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 18 items.
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Kramer Farm Wagon
- Description
- Versatile, sturdy, and dependable, horse-drawn farm wagons were common in rural America well into the 1920s. They carried crops, goods, and supplies and served as passenger vehicles for families. Guy McCartney of Simpson, West Virginia used this wagon to deliver coal to area homes for furnaces and stoves. Built by the Kramer Wagon Company in Oil City, Pennsylvania, it is believed to date from the 1920s. During America’s first oil drilling boom in the late nineteenth century, Kramer also built wagons that hauled oil and carriages for wealthy oil businessmen.
- date made
- ca 1925
- maker
- Kramer Wagon Company
- ID Number
- 1984.0743.01
- catalog number
- 84.0743.01
- accession number
- 1984.0743
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Rigged Model, Philadelphia Packet Ship Shenandoah
- Description
- The packet ship Shenandoah was built in 1840 by John Vaugn & Son at Philadelphia, Pa. for Thomas P. Cope & Son, better known as the Cope Line. Wealthy Philadelphia Quakers, the Copes transported about 60,000 passengers—mostly Irish immigrants—from Liverpool to Philadelphia from 1820-1870.
- Measuring 143’ long and 738 tons, the Shenandoah spent nearly its entire career on the Philadelphia–Liverpool passage. It made 14 voyages for the Cope Line from 1839-44. In 1845 it sailed for the Dunham & Dimon Liverpool Line out of NY, but the following year it returned to Philadelphia for the Black Diamond Line. By 1847 it served the New Line, clearing Philadelphia on the 1st of the month and leaving Liverpool five weeks later, on the 8th of the following month. In the late 1840s, it lost its popular captain to the new Collins ocean steamship Atlantic. Many of the old sailing packet companies lost their captains to the newer and faster transatlantic steamship lines. The Shenandoah was abandoned at sea in August 1854.
- Date made
- 1963
- original ship built
- 1840
- Cope Line operated
- 1820-1870
- sailed with the Cope Line
- 1839-1844
- sailed for the Dunham & Dimon Liverpool Line out of New York
- 1845
- sailed for the Black Diamond Line out of Philadelphia
- 1846
- sailed for the New LIne out of Philadelphia
- 1847
- abandoned at sea
- 1854-08
- shipbuilders
- John Vaugn & Son
- ship owners
- Thomas P. Cope & Son
- ID Number
- TR*322426
- catalog number
- 322426
- accession number
- 247838
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Cumberland Valley Railroad Steam Locomotive, Pioneer
- Description
- The Pioneer is a steam locomotive made in 1851 by Seth Wilmarth, owner of a large machine shop in Boston who made few locomotives. Pioneer is an early type of steam locomotive on U.S. railroads and used only on a very few of them. This locomotive is significant only because of that rarity. Its age is also unusual among preserved locomotives; Pioneer was built just two decades after America’s first domestically made locomotive. Its general type was obsolete on almost all railroads in the U.S. by 1850.
- Pioneer served the Cumberland Valley RR, connecting Harrisburg, Pa. with Hagerstown, Md. and Winchester, Va. The locomotive was designed specifically to pull two-car passenger trains. Pioneer was one of several locomotives badly damaged by fire during the Civil War, during a Confederate raid on the CVRR roundhouse at Chambersburg, Pa. The CVRR rebuilt the engine, operated it on light, one- and two-car passenger trains till the mid 1880s, and then saved and exhibited it as an historic relic. The Pennsylvania RR (then one of the nation’s largest) absorbed the CVRR soon after. The PRR entirely repainted Pioneer in 1947 for the 1947-48 Chicago Railroad Fair. The lettering on the fenders, “PIONEER,” is inauthentic. A replica headlight was added by NMAH (then NMHT) in Dec 1965.
- In the standard type nomenclature for steam locomotives, Pioneer is a “2-2-2T” type, meaning that it has an unpowered leading pair of wheels; a single powered axle (the larger-diameter wheels, driven by the steam cylinders via connecting (or “main”) rods; and another unpowered pair of wheels at the rear. The “T” stands for “tank engine,” meaning one that has no separate tender for carrying its fuel (wood) and water for the boiler; fuel and water is carried on the same single chassis as the boiler, cab, and running gear.
- Location
- Currently on loan
- date made
- 1851
- used date
- 1851-1948
- maker
- Seth Wilmarth
- Union Works
- ID Number
- TR*317547.01
- accession number
- 230385
- catalog number
- 317547.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Model of the 1839 Steam Locomotive, Gowan & Marx
- Description
- This is a 1/2" scale model of the Gowan and Marx, a 4-4-0 freight locomotive built in 1839 for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. The model consists of an engine with two inclinded cylinders, horizontal boiler, a domed firebox and a four wheel tender.
- As trains grew longer and heavier, railroad companies needed more powerful locomotives. One way to increase power was to build machines with more driving wheels, or powered wheels. However, such locomotives had previously proved too rigid for the rough tracks of early American railroads, derailing often or damaging the track. On the Gowan and Marx, locomotive builders Eastwick and Harrison of Philadelphia introduced the equalizing lever, a spring suspension that distributed the engine’s weight over three points. In this arrangement, each of the four driving wheels could bounce independently as the engine negotiated rough track, greatly improving stability and traction. According to John H. White in American Locomotives: 1830-1880, the equalizing lever, which allowed the successful operation of engines with multiple pairs of driving wheels, “was possibly the most important American contribution to locomotive design.” Eastwick and Harrison’s equalizing lever proved so successful that it was used through the end of steam locomotive construction in the 1950s.
- Steam locomotives are often classified by wheel arrangement, in the order of leading, driving, and trailing wheels. The Gowan and Marx has four leading wheels, four driving wheels, and no trailing wheels. It is therefore classified as a 4-4-0 locomotive. When compared to an earlier 4-2-0 type engine, like Baldwin’s Lancaster, the 4-4-0’s additional pair of driving wheels brought a great increase in power. Intended for slow speed, heavy coal trains, the Gowan and Marx performed extremely well; on one occasion, it pulled a 101-car train of 423 tons at an average speed of 9.8 miles per hour. After 1840, the 4-4-0 or “American type” became the most popular locomotive in the country. The exceptional performance of the Gowan and Marx greatly enhanced the reputation of Eastwick and Harrison. They were subsequently invited to Russia to build locomotives for the Moscow and St. Petersburg Railway.
- Location
- Currently on loan
- date made
- 1962
- Gowan & Marx locomotive constructed
- 1839
- maker
- Shawcraft (Models) Ltd.
- ID Number
- TR*320630
- accession number
- 242186
- catalog number
- 320630
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Model of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad’s Lancaster
- Description
- This is a 1/2" scale model of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad’s Lancaster. Steam locomotives are often classified by wheel arrangement, in the order of leading, driving, and trailing wheels. This locomotive had four leading wheels, two driving wheels, and no trailing wheels. It is therefore classified as a 4-2-0 locomotive.
- Built in 1834, the Lancaster was the third locomotive constructed by M. W. Baldwin of Philadelphia. A jeweler turned machinist, Baldwin completed his first locomotive in 1832. The proliferation of new railroads encouraged many small machine shops, like Baldwin’s, to enter the locomotive business. Most of these firms built only a few machines and went out of business. Baldwin’s shop, however, became the largest steam locomotive builder in the world. By 1868, the firm had produced 2000 engines and employed over 1,600 workers. When the company closed its doors in 1956, it had produced over 70,000 locomotives for North American railroads and lines overseas.
- On the Lancaster, Baldwin employed the four-wheel leading truck devised by John B. Jervis, which allowed the engine to negotiate sharp curves with ease. Designed for both passenger and freight service, the Lancaster performed well; on one occasion, the locomotive pulled a 75-ton, sixteen-car train at an average speed of 12 to 14 miles per hour. The engine proved so successful that Baldwin built over one hundred locomotives on the same general design from 1834 to 1842. After operating for sixteen years, the Lancaster was retired in 1850, and dismantled the following year.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1834
- Lancaster locomotive constructed
- 1834
- ID Number
- TR*325994
- catalog number
- 325994
- accession number
- 257974
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- No Image Available
Samuel Morse Felton Family Papers, 1841-1930
- Notes
- Felton (1), civil engineer, is best known as the president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore RR (PWBRR,) which he rebuilt and restored; president of the Pennsylvania Steel Company; and in 1869 as a commissioner appointed by President Grant to inspect the Pacific railroads. In April 1857, Felton placed the engine "Daniel Webster" in service on the PWBRR--probably the first successful coal-burning passenger engine in regular service on any American railroad. He was born in Philadelphia, 1853; graduated from M.I.T. 1873. 1889: became president of the Chicago and Alton Railroad, later assumed the presidency of the Mexican Central Railroad, and became president of the Chicago Great Western Railroad in 1909. During World War I he was appointed Director General of Military Railways and had charge of the organization and dispatch to France of all American railway forces and supplies. As of 1928 he was Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Great Western Railroad; president, Western Railroad Association; and chairman, Western Association of Railway Executives, to name only a few of his positions. At his death he was an advisor and associate of the Central Trust Company of Illinois
- Summary
- Biographical material on both Feltons; correspondence, 1861-1927 to and from both Feltons; a report by Felton on the construction of the Norfolk Co. railroad, 1847-49; reports, 1917-19; and news clippings and articles, 185?-1930. The correspondence includes a 1926 letter regarding Conray Felton's article about an attempt to asssassinate Abraham Lincoln
- Cite as
- Samuel Morse Felton Family Papers, 1841-1930, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1841
- 1841-1930
- 1840-1930
- Civil War, 1861-1865
- 1840-1940
- author
- Felton, Samuel Morse (son) 1853-1930
- Felton, Samuel Morse (civil engineer) 1809-1889
- collector
- Transportation, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Subject
- Fletcher, Andrew
- Atterbury, W.W
- Davis, Robert C
- McAdoo, W.G
- Ames, Oliver
- Smith, M.H
- Milliken, J
- Lomonossoff, G
- Cooke, Jay
- Scott, Thomas A
- Lincoln, Abraham 1809-1865
- Philadelphia RR
- Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore RR
- Louisville Southern Railway Co
- Southern Railway and Steamship Association
- American Locomotive Sales Corporation
- United States. War Department
- United States Army
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
1949 GMC Pickup Truck
- Description
- Ira Wertman, a farmer in Andreas, Pennsylvania, raised fruits and vegetables and peddled them with this truck to retired coal miners near Allentown. He also used the truck to take produce to market and haul supplies from town to the farm. Pickup trucks have been versatile aids to a wide range of agricultural, personal, and business activities. Early pickup trucks were modified automobiles, but postwar models were larger, more powerful, and able to carry heavier loads. Some postwar pickups were used in building suburban communities. Others were used for recreational purposes such as camping, hunting, and fishing. By the 1990s, many people purchased pickups for everyday driving.
- date made
- 1949
- maker
- General Motors Corporation
- ID Number
- 1999.0057.01
- accession number
- 1999.0057
- catalog number
- 1999.0057.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Lewis and Clark Expedition Pocket Compass
- Description
- In the spring of 1803, Meriwether Lewis began to purchase scientific and mathematical instruments for a pending expedition into the northwestern region of North America. Among the items he purchased from Philadelphia instrument maker Thomas Whitney were three pocket compasses for $2.50 each, and this silver-plated pocket compass for $5. It has a mahogany box, a silver-plated brass rim that is graduated to degrees and numbered in quadrants from north and south, a paper dial, two small brass sight vanes, and a leather carrying case. Whether Lewis purchased the silver compass for himself or intended it as a special gesture for William Clark is not known.
- Following the instructions of President Thomas Jefferson, the Corps of Discovery, under the leadership of Lewis and Clark, ascended the Missouri River in May 1804 to obtain detailed information on the natural resources of the region, to search for a northwest passage, and to make official diplomatic contact with Indian leaders.
- By the time they returned to St. Louis in September 1806, few of the instruments that were purchased for the trip had survived the journey. The pocket compass, however, was kept by Clark as a memento. He later gave the compass to his friend, Capt. Robert A. McCabe, whose heirs donated it in 1933 to the Smithsonian Institution.
- Date made
- ca 1804
- user
- Clark, William
- maker
- Whitney, Thomas
- ID Number
- PL*038366
- catalog number
- 38366
- accession number
- 122864
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Ship Model, Steamboat Buckeye State
- Description
- The Buckeye State was built at Shousetown, Pa., south of Pittsburgh. In 1849 the hull was completed and hauled up the Ohio River to Pittsburgh to be finished. Under the supervision of David Holmes, the Buckeye State was completed in February 1850. It was owned and operated by the Pittsburgh & Cincinnati Packet Line, which ran it regularly on the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The company owned six or seven steamers at a time, and ran daily departures between the two cities. By the mid-1840s the Pittsburgh & Cincinnati Packet Line was praised by a Pittsburgh newspaper editor as “the greatest convenience . . . ever afforded the citizens on the banks of the Upper Ohio.”
- On May 1, 1850 the Buckeye State left Cincinnati for Pittsburgh and completed the trip in a record 43 hours. Under Capt. Sam Dean, the steamer made 24 stops along the route, needing coal once and wood three times. One hundred years later, the Buckeye State still held the record for the fastest trip ever made by a steamboat between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
- In 1851, showman P. T. Barnum organized a race between the Buckeye State and the Messenger No. 2 as a publicity stunt to advertise Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind’s American tour. Steamboat racing was growing in popularity, and so a race was the perfect promotion. Although Lind and Barnum were aboard the Messenger No. 2, the Buckeye State won the race. The Buckeye State continued its service up and down the Ohio for six more years until it was retired and dismantled in 1857.
- date made
- 1963
- construction completed on Buckeye State
- 1850-02
- Buckeye State retired
- 1857
- participated in a steamboat race
- 1857
- owned and operated by
- Pittsburgh & Cincinnati Packet Line
- supervised construction of Buckeye State
- Holmes, David
- captain of the Buckeye State
- Dean, Sam
- maker
- Boucher-Lewis Precision Models, Inc.
- ID Number
- TR*322425
- catalog number
- 322425
- accession number
- 247839
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Engraved wood block "Street View at Honolulu"
- Description
- Joline J. Butler (about 1815–1846, working in New York City between 1841 and 1845) engraved this printing block after a drawing called Street View of Honolulu by Expedition Artist Alfred T. Agate. The wood engraving illustration was published on page 415 of Volume III of the U.S. Exploring Expedition Narrative by Charles Wilkes, 1844.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1845
- ca 1844
- publisher
- Wilkes, Charles
- graphic artist
- Butler, Joline J.
- original artist
- Agate, Alfred T.
- graphic artist
- Armstrong, William G.
- printer
- Sherman, Conger
- author
- Wilkes, Charles
- ID Number
- 1999.0145.184
- catalog number
- 1999.0145.184
- accession number
- 1999.0145
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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