ELECTRIC CAR COMPANIES, U - Z
Version 3.4
Electric car companies of the world, made before 1940, and listed alphabetically by brand name (when available).
Hobby cars after 1908 are generally omitted. Most makers of commercial electric vehicles are included, but not covered in detail.
The years given each company represent the span of electric car production, not necessarily the total life of the company. Many were previous horse-carriage, or bicycle companies, and several continued to make internal combustion cars post electric.
The majority of these listings were prototypes, and never produced in volume.
U
Universal 1909
The Universal Motor Co, Denver, CO
Prototype series-hybrid truck, with a motor at each wheel.
US Electric 1899-1901
United States Automobile Co, 603 Atwell’s Avenue, Providence, RI
Factory in Attleboro, Massachusetts
Incorporated with stock of $150,000; by Frank Mossberg, president; Dr. Julian Chase, treasurer; and D. McNiven, secretary.
These cars had a proprietary 125-lb 3-hp motor, with a spinning field connected by a reduction gear to one wheel and with the armature connected to the opposite wheel by the same reduction. The battery was suspended from the frame with its own set of springs, with the body independently suspended above. The cars had three speeds up to 12 mph with a range of 25-30 miles.
Twelve models ranging in weight from 1,000 to 6,000 pounds
Stanhope
Victoria, 2-passengers plus a driver on a low box up front, 2,200 pounds, with 1,100-pound battery, wire wheels.
Union Electric Co 1899
Portland, ME
Organized to manufacturer electric vehicles under the patents of Linwood F. Jordan, a local electrician.
Urban 1910-1915
Urban Electric Vehicle Co
Urbanus 1903-1909
Kalk bei Köln; KAW (Kölner Accumulatoren-Werke) Cologne, Germany
Gottfried Hagen
Battery maker KAW made about 1,500 cars with front wheel drive.
Also; Hagen trucks
V
Van Auken 1913-1915
Connersville Buggy Co, Connersville, Indiana
Charles M. Van Auken, president; Guilford C. Babcock, VP & treasurer; Clarence C. Millard, secretary
Van Auken was a former Ford engineer.
Delivery truck, the truck had a split battery set hanging below the frame at extreme ends of the platform.
Van Wagoner 1899-1900
Syracuse Automobile Co (former Barnes Cycle Co) Syracuse, NY
Designed by William Van Wagoner, with Charles F. Saul.
The body was made by the by Brunn Carriage Manufacturing Company in Buffalo, NY. This was a prototype, the later production vehicles were branded “Century”
Runabout 2-passengers
V.A.T.E. 1908
Voitures Automobiles de Transmission Électric, Paris, France
Hybrids
V. E. aka V E C 1901-1905
Vehicle Equipment Co, Borden and Review Avenues Long Island City, NY
Founded by Robert Lloyd, Lucius T. Gibbs, and Hayden Eames. They declared they were in the chassis and platform business. Although VEC made some cars, they were predominantly a maker of commercial vehicles such as trucks and large open tour buses. VEC had two subsidiaries, the Fifth Avenue Coach Co, which ran horse and motor coaches, and the Park Carriage Co, which ran tour busses. General Electric reorganized it in 1905 as the General Vehicle Co. They kept manufacturing electric vehicles and sold the bus lines.
1903 The battery was hung under the chassis. Two motor drive from armature spurs to outside toothed ring gears at the rear wheel hubs. Tiller steering
Straight Front Brougham two or three passengers in a small Coupe cabin, driver and footman on a box out front in the weather.
Extension Front Brougham 4 people in comfy cabin, driver and other out front in the weather
Station Wagon 4-inside, two out front under an overhang, lever steering
Rear Boot Grand Victoria Driver up high behind the Victoria top
Rear Boot Coupé 2-4 passengers inside, driver high out back in the weather. Pair of carriage lights high on the A pillars
Hansom Cab the traditional form with a pair of doors in front of two passengers, with some weather exposure between the door tops and the bottom of the roof. Driver in the weather out back, with a pair of carriage lights at sides of dasher
Surrey With Stanhope Top 4-passengers on two forward facing bench seats in tufted leather, 12-14 mph, 40-mile range
Surrey no top, simple seats
Laundaulet similar to the extension front Brougham, with a Landau top over the back seat
Stanhope Phaeton called “high speed––long distance,” 15 mph with 50 mile range. 2- passengers on bench in front under a Victoria type top, a jump seat in back facing aft
Open ‘Bus 40 passengers on benches under a fringed canopy
Open delivery wagon 2,000 lb capacity
A wide variety of trucks from light delivery to heavy industrial
1904 Runabout three-passengers
1905 4-ton truck, top speed of 6 mph, with a 25-mile range.
1906 Victoria, 3-passengers, driver high in rear
Brougham, driver high in front with wheel.
Landaulet, driver high in front with tiller
Vedovelli-Priestly 1899-1903
Société Vedovelli, Priestley et Compagnie, Paris, France
Charles M. E. Priestly, M. Vedovelli
An electric equipment maker; they made a tricycle version of the Hansom cab, also a hybrid with a Dion-Bouton engine.
Védrine 1904-1910
La Voitures Électrique Védrine, Neuilly Seine, France
Victor? 1907? St. Louis, MO
A High-wheeled double-chain-drive wagon.
The only known example has an early 1920s Hertner (R&L) motor. This car is likely to have been a high wheel Victor with a gasoline engine, which was converted into an electric much later. The meters are also of later vintage, possibly 1930s.
Victor 1938-1940
Victor Electric Ltd, England
Volk 1887-1888
Brighton, Sussex, England.
Magnus Volk designed the first commercial electric railroad in England, which still runs along the Brighton Shore.
1887 October, Volk electrified a tricycle built by Messrs. Pack (Brighton coach builders). It had a ½ hp 40 lb Immisch motor running at 32 Volts from EPS accumulators. The 4-foot diameter right wheel was driven through a counter-shaft by a Renolds chain. It accommodated four people dos-à-dos. Its headlight was behind the front wheel. It could do 9 mph on asphalt and 4 mph on soft macadam.
1888 Dog Cart, 4-wheels, built for the Sultan of Turkey
Vulkan 1899-1905
Vulkan Automobilgesellschaft MbH, Berlin, Germany
W
W & E
A. E. Morrison & Son Ltd, Leichetershire, England
Milk Floats
Wagenhals 1914-1915
Wagenhals motor Co. St. Louis, then (1911 on) Detroit.
Reorganized 9-27-1913 with William Pflum, president; William G. Wagenhals, VP & treasurer; Hughes C. Turner, secretary.
W. G. Wagenhals designed the third rail system for the NY Central Railroad. Auto production started in 1910 with a 2-cylinder gas tricycle.
1914 Light Delivery, three wheeled, the operator sat at over the rear drive wheel. There was a floating frame over a motor-wheel sub frame, $575
1915 Hansom cab, mechanically like the delivery
Walker 1903-1950
1903-1907 Walker Automobile Maintenance and Manufacturing Co, Chicago, IL
1907-1916 Walker Vehicle Co, Factory: 531-545 West 39th St. Sales rooms; 2700 Michigan Avenue, Chicago IL
1916-1933 Walker Vehicle became a division of Commonwealth Edison, Chicago, IL
1933-1950 (+ -) Yale & Towne (now part of Eaton)
Maker of Walker Electric Trucks, and (1914-1916) the Chicago Electric car
Walker electric trucks featured motors built into the axle assemblies, with gear reduction at the wheel hubs.
Walter 1921-1931
Walter Motor Truck Co, 405 Lexington Avenue, Long Island City, NY
Trucks 2-5 tons
Walter featured a locking differential.
Waltham See Orient Electric
Ward 1888-1896 Ward Electric Car Company
London, England
Founded by Radcliff Ward, who designed a battery bus, he hired Walter C. Bersey as his chief engineer. The company had a cab prototype at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. In 1896, big capitol came in to build a lead bus/cab syndicate for London, and the name was changed to the London Electric Omnibus Company.
Ward 1911-1916
Ward Motor Vehicle Co, Factory, East 143rd St. New York, NY.
Charles A. Ward spun this company off his family’s bread bakery. Ward bought the Pittsburgh Motor Vehicle Co and moved it to New York. Primarily a manufacturer of electric trucks, through 1937.
After Hayden Eames joined the company around 1913 they produced a line of pleasure cars for a few years.
1911 200 vans were built for the delivery of “Ward’s Tip Top Bread”
1914 Coupé, bevel drive, GE motors, the bottom of the front windshield was nearly to the car’s hood, 42-cell battery
1915 ES Coupé, 4-passengers, front lever steering, $2,100.
1916 Coupé (sedan style), new model, 4-5 passengers, with a hammered steel streamlined body, 42-cell Philadelphia battery under the faux radiator hood, 88” WB, 33” x 4” Goodyear special electric tires, wheel steering, 15 mph, spiral bevel shaft drive, royal blue with grey upholstery, $1,295
Ward Leonard 1901-1903
Ward Leonard Electric Co, Bronxville, NY.
Although he was an early Edison collaborator, and held a patent for an electric car design, H. Ward Leonard made gas and steam cars.
Warner Electric 1898
Lewis E. Warner, Northampton, MA
Runabout, 650 lbs, prototype only
Warren Electric 1905
At least one Runabout made in Long Beach, CA
Washburn 1897
George A. Washburn, Cleveland, OH
A parallel hybrid with regenerative braking
Waverley 1897-1916
Indianapolis, IN
Indiana Bicycle Co 1897-1900
American Bicycle Co 1900-1902
International Motor Car Co, 1902-1903 (Pope, Toledo OH) Waverley division, Indianapolis.
Pope Motor Car Company division of the Pope Manufacturing Co (The Pope-Waverley) 1903-1907
The Waverley Company 1908-1916
101, 105, 110, 139, 141, 159 & 160 South East St. Indianapolis, IN. The factory was eventually demolished for a condo complex called “the Waverley”
Chicago Branch, 2005 Michigan Ave.
1897
Charles F. Smith, Loren S. Dow (general manager), and Philip Goetz, ran a thriving business making the Waverley safety bicycle (among other brands). As the bicycle boom faded they were confronted with a lot of unused factory capacity, so they became interested in making automobiles. The American Electric Co of Chicago approached them about supplying wire wheels for their cars, and, four months later, the Indiana people bought an interest in American, which included patent rights.
The first Waverley cars were built under the American Electric Vehicle Co designs and patents of Karsten Knudsen and Clinton E. Woods. The Waverley version had a different chassis; with a tube frame based on bicycle technologies. The entire vehicle was made at their Indianapolis factories (they also owned a steel tube and a tire company).
1899
January, the arrangement was dissolved (the companies never legally merged). Waverley sold this line of vehicles until the Hassler/Sperry design was in production, beginning in late 1900.
May, Dow exhibited their line of cars at the New York electrical exhibition. Robert H. Hassler (from Westinghouse) was the electrical engineer. They brought the exhibit back to Madison Square Garden for the New York Auto Show in November.
At this time Albert Goodwill Spalding was buying options on competing bicycle companies. As decreasing sales growth and thin margins troubled them, he could buy at bargain prices. Spalding talked many of the big players into forming a practical monopoly called the American Bicycle Company (no connection to American Electric); formed by the merger of 44 companies with 55 separate manufacturing facilities, and ownership of 900 patents, with the idea of reducing excess capacity so the cycle business could return to profitability. American Bicycle was capitalized at 20 million, with 10 million in preferred stock, and 10 million in bonds. Because the capitalization was saddled with a fixed cash outflow, funds were tight for plant expansion and product development, much of which went into converting bicycle factories into auto plants.
The Pope family’s bicycle interests (principally Albert and George) and the Indiana Bicycle Co were pieces of this new organization; they were thus merged with the Waverley Electric car project. Some of the other assets in this new conglomerate were parts of the Cleveland Screw Machine Co, owner of the Sperry electric car patents. The new owners dropped the American Electric versions, and started making one with a herringbone gear rear-axle drive system designed by Robert H. Hassler and Elmer Sperry.
1900
Executives included; R. Lindsay Coleman (from Western Wheel Works), Theodore F. Merseles (Montgomery Ward), and Albert E. Schaaf.
June, when Albert A. Pope sold his stake in the EVC lead cab conspiracy, based on his equity in Columbia Electric, to the EVC holding company. He used some of the cash to buy out other equity partners in American Bicycle, when the price was right. American Bicycle management only kept the two best bicycle factories to make their most popular brands and styles. They focused on the greater growth potential of the associated automotive assets, one of which was Indiana Bicycle and the Waverley. When the American Bicycle management team came on board, Dow & Goetz left––with American Electric Vehicle Co designs––to found the National Automobile & Electric Co (see National). James Simpson Conwell succeeded Dow as general manager.
1901
April: the new Edison Battery was tested in a Waverley weighing 1,800 lbs, of which 653 lbs was the battery. The car was said to have a range of 94 miles over poor roads.
1902
September 3rd: Unable to support the bond and stock payouts from revenues, the American Bicycle Co went into receivership in a friendly suit. American was reorganized, with the Pope interests owning most of the stock. Albert Pope eventually took over active management as the International Bicycle Co, and the International Motor Car Co; maker of the Toledo steam car & the Waverley Electric.
1903-1907
May 27: the International Motor Car and Bicycle companies become part of the Pope Manufacturing Co. Albert kept the Pope Motor Car Co offices at 223 Columbus Ave. Boston; the Waverley department was “Desk 5”.
Press reports stated, “500-workers made…about 10 vehicles a day” (more likely 4 or 5).
Albert A. Pope, president; Albert L. Pope, VP; George Pope, treasurer; with Paul Walton as secretary and Arthur W. Pope. Herbert H. Rice, associated with Pope since 1892, was made general manager of the Waverley division.
1907
Both the current Pope Empire, and the previous house of cards, EVC, went belly-up. This was during the same bank panic that caused Ford to concentrate on just one model.
1908
July 1: The Waverley Company was rescued by a group headed by the former division management; they raised money from local investors by showing that Waverley had been making a steady operating profit, and would be a profitable company once separated from the Pope Manufacturing Co.
The company continued making cars with William B. Cooley president; Herbert H. Rice, vice-president; Wilbur C. Johnson, secretary; and Carl von Hake, treasurer.
Harold H. Kennedy, was chief designer; Roy A. Pots, sales manager; W. W. Hudson, advertising manager; and O. B. Henderson, superintendant of agencies.
$301,000 was paid to Pope’s receivers for the property, merchandise, patents, good will, and business. They made cars independently through 1916.
1910
Waverley started diverging from the Hassler/Sperry derived cars with a unique transverse-shaft drive system designed by Harold Kennedy.
The models from 1914 forward appeared little different from a Detroit Electric or Milburn.
November 6, 1916: Waverley went out of the automobile business, continuing through the war as a contract manufacturer.
MODEL DESCRIPTIONS
1898-1900
The first series of cars had the mechanical components mounted to a rigid tubular steel frame with brazed joints in sockets, like a giant bicycle.
Karsten Knudsen’s design was for an efficient one-motor two-wheel drive system employing a hollow armature shaft, through which ran a transverse driveshaft, with differential gearing in the motor housing. The shafts drove the rear wheels by spur gears at the shaft ends engaged with ring gears at the rear wheels.
The body, with battery, was mounted on the chassis with full elliptic springs; this put the un-sprung weight of the chassis and the motor on the tires and axle bearings. The Crowdus battery had 88 Volts with 60-125 A h capacity, in four sets of 11-cells each, which were put in parallel, series parallel, or all series, to accomplish three speeds. A removable reversing key acted as a locking device. The light cars had Royal single tube pneumatic tires on wire wheels with ball bearings; the heavy cars had solid tires on wood spoke wheels.
This line of vehicles was shown at the New York Electrical Exposition in May of 1898.
1899
Waverley supplied a five-year maintenance contract with each car, and a five-year battery guarantee. They had top speeds of 10-14 mph, depending on model.
1 Runabout, 1½-hp, $1,000
3 Stanhope Phaeton, 2-passengers, 1,350 lbs with a 550 lb battery, 1½-hp motor, 35-mile range, folding top, center tiller, $1,500
5 Combination Wagon with removable hood, 2-passengers with cargo space behind the seat, 3½ hp, side tiller, single headlight, $1,250
7 Dos-a-dos, 2½-hp $1,500
Delivery, 2-passengers, double doors to cargo area in back, wheel steering, $1,600
Cab, Brougham style, driver high & outside at rear, 3½-hp motor, $1,600
1900
1 Runabout, 1½-hp $1,200
2 Runabout with top, $1,275
3 Stanhope Phaëton, 2-passengers, 1,350 lbs with a 550 lb battery, 1½-hp motor, 35-mile range $1,900
4 Break, 4-Passengers $1,800
5 Combination Delivery, with removable rear seat, 15-mph, 35-mile range, $1,750
6 Newport Break, $2,200
7, 8, & 9 Dos-a-dos, $1,250-$1,650
10 Mail Phaeton, $2,400-
11 Nine Passenger Break, AKA “tally-Ho,” wheel steering to worm and worm-wheel gears, $3,000
12 Demi-Coach, $4,000
14, 15, 16, & 17, Deliveries, 2,800 Lbs, 10-mph, $2,000-$2,500
18 Road Wagon, 2-passengers, 900 Lbs. 34” wheels with 1 5/8” solid rubber tires, 14-mph top speed, 2-year battery guarantee, $1,000
19 Road Wagon with Cape Top, $1,075
November 1900: Waverley’s new design was introduced at the New York Auto Show in Madison Square Garden; this series of cars was designed by Robert H. Hassler and Elmer A. Sperry.
On the light vehicles a 2-hp motor, suspended from the axle tube at the rear and by rods at the front, drove a differential cluster on the rear axle by means of herringbone reduction gears. The 2½” steel pinion-gear was cut from two pieces, and held together with nine 3/16” studs, secured to the motor shaft by a nut and a woodruff key, the pinion was free to slide on the shaft a short distance to stay in alignment. The two 8” diameter brass ring gear halves were machined from the same castings, and assembled back to back. One half was tapped for 12 shoulder-bolts; the other half was drilled out smooth. These bolted to either side of a flange on the differential spider, forming a herringbone (chevron) gear pattern. This was the basic drive system used through the Pope years.
The motor shaft end had a brake drum, next to the pinion gear, for a band style foot brake. The light cars had a 360 Lb battery.
The larger cars and trucks, such as the Surrey and 4-passenger Tonneau, had two motors driving half-axles though two sets of herringbone reduction gears.
1901
All cars were equipped with Sperry designed accumulators from the National Storage Battery Co. (then part of American Bicycle)
21 Road wagon, piano-box, 900 lbs, 2-hp motor, 20 mph, double acting band brake on the armature shaft, 60-mile range, 30 x 2½ inch pneumatic tires, single headlight, $750-
22 Road Wagon with top, $825-
1902
Designs were updated; pulling back on the control lever took the battery out of the circuit and shorted the motor (though a resistance coil) giving dynamic braking. Pulling harder engaged the band brake. The National battery was increased to 450 lbs. The field shunt was dropped from the 1902 cars, as it was used improperly by most drivers, decreasing efficiency, and thus limiting range.
20a Surrey, introduced late 1901, two 4-hp motors, 15 mph, dark green leather upholstery, 30” wheels with 3” pneumatic tires, 600 lb National (Sperry) Battery $1,400
21 Road Wagon, 2-hp motor of improved design, a carriage lamp was mounted on either side of the seat, dark green leather upholstery, 1,000 lbs, 600 lbs w/o battery, 360 Lb Sperry battery, or larger 30-cell battery, 125 A h at 450 lbs. giving 40-mile range, 17 mph, $850.
22 Road Wagon with leather top, 1,050 lb, $925
23 Delivery Wagon, 1,800 lbs two motors, $1,400
24 Delivery truck, two motors, $1,400
25 Tonneau 4-passengers, introduced in the spring, same gear as Surrey 78” wb, 1,800 lbs, two 2-hp motors, 80 Volts with a 100 A h battery, the battery box was under the body leaving room for storage under the seats, the two passenger tonneau seat was removable, double acting band brakes on the driving wheels, $1,800,
1903
The cars were improved with drum type service brakes at the rear wheels, actuated by a pedal at the right foot. The left foot-pedal actuated an emergency band brake on the motor shaft drum. A larger motor was used, with a nominal 3-hp.
20 Surrey, Black body with Brewster green panels and red trimming; coach red gear and wheels; dark green leather or grey whipcord upholstery. Keystone volt/ampere meter. Two 3-hp motors, 5-15 mph, 40-cell battery, foot brake and electric dynamic braking. A canopy top was available for an additional $75.
21 Road Wagon, 2 passenger piano box, 30” wire or wood wheels, G & J pneumatic tires, 3-hp motor, 15 mph, Black body with black or Brewster green panels, olive green or coach red gear & wheels, dark green leather upholstery was standard, tan leather or grey whipcord was optional, $850.
22 Road Wagon with top, tan leather or grey whipcord, 24-cell battery, electric brake by controller, foot pedal on drums at rear wheels, “new” design 3-hp motor, Black body, black or Brewster green panels, olive green or coach red gear & wheels, $900
23 Delivery Wagon, 40-cell battery, 2 3-hp motors, $1,400
24 Delivery
25 Tonneau, 84” WB, 1,800 lbs, two 2-hp motors, 80 Volts with a 100 A h battery, the battery box was under the body leaving room for storage under the seats, carmine body with red gear & white wheels, tan upholstery, the two passenger tonneau seat was removable, drum brakes at the driving wheels & electric braking, Keystone meters, $1,800,
26 Chelsea Runabout, $1,250
27 Stanhope $1,400
1904
The company name became “Pope-Waverley.”
20 Surrey, 4-passengers, two 3-hp motors, 40-cell battery, $1,500
21 Road Wagon, center lever steering, 3-hp motor, Keystone meter, 24 cell battery, 15 mph, Black body and panels with coach red, olive green, or primrose gear & wheels, hand buffed dark green upholstery standard, tan leather or grey whipcord, $850, 30” x 2½” wire or wood wheels standard, 3” tires for the rear were optional. Brakes at rear hubs, a band brake on the motor shaft, and electrical resistance braking. $850.
22 Road Wagon With top, $900
23 Delivery Wagon, 2 3-hp motors, center lever steering, open front for driver, battery hung underneath, enclosed body with double doors at rear, $1,400. Available with an Edison Battery.
24 Delivery
26 Chelsea, $1,100, Leather buggy top $50
26-C Chelsea, with Coupé top, $1,450,.
27 Stanhope, 2-passengers, 3-hp motor, 24-cell battery, $1,400
28 Special Edison Battery Wagon, similar to a Victoria body with longer hoods and a buggy top, steering wheel, $2,250
29 Physicians Road Wagon, available with Edison Battery, $1,100 with top
30 Station Wagon, (outside drive Brougham), two 3-hp motors, battery under chauffeur's seat, side lever steering, $1,800
36 Speed Road Wagon, 2-passengers, wood or wire wheels, 3-hp motor, 18 mph, 60-Volts, $900, top plus $50, splasher fenders add $25, continuous fenders add $35
1905
20 Surrey, 4-passengers, 84 Volts, two 3-hp motors, $1,500
21 Road Wagon (piano box runabout), 3-hp motor, 15 mph, $850.
22 Road Wagon with top, $900
23 Delivery, 2-motors, 40 cells under body, $1,400
26 Chelsea Runabout, (similar to a Victoria) Brewster Green body with coach red running gear, square carriage lights, no headlights, $1,100
26-C Chelsea with removable Coupé top, $1,450
27 Stanhope, 3-hp, 16 mph, normally sold with center lever steering, side lever steering was optional. Royal purple with purple broadcloth upholstery, $1,400
28 Special Wagon, 2-passengers, Stanhope body with folding carriage top, steering wheel, wood wheels, larger battery than Stanhope, $1,800
29 Physician’s Road Wagon, $1,100
30 Station Wagon (Town-Car), two 3-hp motors, 82 Volts, $2,250
36 Speed Road Wagon, 2-passengers, wood or wire wheels, 3 hp motor, 18 mph, 60 Volts, $900, top add $50, “splasher” fenders add $25, continuous fenders add $35
1906
“Fifteen distinct models” of cars and trucks.
26 C Chelsea, with Coupé top, $1,600
29 C Physicians Road Wagon, with removable wool broadcloth canopy top and glass front, 30-cell battery, 16-mph, center or side lever steering, $1,250
30 Station Wagon, two motors, 15-mph, 41-cell battery (Exide or National), $2,250
36 Runabout, 4-full elliptical springs, carriage lights on seat, tiller from right side of dash, advertised as “the most popular electric carriage in the world” $900, with leather top, $950
27 Stanhope, $1,400
Trucks in 3 & 5-ton capacity.
1907
The cars came in black with Brewster Green panels, running gear, and wood wheels; some had carmine pin stripping. Most had a 30-cell C. B. National battery
26 Chelsea Runabout, 2-passengers, $1,400, w/leather carriage top, $1,475
26-C Chelsea with removable Coupé “top”, $1,700
30 Station Wagon, 82-Volts, 77.5” wb, 41-cells, 30x4” pneumatic wheels, Town-car-style, $2,250
43 Closed Delivery Wagon, 1,200 lb load, $1,850
44 Open delivery Wagon, $1,850
53-A Stanhope Special, removable open body w/leather top, 76” wheelbase, wheel steering, and headlights mounted to cowl. Black body with Brewster green panels, the gear & wheels were Brewster green with Carmine striping, 18-mph, 30 cell National battery, $2,000
53-B Stanhope Special with removable Coupé body, $2,200. $2,500 with both bodies.
60-A Surrey, 4-passengers, two-motor, 90” wb, 42 cell battery, 15 mph, $1,700
60-B Surrey, with extension leather top, $1,825
63 Closed Light Delivery, 800 lb capacity, $1,700
65 Stanhope, 2-passengers, $1,600
67 Victoria Phaëton, new model with low hung body, 16 mph, 60 V, Brewster Green with black molding and Brewster Green running gear, 68” wheelbase. $1,525 without top.
69-A Runabout, 72” wheel base, $1,150, with leather buggy top $1,275
69-B Runabout, with Victoria top and side curtains, 17-mph, $1,225
Heavy Trucks and Bus’ to 5 tons
1908
This was a transition year, as new owners took over the Waverley enterprise. The management remained similar.
The 1908 cars still had the Hassler gearing and Knife switch controllers
An ambulance was built for the Frisco Hospital in St, Louis, MO. One motor with double reduction, 84 Volts, 7’ 7” wb, $1,700 for the chassis
67 Victoria Phaeton, available with canopy top, irons for top, buggy top, or Victoria top
69 Road Wagon, with optional leather top & storm curtain, $1,225
70-C Victoria with removable Coupé top. 2-passengers, $1,600, add leather top $100, Coupé top $300.
1909
For the new line of cars; staff engineer H. H. Kennedy designed a transverse shaft drive system; through a silent chain and herringbone gear set, to reduce un-sprung weight on the rear axle. Electric & rear hub brakes
26 Chelsea, 80” wb, full elliptic springs, center lever steering, 30 cell 11 P. V. battery, 15 mph, $1,200
26-C Chelsea with Coupé top, 2-passengers,
30 Station Wagon, 4-passengers, Driver out front with lever steering, town-car-style, 77½” wb, Brewster Green, 2-motors at 82 Volts, 15-mph, continuous running boards and fenders, $2,100
36 Speed Road Wagon, $900
53 Stanhope $1,800.
53-B Stanhope $2,000
53-C Stanhope with Coupé top, 2-passengers, wheel steering, 76” wheelbase, pressed steel frame, pair of headlights on the pillars, 30 cell 11 P. V. battery, $2,250
60-A Surrey, 4-passengers, $1,900
60-B Surrey with top, 4-passengers, 90” wheelbase, 2-motors, 42-cell 9 P. V. Exide battery
67 Victoria Phaëton, 68” wb, $1,525 Canopy add $35-
69 Road Wagon, 72” WB, $1,150, leather top add $75-
70 Victoria $1,700
70-C Victoria Coupé, 2-passengers, $2,150
71 Runabout, 69” wb, $1,425 add leather top $75-
74 Stanhope, new model, the 74 & 75 introduced the Kennedy double reduction drive system with the motor mounted to the chassis rather than the axle.
75 Victoria Phaëton, new model, leather or cape top, $1,850
75-C Victoria Coupé, new model, removable top, 2-passengers $2,150.
1910
The cars featured a patented curved drop sill and new models had the type K (Kennedy) transverse shaft drive system, with the motor suspended from the body. The cars were available in majestic blue, Waverley maroon, or Brewster green, with matching upholstery. The new Roadster came with a steering wheel, which could be special ordered for other models.
60 Surrey, $1,900
69 Runabout, $1,225
70-B Victoria, $1,800, 30” wood wheels, Exide, National, or Waverley battery, 16-mph, side lever steering
70-C Coupé, 2-passengers, 32” wheels, 60-Volts,
74 Stanhope, as ’09, designed for doctors, 73½” wb, $1,600
75-A Buggy, 4-passengers
75-B With Victoria top, 4-passengers, leather or cape top, $1,950
75-C With Brougham top, 4-pass, 5 inches longer (91½”) than ’09 Coupé, 79” wb, 44” seat, 2” larger wheels with 32x3½”, full elliptical springs at all corners, two more cells giving 64-Volts, with 12-cells in front & 20 aft, with a removable wood top made of poplar. French plate glass lites. Available with 16-coats of majestic Blue, Waverley maroon, or Brewster Green, with harmonizing upholstery, $2,250
76 Victoria Phaëton, $1,750
Available with a variety of tops including, surrey, carriage, and the traditional leather Victoria top
78 Roadster, faux radiator “gentleman’s” Roadster, wheel steering, this model introduced the bell (horn) button in the center of the steering wheel, Timken roller bearings at the wheels and Hess-Bright ball bearings in the drive train, knife blade controller, improved motor design, $1,700
81 Special Brougham, introduced late in the year (a 1911 model). Waverley finally made a conventional Brougham (rather than a Coupé top for an open car). With a one-piece body; it was roomier and set lower to the ground, with a new spring arraignment, $2,600
1911
These cars were 64-Volts (except m69) with 32” wheels, except 34” on the m 81: Available with cushion or pneumatic tires. The controllers were of the knife type.
53 Stanhope, 76” wb, wheel steering, $1,800 including leather top
69 Runabout, seats 2, 60 volts, 72” wb, $1,150, with buggy top and storm curtains, $1,225, with shaft drive add $100
70 C Brougham, 3-passengers, $2,150
74 Stanhope, 3-passengers, buggy or Victoria top, solid or pneumatic tires, 73½” wb, $1,600
75 C Brougham top, 4-passengers, inside drive, shaft drive, 80” wb, $2,400
76 Victoria Phaeton, Seats 3, 79” wb, $1,850
78 Roadster, 3-passengers, improved for ‘11 with a 114½” long low hung body, 96” wheelbase, and continuous fenders, a roomy rumble seat in back, faux radiator, 32-cell 11-plate battery, $1,700 with mercerized cape top, $1775
81 Special (conventional) Brougham, 3” wider body than the 75 C, lowered by spring change, 80” wb, $2,600
Ambulance, 6-passengers, $3,250
1912
62 Runabout, 2-passengers, 72” wb, with type B equipment $1,325, with the earlier type A direct drive, $1,175 top $50 extra.
88 Limousine-Five, inside front-drive limousine, wheel or lever steering, shaft drive with herringbone gears, fully floating rear axle, four speeds, inside expanding 12” drum brakes on the rear wheels, full elliptical springs front and rear, 34-cell Exide, Waverley, or National battery: or 42-cell Edison Battery, 104” wb, sill 129 inches, length 144 inches. $3,500
90 Sheltered Roadster, 3-passengers, folding mercerized cape Landau top, folding windshield, glass side windows could be attached to the tops of the doors for full enclosure when the top was up, faux radiator (with faux filler cap), lever or steering wheel. When a lead battery was used the rear compartment was available for storage, 64 Volts, 104” wb, $2,000
91 Brougham 4-passengers, three Pullman chairs in the back (the middle one recessed) and a ”cozy corner” at the right front, creating four separate seats, 89” wb. With doors hinged at the windshield pillars it looked a bit like a large boxy Milburn. Available with a Forty cell Exide Hycap, Philadelphia M V style, thirteen plate Gould, or Waverley M V style batteries. At extra charge Exide Ironclad or Edison batteries (with larger compartments to accommodate the Edison battery) were offered, Interchangeable top, $2,800.
92 Surrey, 4-passengers, four doors, 92” wb, $1,900
93 Coupé 3-Passengers (the 3rd on a folding child seat), interchangeable top, $2,150
95 Brougham, 4-passengers, interchangeable top (leather for summer), $2,400
96 Victoria Phaëton, $1,850
98 Limousine-5, 34-cell battery, this was a full size Brougham to compete with the leading models by Baker, Detroit and, Rauch and Lang.
The company also made commercial vehicles; from a thousand pound delivery to a 5-ton truck
1913
Four new models and a revised limousine-5.
The cars used still used the transverse driveshaft, with a 1.76-1 reduction at the motor, and a 4-1 ratio at the rear end, supplied by the Metal Products Co. Both the motor and shafts were more robust than the 1912 models. Emergency drum brakes were added to the rear wheels. A new steering gear was used, with less road shock transmitted to the driver.
90 Sheltered Roadster, 34-cell battery, as 1912, $2,250
97 Colonial Brougham, 4-pass, 40-cell battery, $2,375
98 Limousine-Five, $3,500
99 Georgian Brougham, 5-passengers, $3,250
100 Limousine-4, four Pullman chairs (3 at the rear, staggered) with package storage behind the side seats, lever steering from the left rear seat with only one seat forward, leaving a clear view. 106” wb, $2,900
101 Limousine-5, 40-cell battery. 5” longer wb, 5” wider rear seat, & larger motor than 1912 version, $3,500
1914
90 Roadster or Coupé, wheel steering, three passengers
99 Georgian Brougham, 5-passengers, $3,250
104 Brougham, 4-passengers, fore-drive, rotating drivers seat, $2,900
105 Brougham, 4-passengers, rear drive, rotating front seats, $2,800
106 Brougham, 4-passengers, dual drive, $3,000
107 Brougham, 4-chair, three in staggered seating at rear, and one at the right front, 106” wb, $3,150
108 Limousine, 5-passengers, fore-drive, three doors (one for the chauffeur), 109” wb, $3,500
1915
90 Roadster, Coupé, wheel steering, three passengers, $2,000
104 Brougham, four-passengers, front drive, $2,400
105 Rear Drive, $2,300
106 Dual Drive, $2,500
108 Limousine-Five, $3,000
109 Brougham, Four Chair, more rounded rear corners, round windows in the back quarters, This model featured a curved sill allowing a lower passenger compartment, while maintaining road clearance for the motor and mechanicals, the car used an unusual “five-quarter” suspension having full elliptical springs with quarter elliptic springs from the inside ends, to the body, to restrict lateral movement, $2,750
Waverley Price Reduction effective August 1,
Model Old Price - New Price
90 Roadster Coupe $2,000 - $1,750
104 4-Pass Brougham $2,400 - $2,000
105 4-Pass Brougham $2,350 - $1,900
108 5-Passenger Limousine $3,500 - $2,500
109 Four-Chair Brougham $2,750 - $2,500
1916
Waverley built only one style with two seating arrangements. The cars were a full thousand pounds lighter than the previous year, employing an open Hotchkiss style driveshaft to a worm-bevel rear end. Wheelbase 95”, 32x4” pneumatic tires or 34x2½” cushions, sash-less windows with automatic (hand crank) lifts.
110 Brougham, 4-Passengers, 95” wheelbase, 42 cell battery, Motor at rear driving a spiral bevel gear, $2,150
110-A Brougham, $2,250
111 Four-Chair Brougham, $2,200
112 Brougham, $2,750
Weldon, 1903
Rockford, IL
Coachbuilder Charles J. Weldon announced the intent to make electric carriages.
Williams 1907-1908
Williams Electric Vehicle Co,
1948-52 E. 55th St, Cleveland, Ohio.
Originally built as the De Mars (same factory, 1905) these cars were re-designed by electrical engineer Joseph A. Williams, who had several patents for telephone equipment. After the electrics, he went on to design internal combustion engines and equipment.
Victoria, 2-passengers, enclosed chain drive to each rear wheel. Cyclops headlight and carriage lights, pneumatic tires, safety cut out on foot brake (rear drums), an “automatic controller” did not allow hesitation between speeds, there was a special “half current” low speed mode for mud and snow.
Willoughby & Owen 1901
Edward A. Willoughby & William H. Owen, Utica, NY
After building 135 Brougham bodies for Columbia/ EVC in 1899, they briefly made an electric Brougham of their own, probably for cab service. They had a rather boxy cabin with a door at the rear and the driver high and outside in the front.
Wilson 1935-1936
Partridge-Wilson Co Ltd, Leicester, Leicestershire, England.
Principally a commercial vehicle maker
Roadster, 2-passengers, 27-mph, 40-mile range, several dozen made
Wood Electric Ambulance 1900
F. A. Wood & Son New York, NY
1900 Ambulance; Two 2-hp motors on rear axle, 88 Volts, 3-speeds to 13-mph, the body was low due to use of the “Wood pedestal gear”
Woods 1897-1918
1897-1899 The Fischer Equipment Company, 340 & 342 Dearborn St.
1899-1902 Woods Motor Vehicle Co,
In February 1899 Woods leased a new factory at 110-118 E. Twentieth (now E. Cullerton Street). Late in the year they added capacity by leasing a factory around the corner at 547-551 Wabash St. The Wabash factory suffered a fire on October 1901, and the enterprise continued at the E. Twentieth Street factory.
Vehicles were also built at the Canadian General Electric Co of Toronto factory, at Peterborough Ontario, to avoid the 30% import tax.
1902-1905 Woods Motor Vehicle Co Factory & Offices, 110-118 E. Twentieth St. Chicago, Il.
Salesrooms: 1406-1410 Michigan Ave.
1906-1918 Woods Motor Vehicle Co 2510-2516 Cottage Grove Ave., and 2501-2521 Calumet Ave. Built for Woods by the landlord.
The street addresses of Chicago were renumbered in 1909.
1915 A new 2-story sales office at 746 S. Michigan Avenue.
In 1897 Clinton E. Woods left American Electric and started an eponymous electric car brand at the Fischer Equipment Co: all in Chicago. At American he had to share design duties with Karsten Knudsen, and management with a trio of others.
The Fischer Equipment Company built bodies for American Electric; and Woods talked Fischer management into making vehicles of his design.
C. E. Woods became general manager; George F. Marchant, superintendent; A. Hart-Smith was treasurer; with H. G. Osborne.
The Fischer Equipment Company advertised a dazzling array of body styles for electric vehicles. They were also happy to sell components, advertised as “Woods’ Electrical Equipments,” such as motors for vehicle and marine use, steering knuckles, motor controllers, Willard batteries, and reversing switches.
Fischer built several trucks for W. H. Patton using his series hybrid design. The three-cylinder engine was made by the American Motor Company, it was connected to an 8 kW Crocker-Wheeler dynamo. A pair of 7½ hp four-pole motors was at the rear wheels. It carried a 55 cell Willard battery with a 120 A h capacity. Rack & pinion steering by wheel.
Fischer had orders from Honolulu, Paris, Antwerp, and London. The United States Express Company ordered some “money wagons.” The order from Honolulu was from Christian Hedemann, manager of the Honolulu Iron Works.
A Count De Jotemps placed the European orders. The viscount signed a warrant for five thousand vehicles, of twenty varieties, at 500 units a year over the next ten years: a five million dollar contract. He turned out to be a con man, and the orders were a mirage.
In February of 1899, to meet the apparent demand, Woods leased a four-story building at 118 East 20th Street (now East Cullerton) and outfitted it with the machinery necessary for making electric vehicles. The original Fischer Dearborn Street factory in the loop district was closed.
The Count was soon forgotten, as new prospects emerged with the excitement of the EVC lead cab scheme in New York and Philadelphia. Movers and shakers were pouring millions into producing electric cabs to run in all major cities, modeled on the success of the profitable electric streetcar monopolies.
The press was full of stories about mergers and acquisitions swirling around the Fischer Company. They involved EVC/Columbia, American Electric, and Samuel Insull. American was left out of any deal, and Fischer was taken over by a large group of U.S. and Canadian investors. Insull backed an EVC cab company.
On September 28, 1899, an investment syndicate recapitalized the Fischer Equipment Co as the Woods Motor Vehicle Co. Incorporated under laws of New Jersey, with stock of $10 million, of which 2.5 million was 7% preferred, with the idea of competing against the EVC lead cab syndicate. They were soon competing to cut losses. The directors were John W. Mackay (president, Commercial Cable Co); August Belmont (Jr.), Dr. W. Seward Webb (president, Wagner Palace Car Co); Charles Miller (Standard Oil Co); Hon. George A. Cox (President, Canadian Bank of Commerce); J. Wesley Allison (US representative, Canadian Government Railway System); W. D. Mathews (director, Canadian Pacific Railway); H. P. Dwight (President, Great North-Western Telegraph Co); A. E. Ames (VP Imperial Life Insurance Co, Toronto, Canada); J. W. Flavelle (president, National Trust Co, Toronto); Frederic Nicholls (director, National Trust Co and V-P of Canadian General Electric), H. A. Ware (VP, North-Western National Bank, Chicago); E. B. Osler (Member of Parliament & vice-president of the Dominion Bank); C. E. Woods, Benjamin V. Becker (Newman, Northrop, Levinson, & Becker; Attorneys), and Sir William C. Van Horn (Chairman, Canadian Pacific Railway).
Frederic Nicholls was president, with Allison & Ames as vice-presidents and Woods as general manager; A. E. Chandler, secretary; and Godfrey H. Atkin, treasurer.
Their challenge to the Electric Vehicle Company’s lead-cab monopoly attempt was too much too late.
Samuel Insull (head of Chicago’s Commonwealth Edison), initially a supporter of the enterprise, decided it was futile to fight the EVC trust and set up a Chicago cab company running Columbia Cabs in competition, it was liquidated within a year, as the income did not justify the capitol involved.
On March 10, 1899, Woods leased a five-story building at 545-549 Wabash Street to expand manufacturing for the expected cab sales. It was 70 feet wide, and 547 feet deep. The main offices & repository were on first floor with an office staff of sixteen. C. E. Woods’ private office was on the second floor, along with paint & varnish. Trimming & hanging was on the third floor, with woodworking and body assembly on the fourth. The fifth floor had a blacksmith shop, which might have been the source of the 1901 fire.
The two plants had an announced capacity of 125 vehicles a month with 400 employees. As many of the investors involved with the new Woods Company were centered in Canada, and to avoid the 30% import tax, production was also planned for the Canada General Electric facility, in Peterborough Ontario, to supply cabs for Toronto.
In December, a cab operating company was incorporated and called the “Woods Motor Cab Co;” An independent company, with some joint ownership. Incorporated at $400,000, with papers filed December 4th. Principals were Harry Goodman, Charles T. B. Goodspeed, and A. B. Schaffner. Samuel Bufkin was the manager. The cabs were run out of the East 20th Street factory, with plans to build a depot.
They ran Woods vehicles exclusively, putting 25 cabs on the streets December 16th, 25 more were planned for January 1st, which would more than catch up with Insull’s EVC backed enterprise. The Woods cabs were said to be a ton lighter than the competition. They used Sigler & Sipe (Willard) batteries, making an end run around the Electric Storage Battery Company’s virtual monopoly. A company running Woods cabs was also formed in New York City: right in the face of the EVC.
On February 23, 1900 Woods shipped 21 Surreys, one Break, & five road wagons to the Hawaiian Automobile Company of Honolulu. Seven rail cars were required for the trip to the Pacific, with the batteries taking up a car and a half. The shipment was valued at $60,000.
Woods had recently shipped nine carloads to New York. The company was also building ten custom wagons for the American Tobacco Company, and three 14-passenger omnibuses were under construction for the New Haven Cab Co.
In August of 1900, Clinton E. Woods quit and S. J. Moore of Niagara Falls succeeded him as manager.
Frederick J. Newman, a young engineer who had invented a hub-motor vehicle with Joseph Ledwinka, was hired as a draftsman in 1899, and became chief engineer circa 1902.
October 1900: J. Wesley Allison, was president, G. H. Atkins, Chicago representative of the Electric Storage Battery Company, was secretary & treasurer.
In January of 1901, Clinton E. Woods set up Woods, Waring & Company, with offices on the forth floor of the Steinway Hall building, on Van Buren near Wabash Avenue. The company issued a sales brochure and might have made some prototypes, but never achieved production. This was Woods’ last attempt to become a vehicle manufacturer.
Both the EVC & Woods cabs drove the wheels directly, with a spur gear engaging a large ring gear at both drive wheels. This required mounting the heavy electric motors to a ridged frame that held the gears in alignment. The Horseless Age reported, in the May 15th 1901 issue, that among the many reasons blamed on the failure of cabs in Chicago and Boston, as an important factor being overlooked, was the failure of this gearing: with the hammering of the motor and gears by the wheels over the pavement and cobblestones of the time, it became nearly impossible to keep the spur gear on the motor shaft in alignment with the ring gears at the wheels.
Although the Woods’ design was not ideal in coping with the rough streets of Chicago, they were more successful than the Columbia cabs in this head to head competition.
By April of 1901 the taxi business was crumbling. Woods reduced its capitol stock valuation from $10 million to $2.5 million. On September 27th, despite all of the star power on the board, Woods went into receivership at the request of O. J. Friedman (an original shareholder).
The stated intent was reorganization rather than dissolution. M. H. Whitney was appointed receiver, the assets were thought to be worth $250,000 with liabilities of less than $120,000.
The Woods Motor Cab Co of Chicago, managed by S. Bufkin, was a separate company, and mildly profitable, even with its debt load. It was not directly affected by this action.
On October the twenty-fifth, a fire at the Wabash factory caused a $75,000 loss, including 22 of the 27 vehicles sent to Honolulu, which had been returned for repair –– they were less than two years old, not a good sign for reliability. 60 other cars were saved, but the fire destroyed patterns and completed body frames, along with the seasoned hardwoods stored on the top floor.
By the end of October the company was back in the hands of the receivers
On November 23, it was reported that “while completing repairs” to the fire damage at the Wabash Avenue factory, Woods moved its offices and salesroom to the East Twentieth Street facility. As the Wabash address was not used again, it is likely to have been abandoned as far as Woods was concerned.
On July the second 1902, the Woods Motor Vehicle Company assets were sold in seven lots to Jay Dixon Chappell, who reincorporated the Woods Company that August, with a capitalization of $150,000. He continued the business at the East 20th St. factory, using C. E. Woods’ two motor drive design.
On September 18, 1905 J. D. Chappell died from tonsillitis at 30 years old. His widow, May L. Chappell, continued with his plans for a new factory, and that fall it was built at a point of land created by Cottage Grove Avenue running at an angle into Calumet Avenue at E. 25th Street. The land was purchased for $25,000 and the building cost was projected to be $75,000. The factory, of semi-mill construction, stood four stories tall and was in four walled off sections. The general offices were at the nose of the building with the three streets wrapping around it.
They learned their lessons from the 1901 factory fire. Instead of having blacksmithing on the top floor, with lumber storage, the smithy was in an isolated separate building. The fire department (engine company No 9) and a police station were directly across the street.
The Woods factory was atypical in that it had no direct rail access and no power plant. Insull’s Commonwealth Edison was aggressively marketing electric service at the second lowest rates in the county, and had a good reliability record. This probably explains the dependence on municipal power. The fact of no spur or siding in the rail capitol of America is ironic. Even the modest Chicago Electric Motor Car factory had a rail spur. It did afford the ability to get competitive bids from some dozen railroads serving the area; the vehicles could be delivered to any depot and put on a direct line to their destination.
The new Woods factory opened in April 1906.
Woods made eight electric and two gasoline models. The new electric drive, designed by Newman, used a herringbone reduction to drive chains by jackshafts. The front suspension was like the Columbus, with a transverse leaf spring at the aft end of the front pair of semi-eliptics.
In 1907 Illinois began auto registrations. Of the first 9,799 cars registered: 260 were Woods & only 1 was from American.
In 1908, Fred J. Newman and sales manager Carl Metzger drove a 214a Queen Victoria named “Betsy” from Chicago to Milwaukee on one charge, then on to Sheboygan and Elbert Lake, some 190 miles.
Newman’s new single motor twin chain drive Victoria, with a removable Coupé Top, similar to the Waverley designs, was both reliable and attractive, rapidly becoming their best seller.
From late August through September of 1908 Metzger and W. S. Peterson took “Betsy” on a 40 day 2,000 mile road trip from Chicago Illinois, with sales stops at the major cities, including Peoria, Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Omaha, Lincoln Nebraska, Kansas City, & St. Louis Missouri, demonstrating the reliability of the platform.
In 1909 the factory was expanded to 160,000 square feet. Press reports stated that the factory could produce four cars a day; ads claimed 1,500 Woods owners in the Chicago area. Woods claimed to be the largest maker of electrics where “all” parts were made in house.
Roland S. Fend, from Columbus Electric, joined the engineering department.
In 1911 the company was represented at the Chicago Electrical Show by Carl J. Metzger, R. Harrington, F. J. Newman, Thomas Clements, and Louis E. Burr.
Newman left Woods to start Chicago Electric.
Louis E. Burr, who was secretary of C. P. Kimball & Co in 1905, and joined Woods in 1909, became president in 1912, he left in early November 1915. Thomas Clements, was V-P & secretary; A. G. Becker, treasurer.
1916, the final act was a true hybrid designed by chief engineer Roland S. Fend in 1915, and made until late 1918.
Fend got married in the spring of 1917, and left for a honeymoon in a new Woods Dual Power car, after which he became a consulting engineer.
The January 23, 1919 issue of Motor Age listed Woods Dual Power as one of the companies that were “definitely and permanently out of business.”
MODEL DESRIPTIONS
1898
The early Woods vehicles were of twin motor design, with rawhide spur gears driving large ring gears at the rear wheels. They were in the carriage building tradition, with forged steel and iron, rather than the steel tube frames preferred by former bicycle builders. The cars had Willard batteries in hard rubber cell jars.
½ Road Wagon, 775 lbs, 440 lb battery, 14-mph, 2¼-HP, 80 Volts, $750
1 Runabout Buggy, 2-passengers in a stick seat, 1,050 lbs, 3-hp, $1,150
2 Park Buggy, 1,100 lbs, 3-hp, $1,250
3 Park Trap, 4-passengers dos-à-dos with a drop footboard at the rear, 4½-hp, 1,800 lbs, $1,850
4 Break, 4-passengers, 1,800 lbs, 800 lb 80 Volt battery, 4½-hp, $1,900
5 Surrey, 4-passengers, 1,850 lbs, $1,950
6 Stanhope, 2-passengers, folding top, 1,250 lbs, $1,650
7 Phaëton, 2-passengers, buggy top, 1,250 lbs, $2175
8 Spider, 2-passengers under folding top plus driver in back, 2,000 lbs, $2,175
9 Full Mail Phaëton, 2-passengers under folding top plus driver & footman in back
10 Physician’s Coupé, 2-passengers, enclosed, with inside drive, $2,000
11 Hansom Cab, 2-passengers plus driver high in back, porthole windows
12 Victoria Hansom Cab,
13 Brougham, 2-passengers, with driver high up front
14 Victoria, 2-passengers plus driver and footman on box in front,
15 Landau, 4-passengers vis-à-vis plus driver and footman in front,
16 Station Wagon, 2-passengers in cab with side curtains plus a driver in front,
17 & 18 Deliveries
19 Theater Bus
20 Depot Bus
1899
A range of twenty models was offered, from a light one motor runabout to a heavy series-hybrid truck using the Patton system. It weighed 9,000 lbs with a five-ton capacity.
Motor armature windings were easily replaceable and sold separately. All models except Newman’s Light Buggy had a motor driving large ring gears at each rear wheel hub by means of rawhide pinion gears.
Light Buggy, 2-passengers, 750 lbs., single 2½-hp motor, 25 mile range, speeds up to 12-mph. 32” wheels designed to climb a 5% grade.
3 Trap, 4-passengers dos-à-dos, wire wheels 2-motors.
11 Hansom Cab, two passengers in a deeper cab than most Hansoms, driver high outside in back, two motors produced a total of 6½-hp. 30-mile range, 2,600 lbs total weight, wood wheels and solid tires. 12-mph.
12 Victoria Hansom, similar, with the driver’s box in the front
13 Brougham
14 Victoria, Driver and footman high up in front, 2 passengers in open carriage with folding Victoria top
Omnibus
Delivery
A custom express wagon was built for the United States Express Co, completed July 5th.
1900
Woods issued a press release declaring that “the finest electric Victoria in the world” was to be made for William K. Vanderbilt, at a price of $5,000
14 Victoria, driver & footman high up on front box with carriage lights on either side, control lever on left side, tiller at center, full elliptic springs at all corners, two motors
1901
All vehicles had solid rubber tires and wood wheels, Exide batteries, DWF bearings.
Road Wagon
Victoria
Game Trap, one motor,
Runabout
Stanhope
Stanhope, with rumble seat
Break
Mail Phaëton
Coupé, 4-passengers, inside drive, carriage lights, no headlight, double chain drive, continuous fenders
Brougham Cab
Hansom Cab, driver high up in rear, plus 2-passengers in the cab, 2-motor drive at rear wheels, port-hole windows, Weston type R meters
Extension Front Brougham
Landau, $3,500
Depot Wagon, $2,250
Theatre Bus
1902
101 Runabout, 2-passengers, 1,250 lbs, $1,000
102 Stanhope, 2-passengers, 2,500 lbs, $1,850
103 Victoria, 2-passengers plus child seat with driver and footman up front, 3,000 lbs, $2,400
104 Tonneau, 4-passengers, individual seats with removable tonneau, $2,500.
105 Round Front Brougham, 4-passengers plus driver high in back, 3,200 lbs, $2,500
107 Straight Front Brougham, 2-passengers in cab and driver and footman high in front, 3,200 lbs, $2,800
108 Hansom Cab, $2,400
109 Wagonette, $2,400
110, 111, 112, 113 Deliveries
114 Queen Victoria, 2-passengers, 2,600 lbs, $1,900
115 Landaulet, 2-passengers and child seat, plus driver & footman in front
116 Front Operated Extension Brougham, 4-passengers in cab plus driver and footman, $3,000
117 Rear Operated Extension Brougham, Coachman and footman out back, four passengers in the cabin, 40-cell battery, round front, 73” wheelbase, 3,500 lbs, $3,000
118 Station Wagon, 5-passengers, plus a driver and footman out front, 3,200 lbs, $2,800
119 Surrey, 4-passengers, $1,850, canopy top $100 extra
120 Brougham, inside drive, 4-passengers, 3,000 lbs, $2,800
1903
26 U. S. Mail pickup wagon
27 Coach Delivery Wagon
28 U. S. Army Wagon
29 U. S. Express Wagon
30, 33 Hood Delivery
31 Hood Delivery Wagon
34 Piano Wagon
35 Special Coach Delivery
201 Victoria, 2-passengers plus driver & footman,
203 Victoria, 2 plus 2
205 Omnibus, 18-passengers, including two on the roof,
211 Stanhope, 2-passengers plus rumble seat
212 Mail Phaëton, 4-passengers
215 Stanhope, 2-passengers, folding top, flat vertical leather dash, lever steering at the center
222 Break, 4-passengers
224 Road Wagon, spindle seat, 2-passengers, one motor, $800-
225 Top Road wagon, 2-passengers, one motor,
227 Brougham Cab, 2-passengers plus driver high in back,
240 Road Wagon, with removable box
241 Landau, 4-passengers plus driver and valet
244 Theater Bus, door at rear
248 Hansom Cab,
260 Extension Front Brougham, 2 plus 2, $3,350
262 Wagonette, with canopy Top, 6 plus 2
264 Pabst Wagon (beer delivery)
266 Country Cub Wagon (as station wagon)
267 Physicians Coupé,
268 Game Trap, 4-passengers Dos-à-dos
269 Hood Delivery Wagon
104 Tonneau, a mid-year introduction with gasoline car styling, 4-passenger, 3,200 Lbs, 2½-hp motors at 80 Volts. 160 A h, 60-mile range, wheel steering, 88” wb, solid tires 32” front 36” rear, four speeds to 18-mph. Single headlight, two cowl lights. Painted Brewster green with red running gear and green leather upholstery
1904
101 Runabout, 2-pass piano box, cape top, center drive one-motor rear axle, $1,000.
102 Stanhope, 2-pass, 2-motor, pinion drive on large ring gears at each wheel. $1,350
103 Victoria, 2-passengers, 74” wb, 50 mile range, 3,000 lbs, $2,400
104 Tonneau, 4-pass, wheel steering, battery under front hood, $2,500
105 Extended Front Brougham, Operator high up in the rear. $2,500
107 Straight Front Brougham, 2-passengers, driver high in front, $2,800
108 Hansom Cab, $2,400
109 Wagonette, 12-passengers
110,111,112,113 Delivery Wagons
114 Queen Victoria, 2-passengers, two motors, $1,900
115 Landaulet, 85” wb, 3,400 lbs, $3,000
116 Front Operated Extension Brougham, 4-pass, $3,000
117 Rear Operated Extension Brougham, very similar to model 105, $3,000
118 Station Wagon, 4-passengers plus operator, operator low in front under short roof, two motors, $2,800
119 Surrey, 4-passengers, $1,850
120 Inside-Operated Brougham, 4-passengers, 2-motors, $2,800
203 Queen Victoria, 2-passengers plus driver & footman, 73” WB, 2,500 lbs, $1,900
267 Physician’s Coupé, 4-passengers, 72” WB, 3,000 lbs, $2,800
Extension Front Brougham, 4-passengers, 74” WB, 3,300 lbs, $3,000
1906
By 1906 Woods also made Gasoline touring cars. At the Chicago show one of the electrics was exhibited in a light tone of natural wood.
102 Stanhope, 2-passengers, two-motor, Goddard top, solid tires, $1,850
103 Queen Victoria, driver & footman high in front, 3,000 lbs, two passengers & child seat, 40-cell battery, side chain drive, $2,400
105 Round front Brougham, driver high in back, $2,500
107 Brougham, driver high in front, $2,800
108 Hansom Cab, 2-motors, Driver high in rear, 80-Volts, $2,250
111 Delivery, $2,300
112 Delivery, driver high in front, $2,350
113 Delivery, open bed, $2,300
114 Victoria, $1,900
115 Landaulet, Driver in front, two passengers in cabin plus child’s drop seat, $3,000
116 Extension Brougham, Driver in front, $3,000
117 Extension Brougham, 4-passengers in cabin, driver in rear, $3,000
118 Station Wagon, 5-passengers plus operator out front in weather, $2,800
119 Surrey, 4-passengers, with canopy top, $1,950
120 Brougham, inside drive, 4-passengers, 73” wb, 3,000 lbs, $2,800
201 Runabout, 2-passengers, one motor shaft drive, $1,000
202 Extension Front Landaulet, chain drive, $3,500
214a Queen Victoria/Brougham, with detachable top, twin chain drive with herringbone gear reduction to countershafts. Complex rear springs with a transverse leaf spring in front of the axle and half elliptical at the rear. 4 speeds to 17-mph, $1,900; with detachable Brougham top, $2,500
Brougham, 5-passengers, chain drive, elliptical leaf springs from the Krupp works in Germany, 40-cell Exide battery.
262 Wagonette
1907
201 Runabout, 62” wb, 2,500, $1,000
214 A Queen Victoria with detachable Brougham Top, $2,700
214 B Queen Victoria, with detachable child seat, 40-cells, $2,150
215 Extension Landaulet, as 216 with soft top, $4,000
216 Extension Brougham, outside drive with wheel, headlights and carriage lights, $4,000
217 Special Landaulet, 7-passengers, 100” wb, windshield for driver up front, $4,500
315 Surrey, 4-passengers, $3,000
1908
214 a Queen Victoria, with leather Victoria top, or Pantasote top ($2,100) or removable Coupé top, herringbone reduction to jackshaft, motor brake
1909
214 a Queen Victoria, 2-4 passengers, 50 miles guaranteed 100 suggested, with summer top $2,100, with winter (Coupé) top $2,650, with both tops $2,700, child seat (plus 2) add $50-
1910
Woods cars for 1910 were of the 214a design; employing a single motor (more efficient than two) driving a jackshaft through herringbone reduction gears; the shaft had a sprocket at either end to drive the rear wheels by chains. 40-cell 9 M. V. lead battery, or fifty-four cell Edison battery.
1012 Brougham, “the only electric with I-beam axles and crucible chrome nickel-steel,” solid rubber tires
1911
Krupp steel I-beam axles front and rear. The drum controller had four speeds forward and two in reverse. Solid rubber tires, chain drive
1112 Coupé, 5-passengers, chain drive 80-Volts, 86” wb, $2,900
1114 Victoria, 4-passengers, 80” wb, $2,100
1114C Brougham, 4-passengers, 80” wb, $2,650
1912
Woods introduced chainless bevel-gear cars.
1216 Extension Brougham, 5-passengers, 20-mph, 84-Volts, 90” wb, $3,000
1217 Extension Brougham, 4-passengers, $2,700
1219 Double Victoria, 4-passengers vis-à-vis, buggy top, rear seat drive, $2,500
1220 Gentleman’s Roadster
1221 Extension Brougham, 4-passengers, 92” wb, 80-Volts, $2,700. A Victoria body was also available for this platform.
1913
Larger batteries with lighter platforms and bodies were the priorities as Woods looked to catch up with the newer designs that were beating them in the market. New models featured a dropped channel frame with a drop forged nickel-steel front axle. The motor was under the passenger side floorboards. It drove the chrome nickel-steel driveshaft through a herringbone reduction gear in a housing bolted to the motor. A tube was between the reduction gear housing and the rear drive, which entered the unit slightly off center, and kept the whole system in ridged alignment, obviating a need for flexible joints. The rear-drive assembly had fully floating rear axles, drive gears, and differential cluster, in a one-piece electrically welded housing.
Woods kept to the solid tire philosophy with a new dual tread design, although the final decision was up to the customer.
Around this time Woods put a Weston double meter and the “distant dial” of a Sangamo Ampere-hour meter all in the same case in some models. A hard rubber coating was given to all door handles and control levers.
Five speeds forward. Pulling the control back past the off position initiated an emergency brake. The service brake was foot operated. This was the opposite of standard practice.
1319 Double Victoria, (cowl, but no windshield) 4-passengers vis-à-vis, $2,500
1320 Gentleman’s Roadster, 2-passengers, buggy top, faux radiator, $2,400
1321 Extension Brougham, 5-passengers vis-à-vis, 80-Volts, $2,700
1322 Extension Limousine, 5-passengers facing forward, 102” wb, 84-Volts, $3,600
1323 Pony Limousine, front drive, $3,100
1324 Pony Limousine, rear drive, 2 swivel chairs in front, $3,000
1325 Pony Limousine, rear drive, 4-passengers vis-à-vis, $2,900
1914
1420 Roadster (runabout), 2-passengers plus jump seat, Renault style front hood with a monocle headlight set into it, pair of pillar lights, buggy top, $2,500
The new Broughams skipped the 1914 model year.
1915
The 1915 models were introduced in January of 1914 at the Chicago Auto Show. This was an interesting marketing ploy, to draw awareness to the first Woods with an up-to-date drive system. Woods adopted an undershot worm-gear rear axle of the Hindley hourglass type, simplifying the driveline with no U-joints, while removing the weight of reduction gears. A ball joint at either side suspended the 3½-hp motor from a sub frame. Radius rods kept the sub frame in alignment with the rear axle. Woods, as with several other established brands, had been reluctant to go to worm or spiral-bevel rear drives as this work had to be purchased from others. Woods was very proud of doing all work –– except tires, (probably) chains, and small electrical fixtures –– in-house. All but the Roadster got worm drive. They had five speeds forward to 20-mph, Woods remained committed to cushion tires with 34x4” tires in front and 38 x 4½” rear.
1520 Roadster, 3-passengers, bevel-gear rear axle, 92” wb, $2,300
1522 Brougham, 4-passengers, 100” wb, $2,875
1523 Brougham, 5-passengers, $3,150
1501 Brougham, 5-passengers, duplex drive, $3,250
1503 Brougham, 5-passengers, front drive, $3,150
1504 Brougham, 5-passengers, 110” wb, rear drive, $3,150
1916
1622 Coupé, 4-Passengers, 100” wheelbase, Cushion tires, 86-Volts, $2,850
1624 Brougham, 5-passengers, $2,900
The company was renamed Woods Dual Power, and introduced the first modern hybrid.
44 Dual Power Coupé, 4-Passenger gasoline/electric, designed by Roland S. Fend (formerly with Columbus, and designer of Duplex drive for Baker-R & L), and introduced mid-year, with a 14-hp 4-cylinder le Roi engine coupled through a magnetic clutch to a 48-Volt motor fed by a 24-cell (11 plates per cell) battery connected to a series/parallel system of motor-generator-starter. The first iteration had a 110” wheelbase, 20-mph electric only, 35-mph on both, dynamic braking w/mechanical assistance. Woods claimed the car could get 48-mpg, $2,650; wire wheels added $25, available in blue or green, custom colors added $100.
1917
June, an updated version was introduced.
54 Dual Power Coupé, the hybrid got a larger body, a Continental engine, and a longer wheelbase (124”). Other amenities included an adjustable rain-shield, better lighting, and a rearview mirror that ran across the top of the windshield. All control was in two settings on the steering hub, and a single foot pedal, leaving both hands for the steering wheel. A second pedal was for emergency braking. The car used a Bausch hourglass worm-gear rear end. $2,950 with wood wheels, options as for the 44.
1918
The last year for Woods
Woods Cab Company 1900
Woods Motor Vehicle Co, Buffalo, NY
Incorporated around June of 1900, to run Woods made cabs in Buffalo. The use of the name was allowed as long as only Woods cabs were used. There was no cross ownership with Woods of Chicago.
Woods Cab Company (Chicago) 1900-1902
Woods Motor Cab Co, Chicago IL
A separate company from the Woods Motor Vehicle Co, but the WMVC was a principle shareholder. Managed by Samuel Bufkin.
Zeddeco 1905-1906