Shorpy recently posted this interesting photo from about 1910 showing a dual-wheeled auto on a turntable built into the top of Inspiration Point at Pike’s Peak. Ah, but what of the auto? For a closer look, let’s enhance:
Good, we see more of the car itself, but what’s that in Sector 4G? Enhance!
Packard, aha! Of course, we could have just as well found that out from one of the commenters at Shorpy, who posted a story on the Crystal Park Company of Colorado Springs, which built its own road up Pike’s Peak (including the turntable) and had five Packard trucks built with special bodies for the tours up the road. According to The Horseless Age, Crystal Park Company was incorporated in November 1908 and began making trips up Pike’s Peak in the end of June 1909. Each of the five Packards could accommodate 20 passengers, and a round-trip fare from Colorado Springs to Eagle’s Nest cost $1.50. Motor Age in 1912 noted, however, that construction on the road didn’t start until fall of 1909, with the road ready for use by the end of October 1910. Fares by 1912 were $2.50 per person, rising to $3 in 1913. We even found a travel guide for the Crystal Park Company’s excursions, courtesy the Horseless Carriage Foundation‘s Automotive Research Library:
What we don’t know is any more about those Packard trucks. Did the Crystal Park Company have Packard build them, or did they have a coachbuilder convert them?