1906 White Model F Steam Car

The White company of Cleveland Ohio manufactured sewing machines.  At the turn of the century, the company moved into the manufacture of steam powered cars.  White vehicles were elegant, stylish, expensive and popular with the well-to-do crowd.  White made cars from 1900 to 1918 and were exclusively steam powered until 1910 when they started converting to the more widely accepted gasoline vehicle.  If you think of the period, steam was better understood than gasoline having been in use for quite a while in trains, ships and even stationary power use and the knowledge base morphed as the technology did and White’s conversion closely mirrors this transition.

Under the heading “there’s more than one way to skin a cat”, comparing a White to a Stanley is like comparing a typewriter to a pencil.  One is infinitely more complex than the other but the resulting product is far more predictable and elegant.  (That said, in the hands of an artist, a pencil can create a far more varied and pleasing result…)

This 1906 White model F had a brawny price tag of $2800.  It sits on a 114-inch wheelbase and was powered by an 18HP steam engine.  It is important to understand that steam HP is quite different from gas HP as the output of a gas engine varies based on rotational RPM where the steam engine power is based on the pressure of the incoming steam.  A 10HP Stanley with a healthy boiler and efficient burner will easily outperform a 40HP gas car.

The White has its boiler and burner under the front seat (talk about being in the HOT seat) and the engine is up front like a gas car.  The engine sometimes needs to run to make/maintain steam and other functions so there is a conventional clutch separating it from the drive line.  White didn’t let the used steam escape into the atmosphere but instead condensed it back to water and recycled it which explains the radiator like object in the front of the car.  The extra steering wheel is actually the throttle or speed control.