Transportation

1955 Ford Country Squire

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.

Place: District of Columbia

Electric Streetcar, Capital Traction Co. # 303

The American Car Company of St. Louis, Missouri, built this 4-wheel, electric motor cars built for Capital Traction Company of Washington, D.C.
Description
The American Car Company of St. Louis, Missouri, built this 4-wheel, electric motor cars built for Capital Traction Company of Washington, D.C. The car was one of sixteen, and was designated number 303 and assigned to the 7th Street line, which ran from the Wharves to Boundary (now Florida Avenue). This car was used as a motor car and regularly pulled a light trailer car until its retirement from regular service in 1913. Single-truck cars like this one were replaced by larger, more comfortable double truck cars.
The first Washington streetcars were horse-drawn and went into service in 1862, much later than New York, Boston, or Philadelphia. Electric cars first appeared in 1888, and, by the turn of the century, nearly 200 miles of line were in operation. As in other large American cities, street-car traffic began to fall off in the 1920s because of the automobile. Large-scale abandonment began in the late 1950s, and early in 1962 the last streetcar ceased operation in the nation's capital.
Because overhead wires were not permitted in the District of Columbia, an underground conduit system at the track's center was employed for electrical collection. Washington was one of the few cities in the world to use an underground conduit. The streetcar therefore has an extension affixed to the underside of the car that connected with an electric conduit between the trolley tracks.
The wood car body is painted yellow and white with gold and black striping. The interior is mahogany and has two longitudinal seats. Above each interior door is a fair counter. There is a controller and brake on each platform.
Date made
1898
Associated Date
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America
era 6 period association
Era 6:
era 7 period association
Era 7:
user
American Car Company
maker
American Car Company
ID Number
TR.335091
catalog number
335091
accession number
252681

Hansom Cab, 1900

The D.P. Nichols Company (New York, Chicago and Boston) made this hansom cab around 1900. Mrs. Alice Maury Parmelee of Washington, D. C. purchased the cab around that time and used it well into the 1920s. In 1931, Mrs. Parmelee gave it to the Smithsonian Institution.
Description
The D.P. Nichols Company (New York, Chicago and Boston) made this hansom cab around 1900. Mrs. Alice Maury Parmelee of Washington, D. C. purchased the cab around that time and used it well into the 1920s. In 1931, Mrs. Parmelee gave it to the Smithsonian Institution. The hansom cab was patented by Joseph Hansom of England in 1834. The hansom cab is a two wheeled, two passenger carriage with a body that is low to the ground, making it easy for passengers to board and disembark. Hansom cabs were commonly found in New York City primarily used as a vehicle for hire to get around the city, much like taxis are used today, but some were made for private use. As road surfaces improved and more people were able to buy automobiles, the hansom cab and other horse-drawn vehicles began disappearing from city streets in the early part of the 20th century.
date made
1900
used date
1890-1929
maker
D. P. Nichols & Co.
ID Number
1932.117780.01
accession number
117780
catalog number
310391

Women's March on Washington poster, 2017

A homemade poster used in the January 21, 2017 Women's March in Washington, DC.Currently not on view
Description
A homemade poster used in the January 21, 2017 Women's March in Washington, DC.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 2017-01-21
used date
2017-01-21
ID Number
2017.0248.48
accession number
2017.0248
catalog number
2017.0248.48

The Gray Line Sight Seeing Tours

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935
ca 1920
printer
Allied Printing Trades Council
graphic artist
B. Schwartz & Company
ID Number
2013.0133.02
accession number
2013.0133
catalog number
2013.0133.02

The 58th Presidential Inauguration

A map for the 58th Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2017 with the parade route highlighted in red.Currently not on view
Description
A map for the 58th Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2017 with the parade route highlighted in red.
Location
Currently not on view
delete
delete
date made
2017-01
Associated Date
January 20, 2017
Associated Name
Trump, Donald J.
maker
National Park Service
ID Number
2018.0159.09
accession number
2018.0159
catalog number
2018.0159.09

The 58th Presidential Inauguration

A map for the 58th Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2017 with the parade route highlighted in red.Currently not on view
Description
A map for the 58th Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2017 with the parade route highlighted in red.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2017-01
Associated Date
January 20, 2017
Associated Name
Trump, Donald J.
National Park Service
maker
National Park Service
ID Number
2018.0159.08
accession number
2018.0159
catalog number
2018.0159.08

model, logo, railroad

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1992
user
Santa Fe Railroad
maker
Smithsonian Institution Office of Exhibits Central
ID Number
1992.3126.67
catalog number
1992.3126.67
nonaccession number
1992.3126

model, logo, railroad

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1992
user
Santa Fe Railroad
maker
Smithsonian Institution Office of Exhibits Central
ID Number
1992.3126.66
catalog number
1992.3126.66
nonaccession number
1992.3126

Bell Biker Helmet

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1979
user
Grotenstein, Neal L.
maker
Bell Helmets Inc.
ID Number
2002.0250.01
catalog number
2002.0250.01
accession number
2002.0250

Device for Propelling Canal Boats Patent Model

This patent model represents Harvey Fowler's 1871 "Improvement in Propulsion of Canal Boats," that received patent number 121,712 on December 12, 1871.
Description
This patent model represents Harvey Fowler's 1871 "Improvement in Propulsion of Canal Boats," that received patent number 121,712 on December 12, 1871. The patent describes a process wherein a pronged foot below the boat is brought into repeated contact with the bottom of a canal through the action of a complex assembly of weighted levers, elastic bands, and hinged connecting arms.
In September 1870, Harvey Fowler, a clerk in the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of Statistics, patented a "Mechanical Hand-Motor," an arrangement of weighted pendulums and coiled springs meant to give "motion to machinery, or to the driving-wheels of a car or carriage." In December 1871, Fowler received a patent for a marine application of his motor, the "Hand Propeller for Canal Boats." Harvey also received patents 121,713 and 121,714 for further improvements in the propulsion of Canal Boats.
Fowler continued to think about the use of weights and levers to generate mechanical motion over the next decade. In May 1880 he took out a want ad in the Washington Post. "Perpetual motion machine now in operation...partner wanted," it read. A curious reporter showed up at Fowler's workshop, 633 F Street, N.W., to investigate, and his visit gives us an unusual portrait of the inventor. He "was evidently an old man, although a fresh, unwrinkled, almost boyish face gave him a youthful appearance, while the old-fashioned, broad-brimmed hat and the black clothes shining with age imparted a Quaker-like air of honesty and respectability. His voice, mild and gentle, confirmed these impressions and when he talked he fumbled in a tremulous fashion among the tools and scraps on his work table." The advertised perpetual-motion machine was "a mass of jointed sticks running in all directions....Here and there is a wheel and then two pieces connected by rubber bands." It was not working during the reporter's visit. Fowler "briefly explained how it would work when it was right and the possibility seemed to give him as genuine satisfaction as if it was running smoothly at that very minute, and the applause of the world was already his." Fowler's inventing came to an end the next year when he was committed to the Government Hospital for the Insane. "His mind has become deranged," the Post reported, "through his efforts to produce a perpetual motion machine."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1871
patent date
1871-12-12
patentee
Fowler, Harvey
inventor
Fowler, Harvey
ID Number
1999.0086.02
catalog number
1999.0086.02
accession number
1999.0086
patent number
121,714

Racing Go-Kart

A truly "grass roots" sport, organized "go-karting" arose in the late 1950s.
Description
A truly "grass roots" sport, organized "go-karting" arose in the late 1950s. In the 1930s and late 1940s, various types of smaller open-wheeled race cars had been developed for certain classes of organized racing on oval tracks, including the "midget racers" - diminutive but full-fledged, single-seat, high-speed cars. But for would-be racers of limited means in the 1950s, even these midget race cars were out of financial reach. Meanwhile, marketers of leisure-time products had started producing small, motorized "karts" for pre-teens. Such a kart, intended for driving on paved surfaces off the public roadways, had a light frame made of tubular steel, no "body" at all, a rudimentary open seat, and was equipped with a small gasoline engine mounted behind the driver and tiny tires. Adults thought up the idea of installing more-powerful motors, and the racing "go-kart" was born. Racing of such karts by kids was soon organized -- but racing classes for adults were created as well. Such races were sometimes held at regular paved race tracks but were usually run on specialized, short paved courses designed and built expressly for the karts. In the early days, races ran on large parking lots, with courses marked off for the day with stripes and rubber cones.
Many racing drivers who became well known in the 1970s, '80s, and through the present -- such as NASCAR's Jeff Gordon, 'Indy 500' drivers Al Unser, Jr. and Michael Andretti, and European 'Formula-1' drivers -- learned their early skills by becoming champion kart drivers in the classes for pre-teens.
Elwood "Pappy" Hampton (1909-1980), however, was one of thousands who took to the sport as adults. He was a Washington, DC, machinist who became interested in go-kart racing as a hobby. He built several karts, each time refining their design and improving their performance.
This kart is one made about 1960, which Hampton raced frequently from 1960 through 1962 to first-, second-, and third-place finishes, mostly at the Marlboro Speedway in Maryland. In 1962, he won the East Coast Championship. At age 51 in 1960, "Pappy" was one of the oldest successful kart racers in the mid-Atlantic area, hence his nickname.
The kart has a duralumin chassis (duralumin for strength with extreme lightness) made especially for racing karts by Jim Rathmann of Indianapolis (the winning driver in the 1960 Indianapolis 500), and a drive train engineered and made by Hampton. The engine is one made in England, fueled on alcohol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
maker
Hampton, Sr., Elwood N. "Pappy"
Rathmann, James
ID Number
1997.0378.01
accession number
1997.0378
catalog number
1997.0378.01

Former President George W. Bush with President Barack Obama

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2010-01-20
2009-01-20
depicted (sitter)
Obama, Barack H.
Bush, George W.
maker
Kennerly, David Hume
ID Number
2010.0176.07
catalog number
2010.0176.07
accession number
2010.0176

Bill, Boob McNutt, and Boob McNutt's Geography

Camera-ready pen and ink drawings by Rube Goldberg for his comic series Bill, Boob McNutt, and Boob McNutt's Geography dated June 10, 1934.
Description
Camera-ready pen and ink drawings by Rube Goldberg for his comic series Bill, Boob McNutt, and Boob McNutt's Geography dated June 10, 1934. Goldberg drew for the Bill series between 1931 and 1934, for the Boob McNutt series between 1915 and 1934, and for the Boob McNutt's Geography series in 1934.
Bill tries to promote his product Thinneroo to overweight baseball players and inadvertently causes the batter's bat to become thinner and to break. Boob McNutt's Jelly Roll Bus Line takes passengers to what he thinks is Washington, D.C. Boob's Geography comic cell gives clues to the identity of a U.S. state.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
June 10, 1934
publisher
Star Company
original artist
Goldberg, Rube
ID Number
2006.0226.41
catalog number
2006.0226.41
accession number
2006.0226

NO PARKING

A "No Parking" sign from the 58th Presidential Inauguration, January 20, 2017.Currently not on view
Description
A "No Parking" sign from the 58th Presidential Inauguration, January 20, 2017.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2017-01
Associated Date
January 20, 2017
Associated Name
Trump, Donald J.
maker
District of Columbia. Department of Transportation
ID Number
2018.0159.07
accession number
2018.0159
catalog number
2018.0159.07

Car Barn Capital Transit Company

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1907
ID Number
PG.78.38.16
catalog number
78.38.16
accession number
2018.0225

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