The names of the twins Francis and Freelan Stanley hold a very special place in the history of American steam powered automobiles. As well as playing a pioneering, innovating role in the development of steam power, they continued to remain faithful to this technology for twenty years or so even after the affirmation of the internal combustion engine.
In 1885, Francis opened a large photographic material factory in Newton, Massachusetts. Once his brother joined him in business, they decided to turn their attentions to other fields. A disappointing exhibition of a steam car at the Brockton Falls fair in 1896 fired the competitive spirit of the twins, who, confident that they could do better, set to work immediately. They sourced components from many different manufacturers for their first car, picking the best that the market had to offer. The result was a lightweight two-seater buggy. It was powered by a parallel twin cylinder engine, with its crankshaft mated directly to the rear axle. The boiler was situated under the seats and was heated by an array of petrol fired burners. Featuring no clutch gearbox, the little car underwent its first tests in July 1897, and made its official debut that October at the Brockton Falls fair, where it enjoyed such an enthusiastic reception that the Stanley brothers suddenly found themselves with their first orders.
The 1899 models were heavier, with a range of around 40 km. Unfortunately, the Stanley brothers hadn’t bothered to protect their products with a patent, and this omission was taken advantage of by A. L. Barber, who patented the examples in his possession and founded the Locomobile company to start mass production of them. Faced with this fait accompli, the Stanley twins could do nothing but accept Barber’s conditions and agree not to produce steam cars of the same type for two years.
In spite of this setback, the brothers managed to sell their photographic material factory to Kodak in 1899 and successfully completed the first automobile ascent of Monte Washington in a Stanley that summer. The same year, they opened a workshop in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where they resumed operations as automobile constructors.
The Stanley twins developed a completely new and original design, and the new car with a horizontal engine and direct drive transmission was ready in the autumn of 1901. The ban imposed by Barber also expired that year, allowing them to reacquire ownership of the patents. In 1903, the company transferred to Newton, and production increased to three cars a day. The model range was extended and diversified: with light cars derived from the original buggies and the longer wheelbase Surrey series.
Stanley even enjoyed a number of sports successes: on 26 January 1906 at Ormond Beach, a streamlined Stanley driven by Fred Marriott set a new land speed record of 195.647 km/h.
Put under increasing pressure by competition from the internal combustion engine in the 1910s, however, the Stanley brothers sold their company in 1917. Production of Stanley steam cars continued at a slower pace after the change in ownership, up until the end of the 1920s.
