The Pioneer Freighter bridging a swampy area on the north side of the White Mountains in Arizona.
The Jackson-Crocker transcontinental trip had been a daring stunt, like crossing the Atlantic in a rowboat, with no underlying purpose other than to show that it could be done. The St. Louis tour was a similar challenge on a larger scale. The competition for the Glidden Cup, however, had a more serious objective—to focus national attention on the difficulty of traveling any considerable distance on the common roads—and it was remarkably effective in meeting this objective. The Glidden Tours showed conclusively that motor cars were mechanically capable of traveling long distances if the roads were reasonably good, and they fueled a rising demand from motorists for motorable long-distance roads, even a coast-to-coast highway.[N 1] Many people thought the States and counties would never be able to provide such highways, and they seriously advocated that the Federal Government build and operate national highways.
The Pioneer Freighter, a gasoline-powered motor truck made by the Saurer Motor Car Company, made two memorable cross country trips in 1911. This 37 horsepower vehicle weighed 3 tons and carried a load of 3½ tons of lumber for bridging creeks and soft places, plus supplies of fuel and camp equipment. The expedition was in the charge of A. L. Westgard of the Touring Club of America, who had also been commissioned a Special Agent of the Office of Public Roads by Director Page.
The first trip of the Pioneer Freighter began March 4, 1911, at Denver, Colorado, and proceeded via Santa Fe and Phoenix to Los Angeles. This trip traversed 1,450 miles in 66 days, of which 53 days were consumed in actual travel. The average speed was 3.26 miles per hour—about as fast as a man could walk. The machine was shipped to Pueblo, Colorado, by rail, leaving there under its own power June 12, 1911, and ending in New York City in July 1911. The full significance of these trips would be felt a few years later, when the United States began mobilizing for World War I.[2]
- ↑ In 1907 a group of promoters proposed a toll road from New York to Boston to be built on a 150-foot fenced right-of-way with two one-way 25-foot roadways and entrances every 6 or 7 miles. They estimated that traffic would be 250 cars per day each way and planned to charge each one a toll of 5 cents per mile.[1]
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