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: Massachusetts

Whaler's Hand Lance

After harpoons fastened the whale and whaleboat together, a whale was given plenty of time and rope to dive, try to swim away, and otherwise wear itself out.
Description
After harpoons fastened the whale and whaleboat together, a whale was given plenty of time and rope to dive, try to swim away, and otherwise wear itself out. Once the exhausted animal returned to the surface to breathe, the whaleboat approached it, and a hand lance, also known as a killing iron, was used to actually dispatch the animal.
Hand lances had long shafts, to allow the point to penetrate deep into the whale’s body in search of the thick neck arteries. The tips of the killing irons were leaf or oval shaped and extremely sharp, so that they cut on the way in and on the way out, and were easier to remove and stab repeatedly. Cutting the neck arteries prevented the animal from deep diving and hastened its bleeding to death.
This nickel-plated example was manufactured and donated by Luther Cole of Fairhaven, Mass.
Date made
1880s
maker
Cole, Luther
ID Number
AG.056357
accession number
012326
catalog number
056357

Cast Iron Whale

The words “BAKER NEW BEDFORD.” appear on the back of this cast-iron sperm whale, which has two mounting lugs on the bottom for fastening to a flat surface.
Description
The words “BAKER NEW BEDFORD.” appear on the back of this cast-iron sperm whale, which has two mounting lugs on the bottom for fastening to a flat surface. These features suggest that it was a shop sign for one of the many stores in New Bedford, Massaschusetts that provided items to whalers needed for their dirty and dangerous business. In the 1878 New Bedford city directory, the only person listed with the surname Baker was Ansol Baker, a machinist.
New Bedford was the largest American whaling port in the industry, which flourished until the Civil War and lasted into the early 20th century.
Date made
19th century
possible owner of sign
Baker, Ansol
ID Number
CL.25052
catalog number
25052
accession number
2009.0157
catalog number
2009.0157.01

Whaler's Harpoon with Toggle Head

The first step in catching a whale was throwing at least two sharp harpoons into its back, to ensure that the whaleboat was securely fastened to its prey.
Description
The first step in catching a whale was throwing at least two sharp harpoons into its back, to ensure that the whaleboat was securely fastened to its prey. Harpoon shafts were made of soft wrought iron, so that they would bend and not break off when twisted, which risked losing the wounded whale.
A line at the bottom of the harpoon’s wooden handle attached it to the whaleboat. Once in the whale’s flesh, the sharp toggle tip swiveled sideways, making it harder for the tip of the weapon to pull out. Whales normally dove deep after the first prick, to try and escape the sharp jab from the surface of the ocean. This harpoon shaft was twisted by a descending whale.
date made
1882
maker
D. & D.
ID Number
AG.056237
catalog number
056237
accession number
012284

Cumberland Valley Railroad Steam Locomotive, Pioneer

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.
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
ca. 1851
used date
1851-1948
maker
Seth Wilmarth
Union Works
ID Number
TR.317547.01
accession number
230385
catalog number
317547.01

1881 Columbia Bicycle

This is a Standard Columbia bicycle made by The Pope Manufacturing Company of Boston, Massachusetts around 1881. The Standard Columbia was available in models with front-wheel diameters ranging from 42 to 58 inches.
Description
This is a Standard Columbia bicycle made by The Pope Manufacturing Company of Boston, Massachusetts around 1881. The Standard Columbia was available in models with front-wheel diameters ranging from 42 to 58 inches. This particular Standard Columbia has a 54- inch wheel and sold for $95. Mr. Frank E. Waring used this in the Washington, D.C., area.
In the 1870s Albert A. Pope founded the Pope Manufacturing Company, the first company to manufacture bicycles on American soil. Pope had previously sold bicycles exported from England, but began building bicycles under the trade name "Columbia" in the Weed Sewing Machine Company's factory in Hartford Connecticut in 1879. By 1890, the company was so successful it had bought the factory from Weed because it needed all the space.
This Standard Columbia has a 54-inch front wheel with 44 radial spokes, and an 18-inch rear wheel with 18 radial spokes, weighing 49 pounds. The 1881 catalog states that this model came in two colors . On the left side of the backbone, under the seat, is a brass manufacturer's nameplate. At the upper end of the forged-steel front fork is the open steering head containing the long steering spindle, which can be adjusted by means of a bolt passing through the top of the head. Straight handlebars carry pear- shaped grips of Siamese buffalo horn and a brake lever on the right side that operates the spoon brake on the front tire. The front-wheel bearings are adjustable double cones, fitting into hardened boxes in the hubs. They are adjusted for wear by an eccentric in the bottom of the fork. The adjustable pedal cranks allow the throw to vary from 5 to 6 inches.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1881
Associated Name
Pope, Albert Augustus
maker
Pope Manufacturing Company
ID Number
TR.330156
catalog number
330156
accession number
288679

New England Whale Ship

This model represents a typical Massachusetts whaleship of the mid-19th century, fully rigged and ready for a long cruise that might last for as much as four years. The name “U.S.
Description
This model represents a typical Massachusetts whaleship of the mid-19th century, fully rigged and ready for a long cruise that might last for as much as four years. The name “U.S. Grant, Edgartown” on the ship’s stern is fictional—no ship by that name ever sailed for the whaling fleet. The ship’s bottom is lined with copper sheathing, to keep out the teredo navalis, a tropical worm that bored into the wood of ship’s hulls and weakened the structure, as the termite does to wooden structures on land.
The whaleboats are the most prominent features. After whales were sighted by lookouts perched at the mast tops, the boats were dropped over the sides of the mother ship to chase them. Also over the side are the cutting stages, where the whale’s fat, or blubber, was sliced off the body in long strips.
The main feature on the ship’s deck is the try-works, or giant pots set into a brick framework, where the whale’s blubber, was boiled down into oil. After the blubber became liquid, it was drawn off to cool and then poured into heavy barrels and stored below in the ship’s cargo hold.
This model was purchased in 1875 at Edgartown, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; it was one of the first objects in the Smithsonian’s National Watercraft Collection.
Date made
1875
model was purchased
1875
ID Number
TR.025726
catalog number
025726
accession number
4353

Shipbuilder's Half Hull Model, Whaleship Jireh Swift

Half hull ship models were carved by shipwrights to a shape negotiated with the future owners of the ship.
Description
Half hull ship models were carved by shipwrights to a shape negotiated with the future owners of the ship. Once finished, the builder lifted the curved shape of the outer hull off the model and scaled it up to the dimensions of the full-sized ship on the floor of the molding loft. Then the ship’s timbers were cut to fit the lines drawn on the floor and lifted into position in the ship’s framework.
African American shipwright and former slave John Mashow built the whaler Jireh Swift in 1853 at Dartmouth, Mass. near New Bedford. The vessel measured 122 feet in length and 454 tons. Its first voyage was to the northern Pacific and lasted nearly four years. The ship collected 45 barrels of sperm oil, 2,719 barrels of whale oil and 14,900 lbs of whalebone. Swift’s second voyage, to the same grounds, lasted more than four years and netted much more oil and bone for her owners. Nearly three years into her third voyage, on 22 June 1865 she was captured in the Arctic by the Confederate raider Shenandoah and burned, for a loss of more than $40,000.
Date made
1853
maker
Mashow, John
ID Number
TR.076323
catalog number
076323
accession number
015358

Allen Hand Windlass, Demonstration Model

Frederick S. Allen of Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts used this model to demonstrate his patent for an improved windlass that received patent number 183,101 on October 10, 1876. The Smithsonian also has the patent model of Allen’s invention, object number TR*160185.
Description
Frederick S. Allen of Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts used this model to demonstrate his patent for an improved windlass that received patent number 183,101 on October 10, 1876. The Smithsonian also has the patent model of Allen’s invention, object number TR*160185. Windlasses were used for hauling heavy lines and raising anchors, particularly on smaller vessels where there was no room for a capstan and its spread of bars, windlasses were usually turned by brute force using some arrangement of levers. Allen suggested the idea of a double-acting lever that would turn the windlass on both the lever’s upward and downward strokes.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1876
patent date
1876-10-10
ID Number
TR.160324
catalog number
160324
accession number
12246
patent number
183,101

Wooden-handled Harpoon

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, simple sharp-barbed harpoons on long wooden shafts were used to “dart” or fasten to the whales from whaleboats. Two darts were thrown, in case one broke loose.
Description
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, simple sharp-barbed harpoons on long wooden shafts were used to “dart” or fasten to the whales from whaleboats. Two darts were thrown, in case one broke loose. Then, sometime in the early 19th century, the toggle iron was developed, possibly by African American blacksmith Lewis Temple in New Bedford, MA.
Once embedded in the whale’s flesh, the sharp point of a toggle iron rotated, or toggled sideways, making it harder to pull out. Normally, at least six sharp darting irons were carried aboard individual whaleboats to ensure that lost or broken ones could be replaced without returning to the mother ship.
ID Number
TR.072824
catalog number
072824
accession number
10616

Patent Model, Endless Chain Propeller

This model accompanied Luther Alvord’s patent application for an “endless chain propeller” that received patent number 174,178 on February 29, 1876.
Description
This model accompanied Luther Alvord’s patent application for an “endless chain propeller” that received patent number 174,178 on February 29, 1876. He also claimed it would work as a dredge for removing sand and mud from shipping channels.
"This invention consists, generally," Alvord wrote, "of a series of blades connected to form an endless apron or railway, which, moving over rollers at both of its ends [and] attached to the bottom of the boat, acts directly upon the water to produce the desired propulsion." Although he did not claim to have invented "the principle of an endless chain of buckets or floats," he asserted that his V-shaped interlocking blades were an original design that would be strong and resistant to strain as well as suitable for canal-boat propulsion, as "the water escaping behind a boat employing this device...will not make a wash" that could damage a canal's banks.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1876
patent date
1876-02-29
patentee
Alvord, Luther
inventor
Alvord, Luther
ID Number
TR.325943
catalog number
325943
accession number
249602
patent number
174,178

Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works Bicycle, 1925

This ladies’ bicycle was manufactured by Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, in 1925. The steel bicycle has a drop frame to accommodate a skirt, a Mesinger No. 1 leather saddle, rubber tires and a steel frame.
Description
This ladies’ bicycle was manufactured by Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, in 1925. The steel bicycle has a drop frame to accommodate a skirt, a Mesinger No. 1 leather saddle, rubber tires and a steel frame. The chain drive has a 22-tooth front
sprocket and 9-sprocket rear gear. The cycle has front and rear mudguards and a rear luggage rack. The bike is finished in a medium blue with white striping. The bike was donated to the museum in 1961 as a representation of the typical bicycle of the era.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1925
maker
Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works
Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works
ID Number
TR.318471
accession number
236166
catalog number
318471
TR*318471

Allen's Hand Windlass, Patent Model

Farmer and sailor Frederick S. Allen of Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts submitted this model with his patent for an improved windlass that received patent number 183,101 on October 10, 1876. The Smithsonian also has a demonstration model of Allen’s invention, object number TR*160324.
Description
Farmer and sailor Frederick S. Allen of Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts submitted this model with his patent for an improved windlass that received patent number 183,101 on October 10, 1876. The Smithsonian also has a demonstration model of Allen’s invention, object number TR*160324. Windlasses were used for hauling heavy lines and raising anchors, particularly on smaller vessels where there was no room for a capstan and its spread of bars, windlasses were usually turned by brute force using some arrangement of levers. Allen suggested the idea of a double-acting lever that would turn the windlass on both the lever’s upward and downward strokes.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1876
patent date
1876-10-10
ID Number
TR.160185
catalog number
160185
patent number
183,101
accession number
12246

Harpoon

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, simple sharp-barbed harpoons on long wooden shafts were used to “dart” or fasten to the whales from whaleboats. Two darts were thrown, in case one broke loose.
Description
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, simple sharp-barbed harpoons on long wooden shafts were used to “dart” or fasten to the whales from whaleboats. Two darts were thrown, in case one broke loose. Then, sometime in the early 19th century, the toggle iron was developed, possibly by African American blacksmith Lewis Temple in New Bedford, MA.
Once embedded in the whale’s flesh, the sharp point of a toggle iron rotated, or toggled sideways, making it harder to pull out. Normally, at least six sharp darting irons were carried aboard individual whaleboats to ensure that lost or broken ones could be replaced without returning to the mother ship.
ID Number
TR.072824B
catalog number
072824B
accession number
10616

Along the Noted Bowery, New York City

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2016.0066.326
catalog number
2016.0066.0326
accession number
2016.0066

Ford Coupe Stock Car, 1952

In 1952, Leon Hurd extensively modified this 1932 Ford coupe, beefing-up the frame and installing stronger springs, and installing a 1942 Ford "59A"-block "flathead" V-8 engine.
Description
In 1952, Leon Hurd extensively modified this 1932 Ford coupe, beefing-up the frame and installing stronger springs, and installing a 1942 Ford "59A"-block "flathead" V-8 engine. Initially the car ran without fenders, during the short time that was permitted by the Atlantic Racing Association racing rules. (NASCAR was in its infancy.)
Hurd raced in New England from 1952 through 1955, winning more than 100 races in that time. The car carried racing number "00." In 1979, Hurd did some minor restoration on the car.World War II period saw a relative explosion of motor racing on both sides of the Atlantic and a proliferation of distinctly American types of racing with no counterparts in Europe. One such uniquely American type was "stock car" racing. Popular interest was whetted by races run with cars that were entirely like - or mostly looked like - those for sale in the showrooms or on the used-car lots. Fans could cheer for cars that looked like the cars they drove in everyday use.
Most auto racers preferred two-door coupes: a smaller, two-door car was lighter for better acceleration yet could house a powerful engine; and a coupe had a roof, which helped protect the driver in roll-overs, which were not uncommon in the pell-mell anarchy of beach races. To help him set rules for stock-car racing, Bill France created the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR, in 1948; NASCAR's first season was 1949. Then France had another idea: too many spectators could enjoy his beach races without paying the admission charges for his viewing areas closer to the course. So why not build a modern oval race track away from the beach, surrounded by bleachers, and thus configured so that any and all spectators had to pay to see the races - and far more spectators at that?
It was an old idea, actually. In the US from about 1910, the dominant money in the early years of auto racing came from entrepreneurial track owners (many of whom had previously owned bicycle tracks or velodromes). Track owners knew that strict control of access to the racing venues was the key to maximum income from spectators. And oval tracks gave by far the best view to the most customers, also a motivating factor for ticket buyers. (In contrast, Europe and Britain never developed such enclosed oval tracks. Very wealthy car-owners and manufacturers have always controlled auto racing there, and such elite car-owners and manufacturers have strongly preferred open-road courses as more sporting - and also more likely to help improve auto design technology. Thus modern European closed tracks still follow the "open road" idea, with lots of turns and curves.)
Bill France saw the success of the paved oval track built at Darlington, SC, in 1950. So, with his business model in hand based on droves of paying race fans, France began raising money in 1953 and, a few years later, opened a new Daytona Speedway. NASCAR came of age in 1959, with the first running of the Daytona 500.
"Stock-car" racing found a home quickly in the South, where "moonshiners" or "rum runners" during Prohibition had been modifying ordinary-looking cars with "souped-up" engines (i.e., modified for greater power) and stiffened suspensions -- and hidden tanks for booze -- to outrun federal marshals on backwoods roads when necessary to elude arrest. But organized stock-car racing on closed courses -- beginning in the late 1940s -- found eager fans as well in the Northeast, Midwest, and Far West; the South had no monopoly. Sponsorship money, particularly from local auto dealers, became more plentiful; "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" soon became a byword among retail car dealers. The cheaper, individually owned stock cars -- coupes that were often referred to as "jalopies" -- raced on local and regional dirt tracks. Well-sponsored cars fielded by wealthier owners with funding and engineering assistance from Detroit manufacturers raced at larger, paved oval tracks with extensive bleachers for the fans.
Track owners set the pattern for organized stock-car racing. Bill France, of Daytona Beach, Florida, had witnessed the popularity of pre-war "beach racing" (see Web entry on the racing automobile, Winton 'Bullet' No. 1). In the late 1940s, he organized beach races for any local car-owners who liked the idea of competing against each other with more-or-less "stock" automobiles.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1952
maker
Hurd, Leon H.
ID Number
1992.0029.01
accession number
1992.0029
catalog number
1992.0029.01

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