Automobile - Auburn Taxi
Production date
1927
Country
USA
State/Province
Indiana
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Object detail
Description
Blue and black painted 4 door, right hand drive, car with spoked wheels. Engine: Lycoming 4 cylinder.
The body plan and year of manufacture suggests that this is a 1927 Auburn Straight Eight sedan. However, the presence of a four cylinder engine instead of an eight throws some doubt on this identification. It is possible that it is a Straight Eight body and chassis fitted with a more economical four cylinder engine for work as a city taxi.
The body plan and year of manufacture suggests that this is a 1927 Auburn Straight Eight sedan. However, the presence of a four cylinder engine instead of an eight throws some doubt on this identification. It is possible that it is a Straight Eight body and chassis fitted with a more economical four cylinder engine for work as a city taxi.
Classification
TRANSPORT Motor Vehicles car
Production date
1927
Production place
Measurements
L 4620 W 1760 H 1920mm
Media/Materials description
Leather (Animal/Human Remains), Indeterminate (Glass), indeterminate (Metals - Ferrous), Indeterminate (Metals - Indeterminate), Brass (Metals - Non-Ferrous)
Signature/Marks
RETURNED DIGGERS AUTO CO.\ CENTRAL 6006\ REEL CAB\ BRISBANE
History and use
Made by the Auburn Car Company in the United States in 1927, this vehicle was used as a taxi by Reel Cabs, one of Brisbane’s early motorised taxi companies set up after World War 1 by returned servicemen. Its life on the road had ended by about 1940. By 1990 it had been restored and in 1998 it was acquired by the Queensland Museum.
Employment after WW1 was a significant issue for returned servicemen and taxi companies were among those assisted by the Repatriation Department to offer employment in Brisbane. One of the companies was the Returned Soldiers Auto Co Ltd, which, as the name suggests, was established by a group of former AIF servicemen in 1918 with assistance from the Repatriation Department. This company set up Reel Cabs in 1926, and both companies continued to hire mainly returned soldiers or diggers. By 1927 there was even a Reel Cabs Sub-branch of the RSSILA (Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League of Australia, now the RSL). This Auburn car was initially part of Reel Cabs’ taxi fleet and later its hire-car fleet for most of the 1930s.
Employment after WW1 was a significant issue for returned servicemen and taxi companies were among those assisted by the Repatriation Department to offer employment in Brisbane. One of the companies was the Returned Soldiers Auto Co Ltd, which, as the name suggests, was established by a group of former AIF servicemen in 1918 with assistance from the Repatriation Department. This company set up Reel Cabs in 1926, and both companies continued to hire mainly returned soldiers or diggers. By 1927 there was even a Reel Cabs Sub-branch of the RSSILA (Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League of Australia, now the RSL). This Auburn car was initially part of Reel Cabs’ taxi fleet and later its hire-car fleet for most of the 1930s.
Associated person
Registration number
H43656
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