The Marathon was an automobile built by the

Marathon Motor Works Marathon Motor Works was an brass era automobile manufacturer based in Tennessee. Southern Engine and Boiler Works founded in 1889, which made industrial engines and boilers in Jackson, Tennessee, established the factory in 1907. From 1909 to ...

company in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

.Margaret Binnicker,
Marathon Motor Works
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''.

History

First built in 1908 by the Southern Motor Works in

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...

, it was called the Southern. In 1910, Southern Motor Works built additional premises named the Marathon Motor Works in Nashville to produce the Marathon automobile. The Marathon motor, a

four-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

in unit with a

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

, was designed by William H. Collier of Southern Motor Works. By 1913, the ''Marathon'' was available in three different chassis sizes and at least 10 different body styles. The three chassis sizes were: * Runner: 25 horse power, 104 inch

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

* Winner: 35 horse power, 116 inch wheelbase * Champion: 45 horse power, 123 inch wheelbase In 1914 Marathon prices were mid-range from $975 to $1,470,() The Marathon was popular with the public, and by 1912 was producing 200 cars monthly. H. H. Brooks, General Sales Manager, arranged for an

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

automaker to take over sales of the Marathon in 1913 while the company was having financial difficulties. In 1914 after Marathon went into receivership, Herff-Brooks purchased the Marathon machinery and moved it to

Richmond, Indiana Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situa ...

. The ''Marathon'' was continued as the Herff-Brooks for two seasons. Only nine examples of the car are known to still exist, five of which are in Nashville.

Gallery

File:Ad for Marathon automobile.png, alt=, 1910 Marathon Advertisement File:Marathon Automobile Ad - Motor Age 1911.jpg, alt=, 1911 Marathon Advertisement File:Marathon automobile.jpg, alt=, 1912 Marathon Model K-20 File:Marathon, 1914 - DPLA - be17197c631a11293656dedc39ca4208 (page 1).jpg, alt=, 1914 Marathon Brochure Cover

References

{{reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States 1910s cars Brass Era vehicles Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Tennessee Cars introduced in 1908 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1908 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1914

History

Gallery

See also

References