Neff Steam Buggy
The Neff Steam Buggy is believed to the oldest surviving Canadian automobile and the second oldest ever made in Canada.
In 1901, Benton Neff built the Neff Steam Buggy at his Neff Foundry and Machine Shop in Humberstone (now Port Colborne), Ontario, Canada.
Fairly comprehensive contemporary newspaper accounts follow its construction progress from January to September of 1901. Port Colborne is only about 15 miles from the border at Buffalo and on Mar.13, 1901 Benton Neff crossed the border and visited the Schaeffer, Bunce and Marvin (S.B.M.) steam parts factory in Lockport, NY where he "received the dynamo" for his automobile (actually a 4 and 1/2 horsepower 2 cylinder engine).
On Mar. 23, 1901 he was in Buffalo "purchasing parts for the automobile he is building", at which time he ordered the "buggy box" which he picked up in Buffalo the following week, with the expressed purpose of having local copies being made for future production. Research seems to indicate that these 'parts' were probably purchased at the 'Conrad Motor Carriage Company' in Buffalo. This is buttressed by the fact that a photograph has recently surfaced in Canada of a 1902 Conrad Steamer Dos-A-Dos built in Buffalo whose body very much resembles the Neff.
In the fall of 2001, the Neff Steam Buggy returned to the Port Colborne Historical and Maritime Museum in Port Colborne, Ontario from the United States.
To see the 1901 Neff Steam Buggy go to: Port Colborne Museum
SACA Forum, Phorum 5, It's Like Fast and Stuff, Posts from Don Anger Peter Brow David K. Nergaard in March 2002.