The 1914 Swedish and Danish Automobile Clubs International Tour

The 1914 Swedish and Danish Automobile Clubs International Tour was organised and carried through by the Royal Automobile Club of Sweden in conjunction with the Danish Royal Automobile Club. Without being in any way a competition it was quite a sporting event, and the route selected carried the participants through some of the most beautiful scenery in Sweden and Denmark.

The start of the expedition was in Malmo, which is situated at the extreme south of Sweden and is the scene of the Baltic Exhibition now being held. The date of the start, the 15th of July, was the commencement of the Baltic Athletic Games, including the Horse Show, during which time the court was in Malmo, one of the regular visitors to the functions being the King of Sweden.

The start Took Place at 10 a.m. from the Hotel Fersen, which is a new hotel built for the Baltic Exhibition. The first car to leave was one entered by Count Rosen, the President of the Swedish Automobile Club. Mr Bratt, the sectary of the Swedish Automobile Club was also among the participants. The afternoons run was from Rostanga to Molle, one of the most famous southern Swedish sea-side bathing resorts, then on Tuesday morning to Helsingborg, where all the cars were loaded on a ferry and taken across to Helsingor in Denmark. Here the competitors were met by the Danish Automobile Club, and after fulfilling customs house formalities the party drove to Hillerod, where, after lunch, most of the competitors paid a visit to the castle which has the reputation as being one of the finest in Denmark, and also one of the National Museums. The next run was by way of Roskilde to Copenhagen, the end of the official tour.

The first picture shows a 1914 Crossley Shelsley property of Mr Arnold Ostram, one of the participants in the tour, with other cars at Molle. Wouldn`t it be a great idea to repeat this international tour for cars built before WW1?

Published:

Thursday September 24th, 2020

Philip Lucking

28 September 2020, 02:20

According to The Motor Age Feb. 1914:

“The Winter trials course – From Stockholm to Gothenburg and return by a different route made a run of 795 miles, approximately 60 miles more than 1913. The rules permitted a maximum speed of 18 MPH in the daytime and 12 MPH after dark. Outside of Gothenburg there were six controls where the rules provided for a stop of 15 minutes at each.”

“According to the drivers, the roads were indescribable. A month ago Sweden was one great mass of snow but three weeks ago mild weather set in and it started to thaw and rain. As a result, the highways are bogs, more fitted for travel in a hydroplane than a motorcar. Some of the cars sank so deep in the mire that it took as many as six horses to pull them out.“

The list of cars that finished the rigorous test and their penalizations follows:

Grimmo

27 September 2020, 12:50

On reflection, Sorel’s car’s registration is not “A” (nor the more obvious “B” of Lancashire) but “R” for Derbyshire, presumably because the Crossley factory was that side of Manchester. Here’s a picture of a Crossley in the Swedish event being dug out. Likely Sorel’s, although this one has a bonnet strap but by then “experienced” Sorel had strapped his starting handle up out of the clag. The sensible Arnold Ostram, in the later tour, has taken his off.

Philip Lucking

27 September 2020, 00:35

W.L.Sorel and his mechanic J.Lawrence are photographed, leaving the Crossley works, Gorton Manchester setting off for the trials in Sweden which was described by the London Illustrated News as "The most severe road test there is."

Grimmo

25 September 2020, 23:11

This was at least the second “Shelsley” Crossley in Sweden in 1914. Earlier, in the February Swedish Winter Reliability Trial to and from Stockholm via Gothenburg, a four-seat Shelsley Crossley (A5425) was entered by the factory for experienced competition motorist Mr. W. L. Sorel, with mechanic J. Lawrence.

That race was a bit more difficult, 1350 kilometres and forty out of sixty-two starters failed to finish, only twelve of the finishers within 80 hours. The Crossley was one of many cars that had to be dug out of the mud and melting snow, despite using Parson’s tyre chains on all four wheels. Suffice it to say, it didn’t win.

Steve Diggins

25 September 2020, 17:34

This sounds like a very good rally with fine cars of the brass era. I'll bet it could be a success again with the same type of cars. It would be nice to see more photos of this event.

The 1914 Swedish and Danish Automobile Clubs International Tour

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