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November 2, 2007
Sunday marks the running of one of the most remarkable rallies in the world - the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run in England.
Get this: The rally is open to cars built before 1905 and a total of 531 vehicles – 43 pre-1900 – will be making the 60-mile run. As such, it is by far the largest annual gathering of veteran cars in the world.
The run was first made in 1896 to celebrate the repeal of the Locomotives on the Highway Act, which allowed automobiles to increase their top speed from 4 mph to 14 mph! It was next run in 1927 and has been run every year since, except for a couple of years during and just after WWII.
This year, the run is celebrating American-made automobiles, and there are 142 American entries representing 37 manufacturers, including 41 Oldsmobiles and 29 Cadillacs, according to Jeff Carter, spokesman for Motion Works, which is organizing the run on behalf of the Royal Automobile Club.
Overall, the entries feature 140 different marques. Owners come from 24 countries, mostly from Britain but also from all over Europe as well as Canada, the United States and Mexico and as far afield as Australia, Hong Kong and South Africa.
The majority of the cars are gasoline driven, but three are electric and 19 are steam driven. The oldest car is an 1895 3-3/4 horsepower Peugeot and one of the youngest is a 1904 Peerless racer owned by John Price of Utah.
See my slightly expanded version of this story in the Sunday Providence Journal.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth 
at 7:25 AM to Collecting
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Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published.
