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Fred Marriott

In 1906 the sands of Ormond Beach, Florida hosted internationally recognized land speed record attempts. The Dewar International Trophy was to straightaway land speed competition what the Americas Cup was to yachting. The only vehicles vying for the Dewar Trophy in 1906 were the Stanley’s steamer and four petrol powered cars, three being Fiats and one Napier. Fred Marriott won cleanly in the Stanley Steamer with a measured mile time of 28 1/5 second which corresponds to a speed of 127.659MPH. This speed was thirteen miles per hour faster than the previous record which equates to an impressive twelve percent increase over the previous record. It took petrol engine cars nearly four years to break Marriott’s record. But if things had been a little different Marriott may have held the record for even longer, for the following year an improved car with a higher boiler pressure, more powerful burners and better brakes was taken to Daytona to attempt to increase the record. The attempt ended in disaster however as Marriott crashed at a speed which was claimed to be ‘in excess of 190mph’, but which was more realistically in the region of 140-150mph. Although injured, Marriott made a full recovery and lived to the age of 83, but never again made an attempt on the Land Speed Record, and steam cars never again challenged to be the fastest cars in the world. The steam car was constructed by the Stanley brothers and was a technological marvel for its day. The Stanley brothers created a car that had extremely low drag, incorporating as much inside the cigar shaped body shell as possible including the suspension springs. The engine was a twin piston double acting type with a displacement of 184 cubic inches or 3.1 litres. This corresponds roughly to an internal combustion 4 stroke V8 with a displacement of 735 cubic inches or 12.25 litres. The working pressure claimed to be either 275 or 1000 psi depending on the report with a  temperature of 700 degrees F. With the power required to drive the vehicle at the recorded speeds the 1000 psi is most likely the correct figure. The car was 16 feet long and 3 ft wide at its widest part with a total frontal area of 9 sq. ft including wheels. The total vehicle weight was 1675 lbs.                                                                                                             F. O Stanley     F. E. Stanley

The Attempt and Crash of 1907

Fred Marriott and the Stanley Steamer returned to the sands at Daytona for the Dewar Trophy races in the following year. In 1907, however, mother nature decided to be less than cooperative. The sands were so bad that the Dewar trophy races were cancelled. During the week Fred Marriott ran only one heat and complained that “even at moderate speeds I was all over the beach”. The car that the Stanley’s fielded to defend the Dewar trophy in 1907 was, according to Fred Marriott, essentially the car 1906 car with slight changes to the boiler and brakes. Stanley had managed to get the boiler pressure up to 1300 PSI and it was hoped that this would push the car to a new speed record. However, on January 25th, the last day of the races, the sands looked better than they had all week, so Fred decided to give it a try. After a seven mile run up, Fred entered the measured mile “wide open and loaded for bear”. He hit the first of two noted depressions without incident but wasn’t so lucky with the second. Fred’s account of what happened next follows: “When I reached the second depression it was just like running into a curbstone. The car went up like a kite, sailed through the air for about 100 feet and broke in half when it landed.” The car was destroyed and Fred Marriott was seriously injured. He survived however, and because of his importance to the Stanley operation they never fielded another racer.

Stanley Steamer 1903 Single Seat Factory Racer      How fast would these cars go? The "WoggleBug"

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Contacts:
- Joe Radcliffe, Ormond Beach PIO (386) 615-7021 radcliffe@ormondbeach.org
- Dan Smith, Beach Race Director, (386) 676-3241  apes123@mybluelight.com
-  Susan S. Davis, Stanley Museum, President and CEO, (207) 265-2729  suedavis@stanleymuseum.org
- Official 2006 Birthplace of Speed web site:  www.birthplaceofspeed2006.com

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