp Daimler ( Hon. J. Scott Montagu, M.P.),
12-hp Panhard ( Hon. C. S. Rolls), and
12-hp Daimler ( Mr. J. A. Holder).

In a speed trial at Welbeck Park the following were the best times for the mean of two tests over a mile course:—

Mr. Rolls's 12-hp Panhard, 37.63 miles per hour
Mr. Kennard's 8-hp Napier, 29.6
Mr. Mark Mayhew's 8-hp Panhard, 29.6
Ariel tricycle with trailer, 29.45
Mr. J. A. Holder's Daimler, 26.23
Mr. J. Scott-Montagu 12 hp Daimler, 26.08
3.25 hp Gladiator voiturette, 23.16
Claude Goodman Johnson in a 6 hp Parisian Daimler, 23.7
3 hp Wolseley, 22.81
3 hp De Dion voiturette, 21.7
Frank Hedges Butler in a 6 hp Panhard, 21.27

Four hill-climbing competitions were held during the trial. At Taddington the following ascended at 12 miles per hour or over:

Ariel tricycle (Mr. A. J. Wilson),
12-h.p. Panhard (Hon. C. S. Rolls),
Ariel quadricycle,
Ariel tricycle with trailer,
8-hp Napier ( Mr. E. Kennard), and
12-hp Daimler (Mr. J. A. Holder).

At the steep portion of Shap Fell the Empress tricycle and Mr. Rolls's Panhard were the most successful.

On Dunmail Raise the Napier, Empress tricycle, and Mr. Rolls's Panhard were 'up to the limit,' while on Birkhill the Ariel quadricycle, Ariel tricycle with trailer, Enfield quadricycle, and Mr. Rolls's Panhard achieved the same result.

Private owners who completed the trial included:-

C. S. Rolls
Robert E. Phillips
Frank H. Butler
T. B. Browne
Ernest Pitman
C. K. Gregson
J. D. Siddeley
J. A. Holder
Edward M. Iliffe
H. R. Langrishe
Henry Edmunds
J. S. Montagu
Mrs Bazalgette
Mr Ashby
Claude Johnson

Numerous prizes were awarded at the conclusion of the trials, the gold medal for the best car in any class being bestowed on Mr. Rolls's Panhard.

1,000 mile Race in 1900 ^[4]

In the year 1900 the Royal Automobile Club one thousand miles motor tour through England and Scotland started from Hyde Park Corner on April 23rd, and the route was as follows:

First day London to Bath and Bristol. (118 miles)
Second day Bristol, Gloucester, Worcester to Birmingham. (43 miles)
Third day Birmingham, Derby, Matlock, Buxton to Manchester. (49.5 miles) Taddington Hill climb (2.5 miles)
Fourth day Manchester, Preston to Kendal. (73.75 miles) Optional Shap Fell hill climb (7.5 miles)
Fifth day Kendal, Keswick to Carlisle. (61.5miles)
Sixth day Carlisle, Peebles to Edinburgh. (100 Miles) Dunmail Rise (1.75 miles)
Seventh day Edinburgh, Berwick to Newcastle. (121.5 miles)
Eighth day Newcastle, Durham, York to Leeds. (103 miles)
Ninth day Leeds, Harrogate, Bradford to Sheffield. (74 miles)
Tenth day Sheffield, Welbeck, Park, Lincoln, Nottingham. (82.25 miles)
Eleventh day Nottingham, Leicester, Northampton, St. Albans, London (Marble Arch). (122.75 miles)

The tour lasted from April 23rd to May 12th, and included hill-climbing competitions, races in Welbeck Park, and exhibitions at the different towns.

In the towns people turned out in thousands to see the cars pass, and the police had to keep the streets clear for our passage. At Calcot Park, Reading, Mr. Alfred Harmsworth (now Viscount Northcliffe) gave a magnificent champagne breakfast in a marquee, and invited all those taking part in the tour to partake of his hospitality.

At Birmingham, Mr. Alfred Bird, M.P., gave a dinner at the Conservative Club, and Mr. Henry Edmunds entertained us at Manchester and Lord Kingsburgh at Edinburgh. The tour was most enjoyable, but involved hard work, as we had to be up in the morning every day at five o'clock to get the cars ready.

My daughter Vera travelled all the course with me, and mine was one of the cars that came in at the finish. We had several punctures; piston rings working round lost a good deal of compression; a lift-pin of one of the valves put one cylinder out of action part of the time; and burners blew out up hill.

There were two sections for cars in the tour, one for manufacturers and agents and the other for amateurs. The list of the amateurs competing is given on p. 107.

The legal speed was only fourteen miles an hour, so that we had often to wait at the controls before entering the towns. Prizes and medals were presented by the Automobile Club for this historic event.

Commenced of the 23rd April 1900 and routed through Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Worcester, Birmingham, Lichfield, Matlock, Buxton, Manchester, Preston, Lancaster, Kendal, Keswick, Carlisle, Moffat, Peebles, Edinburgh, Berwick, Newcastle, Durham, Northallerton, Thirsk, York, Leeds, Harrogate, Bradford, Huddersfield, Sheffield, Worksop, Lincoln, Nottingham, Loughborough and Northampton. They arrived back in London on the 13th May and 46 completed the Trial.

There were 84 entries but just 70 started

Listed finishers ^[5]

Sources of Information

↑ The Autocar 1900/01/06
↑ The Autocar 1900/02/10
↑ The Autocar 1900/02/17
↑ Extract from Fifty years of travel by land, water and air' by Frank Hedges Butler
↑ The Leeds Mercury, Monday, May 14, 1900

Vital to the Life of the Nation. Published 1946.
The Early History of Motoring by Claude Johnson
Autocar 1900/01/13

[1] The Autocar 1900/01/06

[2] The Autocar 1900/02/10

[3] The Autocar 1900/02/17

[4] Extract from Fifty years of travel by land, water and air' by Frank Hedges Butler

[5] The Leeds Mercury, Monday, May 14, 1900

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

1900 One Thousand Mile Trial

See Also

Sources of Information