Quiz Archive

About #187 ....... 1901 POMANOVA

We present the results of this one with many thanks to the results of this one with many thanks to Hans Compter Rare Parts a loyal sponsor of the quiz. Moreover they even put a bet on this quiz because of its difficulty. Never they had expected (nor did we) that a reprint of this photo would be on sale through Ebay.So the solution seemed simple. Seemed! Who would expect that experts on Russian electric busses would pop-up ? We received highly detailed reports form jurymembers Radu Comsa and Henk Visscher based on the same information as everybody had. Henk Visscher sent us this most interesting wording:"...Prototype 15-seater Romanov (Romanoff) electro-omnibus during.... (see Read More)

According to other sources and three jury member reports Henk Visscher's report is the most accurate pile of information. Based on this we had to decide which competitor produced the best answer. We had three who came up with 1901 Romanov (Anders Svenfelt, Robert Vierbergen and Evan Ide). Anders Svenfelt gave proof he knew just a little bit more than what was mentioned in the earlier Ebay listing. He wrote that the Romanov was "...built by I. Romanov from Russia." Congratulations Anders ! Not sure, then check in here ! Anders will not only get the PreWarcar T-shirt but also the extra prize as offered by sponsor Hans Compter Rare Parts, being a year subscripion to 'The Automobile' ! ... a test run in the streets of St. Petersburg. Built by the Russian electrotransport pioneer Ippolit Vladimirovich Romanov. Two electromotors after a design of Siemens & Halske, Berlin. Coachwork by Piotr Freze, St. Petersburg. Romanov obtained permission for operating 10 omnibus routes in the city of St. Petersburg. He had planned the production of a batch of 80 buses, but lack of finance prevented any further developments."

Friday, 08 September 2006