Horseless Carriage Club tours Prince Edward County

Story and photos by Sharon Harrison
They look different, they have a distinctive sound, they travel relatively slowly, they even smell a little different, and while they come from a different era, being at least 100 years old, there is a familiarity and a fascination to these beautifully-restored and cared-for automobiles.

The Horseless Carriage Club of Southern Ontario arrived in the County last weekend as part of its tales and trails week-long tour, bringing 37 restored vintage vehicles, all of which pre-date 1916.

Residents may have seen a few of the automobiles travelling the County roads this week as the club toured various locations throughout, including farms and wineries, and museums and historical sites, during their stay.

Some may have wondered why there were some minor hold-ups, and perhaps had to pack a little patience while they shared the carriageway with some very old relics from a very different time, perhaps curious quite to what they were seeing and experiencing, and hopefully showing good County manners.

The average speed of these roughly 1900 to 1916 dated automobiles, just 24 to 32 kilometres per hour.

On Thursday evening, the Horseless Carriage Club of Southern Ontario members were invited to join the regular Picton cruise night event held at the Crystal Palace, where the fine automobiles were lined-up on display for the public to see and marvel up-close, and to take a moment to step back in time.

It was a warm evening with the sun beating down on the open ground of the fairgrounds, a few lucky individuals finding shade from the trees, but the event garnered a big turnout as many came out to browse the large collection of automobiles spanning well over 100 years in age.

For the curious, a horseless carriage is the early name (beginning in the 1890s) for an automobile or a motor car –essentially a vehicle of the time that wasn’t pulled by a horse or other animal, and could operate under its own power with this new invention of a gasoline engine. Once the automobile came along, it largely replaced horse-drawn carriages or a horse and buggy mode of transportation.

The club and its members exist because they have a passion for preserving and enjoying vintage brass-era automobiles and motorcycles pre-dating 1916, and bringing enthusiasts together, where they often spend the finer months of the year travelling together and exploring new places. They are not only dedicated to preservation, but also conservation and the touring of antique automobiles.

Founded in 1952, the club is a chapter of the Horseless Carriage Club of America.

The array of delightful contraptions were mostly polished and gleaming to perfection, some had lots of brass accoutrements (especially lamps -gas in the day), as people oohed and aahed as the incredible vehicles, clearly interested in an era of a very different time, where automobiles looked, sounded and behaved very differently compared to today’s models.

While very basic in their design (yet not so for the time), the standard of workmanship was evidently high as many of the vehicles seen came with original leather seating, wooden spoke wheels, wooden steering wheels too, so much wood and metal, and often, a lot of brass.

Noticeably, very few had windows of any kind, excepting the front windshield, so travellers of the time (and now too) would be exposed to the elements. Not only were the automobiles quite tiny inside (compared to today’s standards), they were incredibly basic, from dashboard dials and gauges (sometimes only one or two), to pedals that simply came up through a hole in the wooden flooring, exposing daylight beneath.

Some of the vehicles were clearly quite basic, a few could even be described as crude, others much fancier, most came with crank handles at the front of the vehicles, a horn that you squeezed, situated on the outside of the driver’s door, and ever-so-thin tires, many incredibly smooth with little to no tread.

The beautifully preserved antique automobiles, with makes such as Buick, Ford, The Willy’s-Overland Company, White, and EMF (Everitt, Metzger, and Flanders) – EMF were eventually acquired by Studebaker. Even the REO Motor Car Company out of St. Catherine’s, Ontario.

All were from the very early 1900s, whether it was a 1908 Buick, or a 1912, 1913 or a 1914 Ford, among the generous display.

The regular Picton cruise night also showcased a huge selection of automobiles, some very new super sports cars, others from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, even a few vintage models circa 1930s.

Inside the Crystal Palace, club members had a place to sit and eat, and there was also a silent auction with proceeds going toward the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation’s Back the Build campaign.

Always a friendly event, cruise night is about camaraderie, meeting new friends, showing off vehicles of course, but also hearing about stories of restoration or engine size or really technical stuff many lay people don’t understand. And when you can do all that in the County on a balmy summer’s evening with family, at no cost, life can’t be bad.