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 1 items.
Painting of the American Clipper Ship Coeur de Lion
- Description
- In the center, the American clipper ship Coeur de Lion sails from left to right in the standard pose of the classic portrait of a ship entering port. The main and topsails are set, except for the mizzen mainsail, which is furled to air the spanker (for steerage). At the ships head flies the inner jib; all other sails are either furled or being taken in. House, signal, and American flags fly from all three masts and the spanker gaff. Six crew are visible on deck; whimsically, one is waving to the artist (or viewer) from his post amidships. In the left foreground, a small, two-masted Chinese boat approaches Coeur de Lion; in the background is the port of Hong Kong. Numerous Western sailing vessels and steamships are anchored at port in the background.
- ID Number
- TR*309517
- catalog number
- 309517
- accession number
- 103202
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center