Transportation - Overview
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.
"Transportation - Overview" showing 752 items.
Page 75 of 76
- No Image Available
James Forgie Papers, 1890-1946, 1949
- Notes
- New York tunnel engineer
- Summary
- The papers contain correspondence, reports, drawings, blueprints, cost estimates, contracts, specifications, regulations, legal documents, photographs, profiles, diagrams, clippings, and publications concerning projects with which Forgie was associated, including the Hudson River Vehicular Tunnel, the Holland Tunnel, the Mid-town Hudson Tunnel, and Pennsylvania Railroad tunnels in New York. Also included are publications and patents on subaqueous tunneling, subway stations, and bridges, and material on the Forgie submarine
- Date
- 1890
- 1890-1949
- 1890-1946, 1949
- 1890-1940
- 1900-1950
- 1890-1900
- 1890-1960
- 20th century
- author
- Forgie, James
- collector
- Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI
- History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI
- Subject
- Pennsylvania Railroad
- Local number
- 2007.3207 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Howard L. King Engineering Reports, 1928-1949
- Notes
- A civil engineer, King worked on several New York City subway tunnels, among other projects
- Summary
- Reports on tunnels, including several in the New York subway system
- Cite as
- Howard L. King Engineering Reports, 1928-1949, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1928
- 1928-1949
- creator
- King, Howard L
- donor
- Schlefer, Marion King
- collector
- History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI
- Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Local number
- 2007.3175 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Transportation (series), circa 1835-1969
- Summary
- Contains material relating to transportation in the United States and abroad. This portion of the Warshaw collection has been processed; however, at this time, a complete finding aid for the materials is not available. Researchers interested in these materials should consult the survey forms for the collection or the container list for this series. Any questions should be directed to the reference archivist or collection specialist
- Cite as
- Transportation series, Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, box ##, folder ###, digital file number ####
- Date
- 1835
- 1969
- circa 1835-1969
- collector
- Warshaw, Isadore d. 1969
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
1942 Victory Bicycle
- Description
- Soon after the United States entered World War II, the federal government decided that bicycles should be brought under consumer manufacturing guidelines so that they might support conservation efforts, local transportation, and the war production work force. A series of orders reduced bicycle design to bare essentials, limited metal and rubber content, set output quotas, promoted the use of bicycles among adult civilians, allocated bicycles for military use, and suspended production of children's bicycles, which comprised 85 percent of the prewar market. These measures were designed to conserve rubber and metals needed for war materiel and complement gasoline and automobile tire rationing by providing an alternate form of transportation for war production workers and other workers.
- In December 1941, the Office of Production Management and leading manufacturers developed specifications for a simplified bicycle dubbed the "Victory bicycle" by government and media. OPM reviewed several prototypes submitted for examination. Regulations finalized in March 1942 specified that bicycles would be lightweight - not more than 31 pounds, about two-thirds the weight of prewar bicycles - and they would be made of steel only, with no copper or nickel parts. Chrome plating was limited to a few small pieces of hardware. Handlebars and wheel rims would be painted instead of chrome plated, and most accessories (chain guard, basket, luggage rack, bell, whitewall tires) were eliminated. Tire size was limited to a width of 1.375 inches, narrower than balloon tires on prewar children's bikes. Production was set at 750,000 Victory bicycles per year by twelve manufacturers, approximately 40 percent of total prewar production but a significant increase in annual production of adult bicycles. The manufacture of all other types of civilian bicycles was halted.
- As a prelude to rationing, the federal government imposed a freeze on bicycle sales and allocated almost 10,000 bikes to war production plants for use by workers and messengers. By July 1942 the Office of Price Administration estimated that 150,000 Victory bicycles and 90,000 prewar bikes were available for retail sale. OPA rationed new and prewar men's and women's bicycles. Any adult who was gainfully employed or contributed in some way to the war effort or public welfare could purchase a bicycle if she or he could cite a compelling reason, such as inadequate public transportation, excessive walking, or responsibility for a delivery service. In August 1942 eligibility was further restricted to persons in critical occupations, including physicians, nurses, druggists, ministers, school teachers, mail carriers, firefighters, police officers, construction workers, delivery personnel, public safety officers, and others. By the summer of 1942, American Bicyclist and Motorcyclist reported that thousands of war production workers were riding bicycles to their jobs, and new and used bikes were in great demand. Some companies owned fleets of bicycles for work-related uses such as reading electric meters.
- Pauline Anderson of Norwalk, Connecticut was hired as a mathematics teacher at Norwalk High School in the fall of 1942 and purchased a Victory bicycle shortly thereafter. She lived with her parents, George and Flora Anderson, in a residential neighborhood two miles from downtown Norwalk. Pauline married Walter Dudding on November 26, 1942 but continued to live with her parents while her husband was serving in the Coast Guard. Mrs. Dudding rode the bicycle on errands and pleasure trips in the Norwalk area. It was a good form of supplemental transportation, but she didn't commute to work on the bike; she rode a bus or shared a ride with her father, who owned an automotive sales and repair shop in downtown Norwalk. The high school also was located downtown.
- Pauline Dudding's bicycle has all the features of a 1942 Victory bicycle. The handlebars have black paint instead of chrome plating, and the wheel rims are painted a tan color. The frame is painted red, white and blue. In keeping with a War Production Board order, there is no nameplate or other brand identification other than the letter "H" (for Huffman) stamped on the bottom of the crankcase beside the serial number. In September 1942 the number of authorized Victory bicycle manufacturers was reduced from twelve to two, and the WPB decided that "no firm left in a business from which others are excluded shall be permitted to spread its name over the land and in foreign countries" (Wall Street Journal, September 3, 1942).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1942
- maker
- Huffman Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0183.01
- accession number
- 2006.0183
- catalog number
- 2006.0183.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- No Image Available
James Rumsey Promissory Note, 01/28/1788
- Notes
- See Rumsey's article, "A Short Treatise on the Application of Steam, whereby is clearly shewn, from actual experiments, that steam may be applied to propel boats or vessels of any burthen against rapid currents with great velocity. The same Principles are also introduced with Effect, by a Machine of a simple and cheap Construction, for the Purpose of rasing Water sufficient for the working of Grist-mills, Saw-mills, &c. and for watering meadows and other purposes of agriculture" (Philadelphia, 1888), 26 pp., in Dibner Library, NMAH (copies in Archives Center collection control file)
- American machinist and inventor who developed an early steamboat which he successfully demonstrated on the Potomac (1788) and on the Thames (1792) before his death in England on December 23, 1792
- Summary
- A promissory note of January 28, 1788 to Robert Stubbe for the sum of eighteen shillings and six pence, Pennsylvania currency
- Cite as
- James Rumsey Promissory Note, 1788, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1788
- 01/28/1788
- 18th century
- author
- Rumsey, James 1743-1792 (machinist, inventor)
- collector
- Transportation, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Subject
- Stubbe, Robert
- Rumseyan Society
- Local number
- Research pending (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Wilbur L. Metz Collection of Railroad Ephemera, 1910-1986
- Notes
- Railroad brakeman
- Summary
- Printed materials collected by Metz during his railroad career, including timetables, rule books, operational manuals, safety manuals, labor union materials, regulations, Metz' IDs and certifications, blank company forms, company newsletters, and internal memoranda and correspondence. The papers relate to several railroads: Western Maryland Railway Company, the Reading Co., Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and Conrail. Unions for which papers are included in the collection are the United Transportation Union, the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, and the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen
- Cite as
- Wilbur L. Metz Collection of Railroad Ephemera, 1910-1986, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1910
- 1910-1986
- 20th century
- collector
- Metz, Wilbur L
- Creator
- United Transportation Union
- Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America
- Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen (U.S.)
- Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company
- Chessie System, inc
- ConRail
- Pennsylvania Railroad
- Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Company
- Reading Company
- Western Maryland Railway Company
- collector
- Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Local number
- 1996.3025 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Clayton M. Hall Railroad Photonegatives, 1936-1965
- Notes
- Photographer
- Summary
- Photographic negatives of steam locomotives, mostly taken in rail stations and rail yards. Geographically they cover most of the United States
- Cite as
- Clayton M. Hall Railroad Photonegatives, 1936-1965, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1936
- 1936-1965
- 20th century
- photographer
- Hall, Clayton M
- collector
- History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Transportation, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Local number
- 299049 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Baldwin Locomotive Works Drawings, 1870-1890
- Notes
- The Baldwin Locomotive Works was the largest and most successful locomotive building firm in the world. It was begun as a machine shop owned and operated by Matthias W. Baldwin in 1831. Baldwin turned out its first locomotive engine from its shop in Philadelphia in 1832; within a few years the company was producing two a month and employed 240 men. By 1852, 500 engines had been produced; by 1861, 1,000; and by 1868, 2,000. At that point, the company employed between 1,600-1,700 men, and was one of the very largest machine works in the nation. In 1906 Baldwin began construction of a large auxiliary plant in Philadelphia suburb of Eddystone. In 1928 the Broad Street plant was closed and all work transferred to the Eddystone Plant. Baldwin had been forced by hard financial times to take on a series of partners between 1839 and 1846, and the firm's name changed repeatedly as a result. It was known as Baldwin, Vail & Hufty (1839-1842); Baldwin & Whitney (1842-1845); M.W. Baldwin (1846-1853); and M.W. Baldwin & Co. (1854-1866). After Baldwin's death in 1866 the firm was known as M. Baird & Co. (1867-1873); Burnham, Parry, Williams & Co. (1873-1890); Burnham, Williams & Co. (1891-1909); it was finally incorporated as the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1909. The company's phenomenal growth ended with in the mid-1920s as the U.S. railroad industry began its long decline. Despite various mergers and acquisitions--and an increased attention to the development of diesel engines--a slow but sure decline set in. Baldwin declared bankruptcy in 1935. World War Two brought a temporary respite, but after the war the steam locomotive was obsolete and orders rapidly diminished. The Westinghouse Corporation bought Baldwin in 1948 but was unable to turn the company around. In 1950 the Lima-Hamilton Corporation and Baldwin merged but in 1956 the last of some 70,541 locomotives was produced
- Summary
- 202 assembly drawings of locomotives and tenders, prepared to check the clearances and major component parts of the locomotive. When work was slow, draftsmen hand-colored the drawings. They were not used in the shop but were retained for engineering reference
- Cite as
- Baldwin Locomotive Works Drawings, 1870-1890, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1870
- 1890
- 1870-1890
- author
- Baldwin Locomotive Works
- collector
- Transportation, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Containerization Oral History Collection, 1995-1998
- Summary
- Original audio cassettes and transcripts of oral history interviews with individuals involved in the transportation industry known as containerization: Arthur Donovan, interviewer
- Cite as
- Containerization Oral History Collection 1995-1998, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1995
- 1995-1998
- 1990-2000
- 1980-2000
- creator
- Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
- interviewer
- Donovan, Arthur
- interviewee
- Pfeiffer, Robert
- Morrison, Scott
- Katims, Ron
- Horvitz, Wayne
- Harlander, Leslie
- Gibson, Andrew
- Cushing, Charles
- Boylston, John
- Powell, Stanley
- Richardson, Paul
- Seaton, Bruce
- Seiberlich, Carl
- Local number
- 1999.3073 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Alfred Maevis Collection, 1903-1969
- Notes
- Maevis was an engineer who worked on New York City's subway system
- Summary
- The collection relates to the construction of the New York subway system. Included are diagrams; photographs of workers and of demolition, excavation, and dredging in the tunnels; reprints from professional engineering journals on topics relating to the subway construction; contracts; volumes containing budget information listing the costs for various elements for specific parts of the system; invitations for bids from contractors; and a bound volume of "Public Service Record", a monthly publication of the New York City Public Service Commission
- Cite as
- Alfred Maevis Collection, 1903-1969, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1903
- 1903-1969
- 20th century
- collector
- Maevis, Alfred
- History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI
- Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Local number
- 2007.3073 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
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