Transportation

Americans have always been a people on the move—on rails, roads, and waterways (for travel through the air, visit the National Air and Space Museum). In the transportation collections, railroad objects range from tools, tracks, and many train models to the massive 1401, a 280-ton locomotive built in 1926. Road vehicles include coaches, buggies, wagons, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and automobiles—from the days before the Model T to modern race cars. The accessories of travel are part of the collections, too, from streetlights, gas pumps, and traffic signals to goggles and overcoats.

In the maritime collections, more than 7,000 design plans and scores of ship models show the evolution of sailing ships and other vessels. Other items range from scrimshaw, photographs, and marine paintings to life jackets from the Titanic.

Henry Horenstein photographed Hank Williams Jr., the son of legendary singer Hank Williams, leaving his tour bus. Williams Jr. (b. 1949) spent his early career singing his father's songs in his own style.
Description
Henry Horenstein photographed Hank Williams Jr., the son of legendary singer Hank Williams, leaving his tour bus. Williams Jr. (b. 1949) spent his early career singing his father's songs in his own style. After a 1974 suicide attempt and a mountain climbing accident in 1975, he revamped his own image, modeling it after rowdy southern rockers. Later he was considered part of the Outlaw Country Movement.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.074
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.074
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1967
maker
Powers, Mark James
ID Number
2013.0222.14
catalog number
2013.0222.14
accession number
2013.0222
Carl and Pearl Butler pose for photographs with fans.Currently not on view
Description
Carl and Pearl Butler pose for photographs with fans.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
Associated Name
Butler, Pearl
Butler, Carl
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.090
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.090
The youngest of the three Carter Sisters, Anita began performing with Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family at age four. She performed with her mother and sisters throughout her career, though she found success of her own during the 1950s.
Description
The youngest of the three Carter Sisters, Anita began performing with Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family at age four. She performed with her mother and sisters throughout her career, though she found success of her own during the 1950s. Anita (1933-1999) was the first to record the song "Ring of Fire," written by her sister June (1929-2003). It later became a hit for her brother-in-law Johnny Cash.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.078
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.078
Many acts in country music were built around brother duos and family members.Currently not on view
Description
Many acts in country music were built around brother duos and family members.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1972
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.007
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.007
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2017.0281.0161
accession number
2017.0281
catalog number
2017.0281.0161
Bernie Palmer sold rights to her Titanic iceberg and survivor pictures to Underwood & Underwood of New York for only $10.00, not knowing any better. This picture identifies the young facing couple as honeymooners Mr. & Mrs. George A. Harder of Brooklyn, NY.
Description
Bernie Palmer sold rights to her Titanic iceberg and survivor pictures to Underwood & Underwood of New York for only $10.00, not knowing any better. This picture identifies the young facing couple as honeymooners Mr. & Mrs. George A. Harder of Brooklyn, NY. The woman with her back to Bernie's Brownie camera is Mrs. Charles M. Hayes; her husband was President of the Grand Trunk Railway. He died in the shipwreck, but Mrs. Hayes and her two daughters were rescued by Carpathia.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1912
ID Number
1986.0173.27
catalog number
1986.0173.27
accession number
1986.0173
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
post-1937
ID Number
2006.0108.358
accession number
2006.0108
catalog number
2006.0108.358
When the ocean liner Carpathia arrived at the spot in the North Atlantic ocean where Titanic sank, all the rescuers saw by the light of the moon was some wreckage and lifeboats with passengers.
Description
When the ocean liner Carpathia arrived at the spot in the North Atlantic ocean where Titanic sank, all the rescuers saw by the light of the moon was some wreckage and lifeboats with passengers. Many of the passengers had come up on deck in their nightclothes from their bunks aboard Titanic, and they were totally unprepared to climb directly into the lifeboats. The survivors were struck by the cold outdoor temperature, and they were suffering from exposure, extreme stress and shock by the time Carpathia arrived on the scene. The rescue ship was able to pick up 705 survivors, and as they boarded, they tossed their life vests into piles on the deck and were handed heavy, warm clothes by Carpathia's sympathetic passengers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1912
ID Number
1986.0173.24
catalog number
1986.0173.24
accession number
1986.0173
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1902
maker
Stieglitz, Alfred
ID Number
PG.001705
catalog number
1705
accession number
55701
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Falk, Sam
ID Number
PG.69.99.013
accession number
281224
catalog number
69.99.013
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1893
maker
Stieglitz, Alfred
ID Number
PG.001686
catalog number
1686
accession number
55701
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Falk, Sam
ID Number
PG.69.99.021
accession number
281224
catalog number
69.99.021
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
PG.293320.0703
accession number
293320
catalog number
293320.0703
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1947
maker
Morgan, Barbara
ID Number
PG.69.217.15
accession number
288025
catalog number
69.217.15
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
PG.293320.0702
accession number
293320
catalog number
293320.0702
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
PG.69.195.3
accession number
298965
The United States entered World War I in April 1917. Within days, the federal government created the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to construct a fleet of merchant ships.
Description
The United States entered World War I in April 1917. Within days, the federal government created the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to construct a fleet of merchant ships. The EFC hired the American International Shipbuilding Corporation to build and operate the largest shipyard in the world: Hog Island, near Philadelphia.
Hog Island’s 50 shipways stretched a mile and a quarter along the Delaware River near Philadelphia. It abutted 846 acres with 250 buildings and 28 outfitting docks, on what is now the site of the Philadelphia International Airport. At its peak, the yard employed around 30,000 workers. Most were men, but some 650 women worked in the yard. Many of the workers had no factory experience, so they were trained on the job.
At its peak, Hog Island launched a vessel every 5½ days, and its workers built 122 cargo and troop transport ships in four years. Although none saw service before the end of the war, the United States learned how to build large ships quickly on a grand scale from prefabricated parts. This valuable experience would expedite the Liberty and Victory ship building programs of World War II.
date made
1919
ID Number
TR.335550.2
catalog number
335550.2
accession number
1977.0003
Titanic struck a North Atlantic iceberg at 11:40 PM in the evening of 14 April 1912 at a speed of 20.5 knots (23.6 MPH).
Description (Brief)
Titanic struck a North Atlantic iceberg at 11:40 PM in the evening of 14 April 1912 at a speed of 20.5 knots (23.6 MPH). The berg scraped along the starboard or right side of the hull below the waterline, slicing open the hull between five of the adjacent watertight compartments. If only one or two of the compartments had been opened, Titanic might have stayed afloat, but when so many were sliced open, the watertight integrity of the entire forward section of the hull was fatally breached. Titanic slipped below the waves at 2:20 AM on 15 April. The Cunard Liner RMS Carpathia arrived at the scene around two hours after Titanic sank, finding only a few lifeboats and no survivors in the 28F degree water. Bernice Palmer took this picture of the iceberg identified as the one which sank Titanic, almost certainly identified by the survivors who climbed aboard Carpathia. The large iceberg is surrounded by smaller ice floes, indicating how far north in the Atlantic Ocean the tragedy struck.
date made
1912
ID Number
1986.0173.33
catalog number
1986.0173.33
accession number
1986.0173
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2013.0327.0899
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0899
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860s-1880s
maker
Wilson, G. W.
ID Number
2013.0305.006
catalog number
2013.0305.006
accession number
2013.0305
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870s
maker
Czihak, A. F.
ID Number
2012.0203.0099
catalog number
2012.0203.0099
accession number
2012.0203
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870s
maker
Czihak, A. F.
ID Number
2012.0203.0100
catalog number
2012.0203.0100
accession number
2012.0203
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2015.0076.0063
catalog number
2015.0076.0063
accession number
2015.0076

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