At 5:40 a.m., London’s Hyde Park is pitch dark. Only a handful of workmen are on hand, erecting signs and laying out parking lanes.
Strolling down the road where ancient cars soon would be parked, parallel to Hyde Park’s lagoon, human figures emerge from the darkness sporadically. They are officials, awaiting the mechanized entrants in the day’s event. Marshals come from the 750 Club, a group of owners and enthusiasts of the Austin Seven, a popular British automobile that continues to attract a legion of fans.
Not until shortly after 6, before the first flecks of the sun begin to emerge on this November morning, do the cars begin to arrive. Only a faint, far-off chugging breaks the dark, morning silence. Squinting into the distance, we see a glimmer of light. Headlights. Dim headlights, from the era long before sealed beams, signal the arrival of Car No. 135, a 1902 Peugeot two-seater. As it grows nearer, the tantalizing sounds of the veteran-era motorcar rise to an automotive crescendo.
From the Shuttleworth Collection at Bedfordshire, England, that French-built Peugeot arrives at the start of the 1999 London to Brighton Run, a Veteran Car Run sponsored by the Tindle Newspaper Group. The Motor Sports Association organizes the event for the Royal Automobile Club.
More cars trickle in. Each was built before 1905, the cutoff date for participation in this annual event. Originally called the Emancipation Run, the first one took place Nov. 14, 1896. It celebrated the passage of the Locomotives on the Highway Act, which raised the speed limit for “light locomotives” to 14 from 4 m.p.h. It also abolished the need for a man on foot to precede motor vehicles, an early safety regulation.
Only 14 of the 33 starters in that first event reached Brighton. Other early runs went to different destinations. The Royal Automobile Club took over in 1930, and the run has taken place annually ever since, except for war years and 1947 (when gasoline rationing was still in force).
An 1899 Star Vis-a-Vis, entered by Frank Horton of Cheshire, next drives through Hyde Park, seeking its parking area. According to Hank Eynatten, assisting with photography at the daylong event, the Star sounds like a lawnmower. Then comes a 1903 Speedwell two-seater, owned by Hazel Gleave of Cheshire. Also among the early arrivals is an 1894 Peugeot, the second-oldest entrant.
Old-car enthusiasts draw great distinctions between veteran (pre-1905), vintage (1905 to about 1915), antique (1916 to 1925) and classic (specific, low-volume mcars made between 1925 and 1948) models.
After about half an hour, one car after another whirs down the Hyde Park road. In groups, the cars emit an intriguing cacophony of contentious sounds. Chugging and sputtering, clanking and wheezing, some 450 cars breeze–or struggle– through Hyde Park to their parking sites.
Conversation is vigorous among participants, tenders (who care for the cars) and members of the public who stand behind barriers. Such camaraderie is no surprise, because many of the participants have been through this before. Some of them, many times before.
A lot of the talk is technical. “At some stage,” said one mechanically inclined driver, “that damned engine’s got to come right out. You can’t get the piston out unless you go through that end.” Heads nod solemnly.
The oldest car on the Run is an 1893 Benz Victoria, wearing badge No. 1 and driven by Peter Welch for owner, Timothy Garrett. Welch has driven the route nine times before. This year, he’s concerned because the Benz has been “bucking” in its early-morning journey to the send-off point.
Glyn Morris, of Deerfield, Ill., also is anxious because his 1902 Murray has been sputtering. It even broke down while traversing Hyde Park. About 400 Murray cars were built, Morris said, and there might be four left.
Samuel and Arline Greco arrived in London two days earlier from Garden City, N.Y. This is their eighth Run. They failed to finish their first time, but reached Brighton each time since. The Grecos are driving a 1903 Curved-Dash Oldsmobile (No. 202). Samuel Greco III is driving an ’02 Olds.
Entrants came from 13 countries, driving 130 makes. Some cars wear familiar names, including Oldsmobile, Benz, Ford, Stanley, Daimler, Vauxhall and Stevens-Duryea. Others are less well known–Daley, Daniel-Auge, Dennis or Rochet Schneider.
De Dion Bouton is the most popular make this year, with 67 cars participating. Next is Panhard et Levassor with 30, Darracq with 25 and Olds with 24. There are 16 Renaults, 10 Gladiators and 10 Benzes. Eight were built before 1898, and 146 were from 1904.
Thirteen entrants came from the U.S., and 17 hailed from Germany among the 61 from countries other than Britain.
In Hyde Park are Tricycles and Dogcarts, Runabouts and Tonneaus. Few have tops or side curtains. Most lack windshields.
Some participants are dressed in vintage garb. All are attired warmly. In contrast to some Runs, however, the weather cooperated this year, warm and sunny at least until afternoon, when chill winds began to blow.
Cars are arranged by age, oldest first, into fifteen groups. Entry numbers, from 1 to 451, are assigned ahead of time. Starting at 7:30, the eldest group takes off for Brighton. Over the next hour, all 15 groups depart.
At the front of the pack is Sir Ray Tindle CBE, group chairman of the Tindle Newspaper Group, though his car–a 1904 Speedwell Dogcart–carries a high number (316). Sir Ray has been entering this event for more than 30 years.
At the Start line, a flag sends each group on its way.
Hyde Park Gate is the first obstacle. Old-car journalist Dave Selby said quite a few vehicles fail to reach this point a hundred yards or so beyond the Start line.
A mishap occurs at the Start. The tall funnel of a locomotive-like 1899 Shearer Steamer, from Australia, knocks the Start arch down. Several cars are stuck until their passengers climb down and push them across the starting line, a common occurrence.
Thirty-six cars don’t start, bringing the number of participants to 417–plus late additions.
Because the London to Brighton Veteran Car run is not a race, cars are limited to an average speed of 20 m.p.h.
Madeira Drive, which runs along the coast at Brighton, is the end of the Run. The finish is at a nearby park, but each car has to make a triumphant trek down Madeira, past the enthusiast onlookers–some 8,000 this year.
Several cars have to be pushed toward the Finish arch, though they had completed the Run.
First to arrive, at 10:45 a.m., is Car No. 7, an 1896 Panhard et Levassor driven by Daniel Ward of West Yorkshire, England. After his trouble-free run, Ward is greeted by Councillor Jenny Langston, Brighton’s mayor.
Next comes Car 181, a 1902 De Dietrich driven by Michael Banfield of Kent, president of the Veteran Car Club.
Despite intake valve control problems, a 1901 Darracq Tonneau entered by Sir Freddy Sowrey of East Sussex arrives at 11:30 a.m. The first overseas entrants are Car 52, a 1900 Benz Velo driven by Christoph Schmidt of Germany, followed by countrymen in a 1903 De Dion Bouton.
By noon, 25 cars had passed the crowd at Brighton. By 2 p.m., 185 had arrived.
Appearing at a 12:15 is Car 84, a 1901 De Dion Bouton Vis-a-Vis piloted by 83-year-old Osmond Bennett from Ireland, who has made the Run for 31 years. This is the 30th outing for 90-year-old Arthur Tyler in Car 33, an 1899 Decauville Vis-a-Vis.
Mark Tidy of West Sussex has a problem-free run in Car 287, a 1903 Panhard et Levassor. This is Tidy’s 32nd attempt; he has not finished only once. Lord Strathcarron drives his 1903 Georges Richard in his 38th outing. He always reaches Brighton.
The 1893 Benz arrives at 2:20. Driver Peter Welch notes that “we have had a very good run down and the police along the route have been very helpful.” Oliver Black of London has a harder time, his 1904 Siddeley suffering engine problems. He and his passenger push the car six miles.
For their efforts, participants get a bronze medal–if they arrive at Brighton by the 4:30 p.m. deadline. This year, 367 of the 417 vehicles that left Hyde Park do so.
The Run “went very well for the first two-thirds of the way,” said Jean Morris of Deerfield. They had mechanical problems with their 1902 Murray; it kept stopping once past Crawley. “Finally, we pushed it over the last quarter of a mile.” The Morris car reaches the finish line around 3:45.
The Grecos’ curved-dash Oldsmobile finishes around 12:45.
The London to Brighton Run is held on the first Sunday in November, because cooler weather puts less stress on the cars’ lubrication and cooling systems. To reach Brighton by the 4:30 deadline, a car must average 7 m.p.h.
