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Front View
1911 Baker Electric Special Extension Coupe, Model V
In the first decades of the 20th century, electric vehicles seemed poised for primacy. Early internal-combustion engines were rudimentary, dangerous, and difficult to operate, requiring all sorts of pump priming and starter torqueing. Those tasks were uncouth for the wealthy gentlemen who were the automobile’s first customers and downright risky for the era’s women, clothed in voluminous, billowing Edwardian dresses and patriarchal notions of competence. Electric cars, on the other hand, were extremely simple to use. So long as the heavy batteries were maintained and charged, all one had to do was click the on switch, twist the go lever, and roll.
Having founded the American Ball Bearing Company in 1895, Midwestern engineer Walter C. Baker understood the basics of carriage production. This background gave him faith that he could make the leap into car building. Teaming up with his father-in-law and brother-in-law, he started the Baker Motor Vehicle Company in Cleveland in 1899. Seeing the aforementioned advantages inherent in electric vehicles, Baker decided to place his faith in this powertrain.
“Number one, it’s comfortable, and it’s not terribly difficult to drive,” said Stew Somerville, a volunteer mechanic at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome museum in upstate New York, which holds a 1911 Baker in its eclectic collection. “But part of the attraction of the electric automobile was the fact that it did not emit gasoline fumes, you didn’t have to crank-start the engine, there was no big wheel to wrestle with. It was a very smooth-handling automobile. You didn’t even have a loud, offensive horn. There’s a dainty little bell to warn of its coming.” Period ads were frequently, although not exclusively, pitched directly at women.
Baker’s first car to market was a two-seater, the Imperial Runabout. Priced at a competitive $850, it was first shown in New York at the city’s (and nation’s) first auto show. It attracted a number of notable buyers, including Thomas Edison, who purchased one as his very first car. (Edison designed the long-lived nickel-iron batteries used in some Baker vehicles.) By 1906, Baker was, briefly, the world’s top producer of electric vehicles.
But like many of his cohort in the emergent automotive industry, Baker wasn’t just in it for the business. He was in it for the speed. As his company was enjoying success in the consumer market, he was pursuing his dream by developing a series of advanced, record-setting racing cars. His first, the Torpedo, was built in 1902, at great personal expense to Baker. With its 11 batteries, 14-hp mid-mounted motor, outrageously low-slung 48-inch height, streamlined and lightweight white-pine and oilcloth body, and bizarre webbed canvas seat restraints, it seemed poised to set a world land speed record.
Sadly, in that year’s Automobile Club of America speed trials on Staten Island, the car was involved in a disastrous crash. After crossing the 1-kilometer (0.6 mile) mark in just over 30 seconds, Baker and his co-driver lost control and crashed into a group of spectators. One person died at the scene, and another died later from injuries. The drivers were both arrested and charged with manslaughter but were freed when it was determined that the crowd had pushed past protective barriers and onto the course. (Baker’s innovative safety harness likely protected the car’s occupants from serious injury.)
Further attempts with two smaller, single-seater race cars he named Torpedo Kid were also employed in pursuit of the land speed record but were subsequently abandoned following another, nonlethal spectator crash in 1903. Baker has often been noted as the first person to cross the 100-mph barrier, although his records weren’t official due to these wrecks.
Given this peril, Baker decided to forgo his quest for top speed. As gasoline-powered vehicles increased in popularity and gained infrastructural support, he shifted his attention instead to diminishing the electric car’s liabilities, particularly their limited range. He worked diligently on new battery designs, shaft drives, and other componentry. In 1910, Baker’s new chief engineer, Emil Gruenfeldt, set a record for distance driven on a single charge, taking a Baker Victoria for a 201-mile trip at an average speed of 12 mph. Not exactly Ludicrous speed, but an impressive feat nonetheless.
Baker’s successes gave the company prominence among the elite, and the company capitalized on this publicly. In advertisements around 1909, the brand boldly boasted about the King of Siam owning a Baker. The company made a similar splash in American politics when President William H. Taft’s administration purchased a 1909 model as one of the White House’s first automobiles. (A steam-powered White and two gasoline-powered Pierce-Arrows were also included, Taft hedging his bets on how the battle of the powertrains was going to play out.) Taft later added a 1912 Baker Victoria that went on to be driven by five First Ladies. The Baker brand maintains some celebrity allure today, with car-collecting comedian Jay Leno holding a 1909 model in his expansive collection.
As a means of offsetting some of the powertrain’s inherent shortcomings, Baker made investments in battery-charging infrastructure. The brand announced plans to open stations at every major intersection in Cleveland and to grow the network from there, although this effort became cost prohibitive and never came to fruition. Expansion into the production of electric trucks, police patrol wagons, and even trucks and bomb handlers for the U.S. Army during World War I was not enough to fend off the rising dominance of the internal-combustion engine, especially after the proliferation of the electric starter, first available on the 1912 Cadillac, significantly increased safety and convenience. By 1915, the Baker company was defunct.
By Brett Berk, Car and Driver
On the only morning with any light I was pleasantly surprised when the wind died and the surface of the lake smoothed out.
After we finished our collecting at the Baker Ranch, we drove to the Geode Kid's rockshop and this is one of several specimens I purchased there and the only polished one. Though darker than many, it has a uniqueness of being almost half and half, regarding the color change in the floating center. (for those interested, here is a link to information on the Geode Kid's collection and other information about thundereggs - www.zianet.com/geodekid/collecti.htm)
...as seen from Sucia Island, the northernmost of the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound.
Around Seattle, the views are dominated by Ranier, but up closer to the Canadian border, it is Mt. Baker, the "Great White Watcher" that dominates the skyline.
"Mount Baker (Lummi: Qwú’mə Kwəlshéːn; Nooksack: Kw’eq Smaenit or Kwelshán), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a 10,781 ft (3,286 m) active[9] glaciated andesitic stratovolcano[4] in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. Mount Baker has the second-most thermally active crater in the Cascade Range after Mount Saint Helens." Wikipedia
While playing tag with the surf, I dropped my tripod and captured this view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands in the distance. These clouds rolled in just in time for this "group portrait." (Eventually the surf tagged me but only up to my ankles.) Oh, by the way, can you see the fisherman?
My annual post of a mallard family. Can' t resist these cute little fuzzy ducklings. Taken on a small pond in town here in Carthage, NC.
6Color
Black,Gray,Bluegray,Brickred,Khaki,Olive
Include 6Belt,5Button Texture Change HUD
Original Fitted Mesh
Available size
Slink Physique MALE Mesh Body
[SIGNATURE] Gianni - Mesh Body
-Belleza- Mesh Body Jake
[LEGACY] Meshbody (m)
[SIGNATURE] Davis - Mesh Body
That tiny cloud blocked the late afternoon sun just long enough for me to catch this. Seconds later it was back to blinding glare.
Mount Baker, also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a 10,781 ft active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington State in the United States. Mount Baker has the second-most thermally active crater in the Cascade Range after Mount St. Helens.
Elevation: 3,286 m
Last eruption: 7 September to 27 November 1880
Location: Whatcom County, Washington, U.S.
Age of rock: Less than 140,000 years
Mt. Baker is easily seen from Vancouver BC on a clear day.
My son and I enjoyed a photo wander on Centennial Beach today. Mt Baker was hovering above a cloud bank.
I had a great day here with Leigh and Annie. Albeit marginally hungover......
Zero image 612 Pinhole Camera, Ilford Delta 100, processed in Ilfotech HC, 1+31 for 8 minutes...maybe a minute too long to be honest.
All work completed for the day and the wait for CN 394 to clear the diamond at Cedar finished, the southbound Jail crew rolls up on Baker st with a straight shot to Mason at a slow pace of 10mph. One neat thing about the former Michigan Central Line is the use of old wood bungalows along the line. I have only noticed it around Lansing though but could be some south as well. The switch under the power is the QD spur that was used to service Quality Dairy in town but now just see's storage cars and a high and wide movement here and there.
Windin' your way down on Baker Street
Light in your head and dead on your feet
Well another crazy day, you'll drink the night away
And forget about everything
This city desert makes you feel so cold
It's got so many people but it's got no soul
And it's taking you so long to find out you were wrong
When you thought it held everything
You used to think that it was so easy
You used to say that it was so easy
But you're tryin', you're tryin' now
Another year and then you'll be happy
Just one more year and then you'll be happy
But you're cryin', you're cryin' now
Way down the street there's a light in his place
He opens the door he's got that look on his face
And he asks you where you've been
You tell him who you've seen and you talk about anything
He's got this dream about buyin' some land
He's gonna give up the booze and the one night stands
And then he'll settle down, there's a quiet little town
And forget about everything
But you know he'll always keep movin'
You know he's never gonna stop movin'
'Cause he's rollin', he's the rollin' stone
And when you wake up, it's a new mornin'
The sun is shinin', it's a new mornin'
You're goin', you're goin' home
The Circle line platforms at Baker Street underground station, which date from 1863 as part of the Metropolitan Railway.
Crazy Tuesday - Rule of Odds
13 eggs......albeit 12 from chickens and one from the chocolate makers Cadbury.
A Cadbury Creme Egg is a chocolate confection produced in the shape of an egg, originating from the British chocolatier Fry in 1963 before being renamed by Cadbury in 1971. The product consists of a thick chocolate shell containing an enzymatically-derived sweet white and yellow filling that resembles fondant. The filling mimics the albumen and yolk of a soft boiled egg from a fowl such as a chicken or goose.
old Underground Station in London....and finally I managed to take this picture. iIt standing on my list for a long time. For me was this Station my favourite photo location in this year.
and which song may be missing here of course?
This is the only sunset I have been able to capture during our four days stay in SF. Bloody foggy weather provided almost no opportunity for sunrise nor sunset picture. At least this one did not disappointed and the trip to Baker beach was worth.
Photo taken June 13, 2011
Colby Baker passed away on June 14, 2011
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Taken on a trip to London with my camera club. This a quick phone shot while waiting for the tube in Baker Street underground station.
I got some great zoom-zoom shots today while sitting in the back seat and shooting out the opposite window. Mt. Baker was out sunning herself so I did a lot of clickety clicking, got a series of great images while driving to Surrey to go out for dinner, then got a bunch while driving home and the sun was setting with dramatic clouds, and now its raining, hurrah!