0 The Toledo - "An Automobile of Quality"

by Nancy DeWitt

1907 Pope-Hartford
William Evans Collection

© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

I have written several blog posts about the Pope-Toledo automobile, but none about its predecessor, the Toledo. Pope-Toledo was the star of Colonel Albert Pope's empire, which also included Pope-Robinson, Pope-Hartford, Pope-Tribune and Pope-Waverly automobiles. Colonel Pope was the world's largest bicycle manufacturer in the late 1800s, and it was only natural that he diversified into automobile production when bicycle sales plummeted.

1904 Pope-Toledo Twin Tonneau
from http://www.swedishbrasscar.com

The Pope-Toledo name arose following the reorganization of the International Motor Car Company, which produced steam and internal-combustion automobiles under the Toledo name. On May 27, 1903, the agency was renamed the Pope Motor Car Company, and all subsequent cars produced were known as Pope-Toledos. The steam car line was dropped in 1904. The early 1904 Pope-Toledos bore a striking resemblance to the 1903 Toledo shown below.

Although a number of Toledo steam cars are still around, to our knowledge we have the sole-surviving Toledo gasoline car. We purchased this 1903 Toledo rear-entry tonneau from the estate of Carl J. Schmitt in 2008. Mr. Schmitt acquired the Toledo in 2000 and had Allan Schmidt of Escondido, CA perform a complete frame-off restoration on it in 2003. According to Allan, the car had its original body and was fairly easy to restore because it was so complete. He built a new copper radiator and water tank, as well as a windshield and top. In 2004, the Toledo won the Antique (1 & 2-cylinder) Award at the 2004 Kirkland Concours d'Elegance.

The wicker side baskets shown here are original to the car. These could be used to hold tools, spare parts and picnic baskets. The Toledo also has an interesting hill brake--essentially a pole that swings down from the chassis and digs into the ground--that could be lowered when climbing steep hills. It was also one of the first automobiles to have an electric speedometer.

Museum Manager Willy Vinton has driven the Toledo several times. "It takes a lot of time to get her prepped," he says, " but it starts very easily if you follow the instructions, taking about 15 minutes to warm up. It runs very well, but shifting is a little different from other early cars." Unlike the two-speed planetary transmissions found in most automobiles of the time, the 12-horsepower Toledo has a three-speed, sequentially shifted sliding-gear transmission.

The Toledo is very striking in appearance and has an unusually long bonnet for a two-cylinder car. This accommodated the large radiator tank that sits in front of the engine. In 1903 a Toledo cost $2,000, which included a large brass headlight, two side lamps, a signal horn, tools, a tire repair kit and a removable extra seat for the tonneau. Advertised as "An Automobile of Quality," sales literature further boasted that its "perfect appointments and superb finish appeals to the refined taste and good judgement of purchasers." It certainly is a fine car and a nice addition to the museum.

The Toledo is featured in our museum book and can be seen in this short video.

Detail: The Toledo - "An Automobile of Quality"

0 A Pope Returns to Alaska

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

Photo courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Library

Alaska's location on the Great Circle Route has several advantages, notably that numerous cargo planes stop here to refuel on their flights between North America and Asia. Occasionally a VIP emerges from an airplane during a refueling stop, and in 1984 Fairbanks was treated to a double bonanza when President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II coordinated their layovers here. It was the first time a Pope and U.S. president had met outside of the Vatican or White House.

This wasn't the first time a Pope had made it to Fairbanks, however. Back in May I wrote about Pope-Toledos in Alaska and the Yukon, one of which was the first automobile to arrive in Fairbanks back in 1908. These cars were named for Colonel Albert Pope, who founded a bicycle and automobile production empire that spanned several states. His automobiles included the Columbia, Pope-Waverly, Pope-Tribune, Pope-Hartford, and the pinnacle of his marques, Pope-Toledo.

One of the Dawson Pope-Toledos
Photo courtesy of Candy Waugaman

In 1907, two Pope-Toledos were imported to Dawson City in the Yukon Territory. One was brought in by Captain J.B. Hubrick, a roadhouse owner and Dawson's cable ferry operator. It was "...fitted with extra large tires and accompanied by large quantities of repair parts and supplies, including wood alcohol and glycerine to mix with the cooling water to prevent freezing." Hubrick planned to establish a motor stage line between Dawson and Granville. Newspapers and automotive journals reported that the man who would drive Hubrick's auto "over the northernmost stage line in the world" would be Carl Lilliesterna, also known as the Swedish Auto Tramp.

Robert Sheldon at the wheel of his Pope-Toledo
Photo courtesy of Frances Erickson

"There was a tremendous scramble for rides on the first day," reported The New York Times, and "the Red Devil" was kept busy all summer. At some point, perhaps around 1910, the big touring car was barged to Fairbanks by Jack Sale, a jeweler who had moved from Dawson to Fairbanks in 1906. Robert Sheldon purchased it for $500 and later noted "it was out-of-time and otherwise in bad shape and not in running condition." After repairing it Sheldon used the Pope-Toledo as a taxi for two years. He then sold it to the Tanana Valley Railroad, which had Fred Lewis convert it to run on the tracks.

The Fountainhead Auto Museum's new Pope-Toledo
Photo courtesy of Al Murray

We know of only 10 or so surviving Pope-Toledos, and just a mere handful of those match the models that made it to Fairbanks over 100 years ago. The most attractive of those was the Type XII with the Roi de Belges body that Hubrick and Sheldon owned. Its upswept sides resembled a tulip--and the curving lines of the cowl and radiator added to its appeal. After years of searching, we have finally acquired an identical car for our museum. Our 1906 Pope-Toledo Type XII 7-passenger touring car is now at Murray Motor Car in Monroe, WA for a general freshening before a possible appearance at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August of 2013. We will ship it north at the end of summer and then plan to have a Pope-Toledo homecoming celebration! It won't be as exciting as a papal visit, but we're sure you will be impressed with our new Popemobile.

Detail: A Pope Returns to Alaska