Electric Autos
| Other Name(s) | Racing Autos Mechanical Autos Electric Automobile Ride Custer Car Speedway |
|---|---|
| Type | Track Ride |
| Park Section | Center, unknown |
| Built | 1911 |
| Opened | 1911 |
| Closed | Unknown |
| Vehicle Type | Cars |
| Number of Vehicles | Unknown |
| Riders per Vehicle | 1 |
The Electric Automobile ride, also known as the Racing Autos, Mechanical Autos, and Custer Car Speedway,[1] was a Custer Car[2][3] track installed at Olentangy Park in 1911.[4] The track was installed near the Miniature Railway.[5] Later, it was just south of the Loop-the-Loop and by 1930, near Tom Thumb Miniature Golf Course.
Description
A 1913 Columbus Dispatch article described the ride as "tiny cars" where riders "take an auto ride all by themselves, so they can handle the steering wheel and horn and be their own chauffeur."[5]
Later descriptions referred to them as "Custer Cars." Custer Cars were battery-operated miniature cars invented by Levitt Custer for amusement parks in 1925. A unique feature of these cars was that their transmission required the driver to move the steering handle forward and backward to move the car in the desired direction.[6]
Injuries
In 1912, Mamie L. Tschopp, had both bones in her right limb just above the ankle broken when the car on the Electric Auto ride went off the track and flipped over. She was riding with a Miss Linville and Nora McNeil.[7]
References
- ↑ Arter, Bill. "Kid Paradise." This Week in Columbus (TWIC). June 1956. Accessed through the Columbus Metropolitan Library. https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/memory/id/56778/rec/1
- ↑ Advertisement. The Columbus Dispatch. June 8, 1930. Page 57.
- ↑ Kuster, Gordon. "Band Opens At Olentangy Park." The Columbus Dispatch. Aug. 7, 1933. Page 10.
- ↑ "Opening of Olentangy Park." The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph (Bucyrus, Ohio). April 8, 1911. Page 3. Accessed through Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bucyrus-evening-telegraph-opening-of/156893612/
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Olentangy Park." Columbus Evening Dispatch. Aug. 4, 1913. Page 12.
- ↑ Photograph. "Custer Car - 1920s & 30s." MrScharroo's Weird Car Museum. Published May 6, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2024. Accessed through Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrscharroo/8712511197
- ↑ "Thirty Years Ago." Lancaster Eagle-Gazette (Lancaster, Ohio). July 24, 1942. Page 6. Accessed through Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/article/lancaster-eagle-gazette-thirty-years-ago/176717399/