HH Babcock Company

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HH Babcock Company
legal form Corporation
founding 1882
resolution 1926
Reason for dissolution Liquidation after bankruptcy
Seat Watertown ( New York , USA )
management Henry Holmes Babcock, RP Flower, AR Flower, George H. Babcock, HH Babcock
Branch Agricultural technology , carriages , wagons , passenger cars , commercial vehicles , series bodies for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, omnibuses , ambulances and funeral vehicles

The HH Babcock Company was an American manufacturer of agricultural equipment , carriages , wagons , gasoline-powered passenger cars and commercial vehicles of the Babcock brand as well as series bodies for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, ambulances and funeral vehicles from Watertown ( New York ).

The automobiles are not to be confused with the Babcock Electric from the Babcock Electric Carriage Company in Buffalo (New York) . There is no known link between the two companies.

Pumps and carts

Henry Holmes Babcock (1821–1903) came to Watertown from Hamilton (New York) . In 1841 he married Eliza Wheeler († 1900). From this marriage there were four sons and two daughters. In 1845 he began manufacturing the Watertown Wind Mill , a wind-powered wooden water pump for agricultural applications, which he also installed for customers. He also built the accessories himself, in particular cylinders, tanks and wooden water pipes. When iron pumps supplanted the wooden ones, Babcock switched to coach building in the early 1870s . In 1878 he took his sons George H. , FW , FE and Herbert P. into the business, which was now called HH Babcock & Sons .

HH Babcock Buggy Company

The company, still between 515 and 565 Factory Street and Factory Square, grew steadily. In 1882 RP and AR Flower became shareholders and the company was reorganized into the HH Babcock Buggy Company . It became one of the industry leaders in the US. Herbert Babcock died in 1883. The company now manufactured a wide range of carriages, wagons and sleighs . In the late 1890s, local competitor Watertown Spring Wagon Company was taken over . The company's founder, Henry H. Babcock, was succeeded by his son George H. Babcock . The company received its first order for bodywork after 1900 from the city of Buffalo (New York) which ordered a total of 80 bus bodies. It is not known whether these were intended for the tram or for smaller buses. In 1909 another competitor was swallowed with the Watertown Carriage Company .

Babcock developed commercial vehicle bodies for the chassis of the Ford Model T and its truck version TT . The buyers were end users in the region. This resulted in a small series production. Babcock's Delivery Vans and Depot Hacks sold the best . Eventually the business was put on a broader footing. Babcock used his own patented all-metal construction and offered six different versions. Orders were processed through regional Ford dealers. Around 1000 of these bodies had been produced by September 1915.

The Graham brothers pursued a different concept , who also made the chassis, installed Dodge engines and delivered the light trucks with their bodies as Graham through the Dodge agencies.

Automobile manufacturing

Highwheeler

George Babcock had his own automobile department set up in April 1908. At the same time, work began on a prototype , with which 5000 miles (over 8000 km) were covered in the winter of 1908/1909. It was an easy-to-build, carriage-like highwheeler that appeared in two versions in 1909: as Model A High Wheel Buggy Runabout and Model B High Wheel Surrey . Both had two-cylinder engines with 18 hp (according to the calculation method used at the time), huge carriage wheels with a diameter of 914 mm (36 inches) and solid rubber tires. The two-seater model A had a wheelbase of 210 mm (83 inches), the model B 330 mm (13 inches) more. The rather high price of US $ 1050 resp. Babcock justified US $ 1250 by stating that the vehicle was not an ordinary highwheeler, but a "real" car, only with extra large wheels. Both models remained in the range in 1910.

It seems that Babcock realized that this market would collapse. New, solid automobiles at increasingly cheaper prices, such as those offered by Ford , Buick or Rambler , made the clumsy highwheelers unattractive and Babcock had a problem with the more expensive representatives of this type. A new, more modern model was therefore used and by the following year there was no longer any high wheeler from Babcock.

"Assembled Car"

Advert for the Babcock Model 30 Touring (1910)

However, the following models were not really successful either. The first to appear was the Model 30 , a touring car with a purchased four-cylinder engine of unknown origin with 30 hp. With this performance at a price of US $ 2750, it was on the threshold of the luxury market, but competed with well-known representatives from the upper middle class such as the Cadillac Model Thirty (33 hp, as a touring between US $ 1700 and 1800) or the Chalmers model Thirty (30 hp, as a touring only US $ 1500). A Ford Model T Touring was available for as little as US $ 780.

The Babcock 30 consisted of purchased components that were simply assembled by Babcock. Such automobiles were called assembled cars and did not have the best reputation. Some of the numerous manufacturers (there were also commercial vehicles) saved at the wrong end, occasionally did not coordinate the parts correctly and were not infrequently very short-lived anyway. Babcock, on the other hand, as a large company with a long tradition, should have designed and built its cars solidly.

Overview Babcock passenger cars

model construction time Cyl. Displacement HP Wheelbase mm / in body List price Remarks
A. 1909-1910 2 157.1 18th 83/2108 High wheel buggy runabout US $ 1050
B. 1909-1910 2 157.1 18th 96/2438 High Wheel Surrey US $ 1250
30th 1910 4th 280.6 35 114/2896 5p touring US $ 2750
D. 1911 4th 280.6 35 114/2896 5p touring US $ 2500 largely corresponds to the "30"
F. 1911 4th 334.0 40 120/3048 5p Fore-Door Touring US $ 3000 Doors at the front too
F. 1911 4th 334.0 40 120/3048 7p chauffeur limousine US $ 3000
F. 1912 4th 318.1 32.2 120/3048 7p touring US $ 2000
H 1912 4th 280.6 27.3 114/2896 7p touring US $ 3000
K 1912 4th 389.9 36.1 120/3048 5p Fore-Door Touring US $ 3000 Doors at the front too

In addition to these automobiles, Babcock also built light commercial vehicles. In December 1913, George Babcock informed the press that automobile production would be discontinued.

Again bodies for commercial vehicles

Because of automobile production, the other branches of production were not neglected. Horse-drawn vehicles continued to emerge a long time later, but above all the body shop for commercial vehicles was promoted. After George Babcock's death in 1916, he was succeeded by his nephew HH Babcock as President of the Society, a son of the late Herbert Babcock . He expanded the range to include chassis from Dodge Brothers .

Ambulances and stretchers

Babcock applied to a tender of the Medical Corps of the US Army over 500 (or 600 depending on the source) outpatient departments and was awarded the contract in March 1917. The specifications were:

  • Length: 8 feet (2438 mm)
  • Width: 5 feet (1524 mm)
  • Height: 4 feet 8 inches (1422 mm)
  • Space for 4 stretchers (2 on top of each other)

For roughly the period between the USA entering the war in World War I on April 6, 1917 and the end of the war, Babcock worked exclusively for the military. In June 1917 the army ordered another 3,500 units, followed by an order for 90,000 stretchers in September. The War Department attested the Babcock ambulance superiority over the competing models and determined that they should be used exclusively by the American Expeditionary Force in Europe. Ultimately, over 5000 copies were sent to the front in France and Italy .

New business areas

It was only natural that Babcock wanted to benefit from the good reputation of his army ambulances and the experience gained in building them. After the end of the war, civilian versions were developed and a funeral vehicle derived from them was brought onto the market. Again, these superstructures were adapted to the chassis of the Ford T and TT as well as the light Dodge truck and could be ordered through the corresponding dealer networks. This means that Babcock was successful for years in the highly competitive market in what is known as professional cars in the USA . In addition, the production of the normal commercial vehicle variants was resumed. The truck manufacturer Federal Truck Company was later added and larger companies had their van fleets built up by Babcock according to their wishes.

Deliveries to Dodge gradually petered out except for custom-made products in small series after Graham had US-wide exclusive distribution rights for Dodge vans and was eventually fully integrated into Dodge. However, Babcock found new customers in White , Oldsmobile and GMC , and Ford remained a customer to the end.

1925 500 taxis were Century Taxicab Association Inc. delivered.

"In The White"

The professionalization of body construction and the rapidly growing order volume led to a division of labor in the automotive industry. Some manufacturers of series bodies limited themselves to the production of the pure body without painting, fittings, decorative parts and interior fittings. This intermediate product was called body in the white . The completion took place either at the car manufacturer or in a company specializing in this. Babcock also set up such a company by founding a subsidiary, the Babcock Manufacturing Supply Company .

Dodge Town Car

From around 1919, Babcock began making Town Car bodies for extended Dodge chassis. The market for this was small and the bodies were probably only made to order. Nevertheless, this version remained in the program for several years. One of the buyers of such a vehicle was the banker and investor JP Morgan who bought a particularly opulently furnished specimen in 1922.

A one-off was probably a sporty roadster with cut-out doors, which Babcock built on the chassis of a Dodge 116 . The body is very light and consists of a wooden structure which, similar to the Weymann patent , is covered with impregnated fabric. The car was shown at the New York Motor Show in November 1923 and still exists in very good original condition.

Car bodies in series

ford

Ford was the first customer to have Babcock manufacture standard bodies for passenger cars. In 1919 Babcock became one of several suppliers of four-door sedan bodies for the Model T. Ford had no intention of becoming dependent on a single supplier.

Franklin

In August 1919, they won the HH Franklin Manufacturing Company , manufacturer of the same high-end vehicles with air cooling , as customers. In 1922 an order was placed for 250 touring sedan bodies. The finished vehicles had a list price of US $ 3,150. The collaboration with Franklin lasted until the mid-1920s when the Walker Body Company in Amesbury, Massachusetts took over the entire body shop for this brand. The number of employees rose from 240 in 1918 to 375 two years later. In Baltimore (Maryland) , Des Moines (Iowa) and Toronto ( Ontario , Canada ) Babcock set up sales offices.

Babcock was ravaged by fires twice within a year, once in May 1920 and a second time in January 1921. In the next period, Babcock worked with a workforce reduced to 250. The processes were reorganized and there was now a clear separation between car and commercial vehicle body construction.

Lincoln

Lincoln ordered 510 bodies from Babcock in 1922, including 50 Sedan bodies for the 1923 model year in May 1922 and another 260 in November. In 1924 this order volume rose to 1,331 units, including 120 Sport Sedans in June.

Wills Sainte Claire

From October 1923, Babcock also supplied series bodies for the relatively young luxury car manufacturer Wills Sainte Claire Motor Company in Marysville (Michigan) . Its owner, the former Ford manager Childe Harold Wills (1878–1940), was known as an extremely meticulous quality controller who often stopped the assembly line and thus halted production in order to fix an error. Initially, the company wanted 200 roadster bodies and, more importantly, 250 for 7-seater sedans with the stipulation that finished vehicles had to be ready for the New York Automobile Show, which was then held in January. The vehicles were well received and in the month after the show, Wills Sainte Claire ordered another 500 roadster and 250 sedan bodies. This in turn prompted Babcock to increase the share capital by US $ 250,000 in order to pay for materials and wages with this money. The number of employees rose to 550 by mid-March. Babcock was now building an average of 80 bodies per week for Lincoln and Wills Sainte Claire alone.

Dodge Station Wagon

Babcock also mass- produced Suburban Wagons . These are station wagons with a wooden structure, today often called "Woody". As customers one thought of the owners of weekend houses, hunters and fishermen, among others. Babcock called these vehicles "Estate Cars". Mostly Dodge chassis were used. A small number also received metal instead of wood panels; the structure was made of wood here too.

Decline

Other customers were White , Oldsmobile and GMC . In 1922–1923, a small series of bodies for Duesenberg's first passenger car , the Model A presented in 1920 , could be delivered.

In the second half of the 1920s, a process of concentration began among manufacturers of industrially manufactured car bodies. Because of its critical size and unfavorable situation, Babcock was among the losers in this new economic situation, which was exacerbated by some very powerful competitors such as Briggs , Budd or Murray with excellent relationships with the automobile manufacturers.

Babcock had to file for bankruptcy in July 1926, although orders were received until 1928. At this point, 250 creditors had claims of US $ 605,000, of which US $ 485,000 was covered by mortgages and other collateral. The creditors formed the HH Babcock Equipment Corporation as a rescue company and sold it to its managing director C. Wesley Gamble , who tried hard but unsuccessfully for orders. The last bodies were delivered in July 1928 and the plant closed its doors on August 1, 1928.

Arcadia

The press tools, molds and rights to the light commercial vehicle bodies went to the Arcadia Truck Body Company in Newark (New York) , a subsidiary of the Arcadia Trailer Corporation . From here they were marketed for a short time under the established brand name Babcock . The final end for the Babcock brand came shortly after the merger of Arcadia with Associated Autocraft Industries, Inc. , a Syracuse (New York) -based company that mainly manufactured bodies for school buses . the company also went bankrupt in September 1930 and was closed. In the same year, the recyclables dealer Abe Cooper Watertown Corporation bought the factory and most of the remaining inventory and used the property as a warehouse until it was demolished in 1979.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Compiled from Kimes (1985), p. 87 and Dluhy (2013), p. 60
  2. ↑ According to the calculation method at that time

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v coachbuilt.com: HH Babcock Co.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Kimes (1985), p. 87
  3. ↑ Kimes (1985), p. 197
  4. ↑ Kimes (1985), p. 258
  5. ↑ Kimes (1985), p. 552
  6. ↑ coachbuilt.com: Terminology
  7. ↑ conceptcarz.com: Dodge Series 116 Roadster by Babcock (1923)
  8. ↑ a b coachbuilt.com: Walker Body Co., Amesbury
  9. ↑ Kimes (1985), p. 582
  10. ↑ coachbuilt.com: Arcadia Trailer Corp.

literature

  • George Nick Georgano (Editor): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present ; Dutton Press, New York, 2nd edition (hardcover) 1973, ISBN 0-525-08351-0 (English)
  • Beverly Rae Kimes (editor) and Henry Austin Clark, jr .: The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 2nd edition, Krause Publications, Iola WI 54990, USA (1985), ISBN 0-87341-111-0 (English )
  • Beverly Rae Kimes: Pioneers, Engineers, and Scoundrels: The Dawn of the Automobile in America. Published by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Permissions, Warrendale PA 2005, ISBN 0-7680-1431-X (hardcover). (English)
  • Robert D. Dluhy: American Automobiles of the Brass Era: Essential Specifications of 4,000+ Gasoline Powered Passenger Cars, 1906-1915, with a Statistical and Historical Overview . McFarland, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4766-1529-5 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed January 13, 2017]).
  • James J. Flink: America Adopts the Automobile - 1895-1910 , MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), 1970. ISBN 0-262-06036-1 (hardcover). (English)
  • Albert Mroz: Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Trucks and Commercial Vehicles ; Krause Publications, Iola WI (1996); ISBN 0-87341-368-7 ; ISBN 978-0-87341-368-8 ; Softcover (english)

Web links

Commons : Babcock vehicles  - collection of images, videos and audio files