1910 Stanley Model 70 Touring
Identical twins Francis E. and Freeland O. Stanley built what became America’s most famous steam-powered automobile, though they strongly disliked when people called it a “Stanley Steamer.”
The brothers, known simply as F.E. and F.O., preferred “Stanley Steam Car” for their creations from Newton, Massachusetts.
The Model 70 touring featured a 116-inch wheelbase and utilized full-elliptic leaf springs front and rear, with a solid front axle and rear drum brakes.
Its coffin-nose design concealed a 23 × 14-inch boiler that generated substantial pressure for the two-cylinder double-acting steam engine rated at 20 nominal steam horsepower.
Performance matched many eight-cylinder gasoline automobiles of the period, delivering power in near silence while requiring only water and kerosene.
The Model 70 could achieve speeds of around 60 mph that impressed contemporary observers, though its typical operating range was roughly 40 to 50 miles before taking on more water.
With approximately 10 known survivors today, the Model 70 represents the Stanley brothers’ engineering philosophy of direct power application to the rear axle without need for a transmission or clutch.
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