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.

Date: 1940s

Railroad Hand-Signal Lantern, 1920s-40s

This kerosene hand lantern was manufactured by the Manufacturing Company of New York, New York during the early 20th century. The lamp has a metal body has a blue glass bulb surrounded by a protective wire frame.
Description
This kerosene hand lantern was manufactured by the Manufacturing Company of New York, New York during the early 20th century. The lamp has a metal body has a blue glass bulb surrounded by a protective wire frame. The bottom of the lamp contained the oil font, with the wick protruding from the font into the bulb. The top of the lantern is stamped with the text “ARMSPEAR MANFG CO./“1925”/New York” while the lower metal portions reads “B.&O. R.R.” This lantern was used on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Before the advent of portable two way radios train crews communicated via hand signals during the day, and lantern signals during periods of low visibility or at night. This lantern with the blue globe was used by station agents to signal a train to pick up train orders, or to mark equipment that was being worked on and wasn’t to be moved.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920-1949
maker
Armspear Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1989.0745.42
catalog number
1989.0745.42
accession number
1989.0745

Whalen and Janssen Laminated Wood-Frame Bicycle

At the beginning of World War II, John T. Whalen, with Webster E. Janssen of the Janssen Piano Co., Inc., developed this laminated-wood-frame bicycle in order to conserve metal for the war effort.
Description
At the beginning of World War II, John T. Whalen, with Webster E. Janssen of the Janssen Piano Co., Inc., developed this laminated-wood-frame bicycle in order to conserve metal for the war effort. Wood subsequently proved to be more critical than metal, so the bicycle was not marketed. This bicycle weighs approximately 31 pounds. Its fork, saddle, handlebars, and elliptical frame are made of laminated wood, while the wheels are metal.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1942
maker
Janssen Piano Co., Inc.
ID Number
TR.313040
catalog number
313040
accession number
173992

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

Navigational Bell Buoy

Unlike car drivers on land, navigators at sea have no road signs to indicate speed limits, dangers, or routes. Navigational buoys are floating objects anchored to the bottom that serve as aids to navigation.
Description
Unlike car drivers on land, navigators at sea have no road signs to indicate speed limits, dangers, or routes. Navigational buoys are floating objects anchored to the bottom that serve as aids to navigation. Their distinctive shapes, colors, and other markings provide information indicating their purpose and how to navigate around them.
The placement and maintenance of navigational buoys are essential to shipping, since they often provide the only guidance for channel locations, shoals, reefs, and other hazards. If damaged by collisions, extinguished, or broken loose from their moorings, the Coast Guard will repair, replace, refuel, or relocate the failed buoy.
Designated an 8X20 LBR, this particular type of buoy was used by the U.S. Coast Guard Lighthouse Service on the East Coast from around 1930 until the early 1950s. It measures 8 feet in width and 20 feet high, and the letters mean Lighted, Bell, and Radar Reflector. It originally weighed ca. 15,600 pounds, including the 225-lb bell. The bottom of this example was removed to fit into the gallery.
It was designed to be deployed in shallow, protected coastal waters and could be seen about two miles away in daylight. The light on the top was powered by batteries stored under the round hatches in the large bottom compartment. The bell was rung by the rocking of the buoy in the waves.
ID Number
TR.336771
accession number
1978.2285
catalog number
336771

Railroad Cap Badge, Motorman, New York Elevated Railway

This badge was affixed to the uniform cap of a motorman who operated trolley cars on the of the Third Avenue System. The Third Avenue Railway System operated a number of surface railways in Manhattan, the Bronx and in Yonkers and New Rochelle, New York.
Description
This badge was affixed to the uniform cap of a motorman who operated trolley cars on the of the Third Avenue System. The Third Avenue Railway System operated a number of surface railways in Manhattan, the Bronx and in Yonkers and New Rochelle, New York. The badge is die stamped in the shape of an eight wheel trolley. The badge bears the the wearer's crew position and identification number. It was worn approximately between 1910 to 1920.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TR.335573
catalog number
335573
accession number
1979.0398

Plantation Locomotive, Olomana

The Olomana was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, for the Waimanolo Sugar Company of Oahu, then part of the Kindom of Hawaii. It was the third locomotive to arrive on the island and was originally named the Puaalii.
Description
The Olomana was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, for the Waimanolo Sugar Company of Oahu, then part of the Kindom of Hawaii. It was the third locomotive to arrive on the island and was originally named the Puaalii. This narrow gauge tank engine worked for 62 seasons, pulling cars of sugar cane from the fields to the processing plant located in northeastern Oahu. During this time few mechanical changes were made; however, the boiler was replaced twice and the fuel was changed from coal to oil in 1928.
During its service life the Olomana hauled or pushed small four wheel cars piled with sugar cane. The sticky juice from the cane lubricated the tracks so that extra sand was needed to improve the engine's traction. The Olomana and other two locomotives were outfitted with extra sand boxes during their service. Traction, not speed, was the Olomana's chief concern. She was designed for slow speed pulling, with 20 mph an optimum, and normal running speeds far below that pace.
The Olomana was retired in 1944 when the 'sugar railroad' was abandoned in favor of motor trucks. Four years later the engine was purchased by Gerald M. Best of California. Mr. Best and his wife, Harriet B. Best, restored the engine and operated it on a private railroad in Los Angeles area before presenting it to the Smithsonian in 1977.
Location
Currently on loan
Date made
1883
used date
1883-1944
user
Waimanalo Sugar Company
maker
Baldwin Locomotive Works
ID Number
TR.336162
accession number
1977.0647
catalog number
336162

Britain is Planning her Post-War Highways

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.0534
catalog number
2013.0327.0534
accession number
2013.0327

Leveling the Brazilian Strategic Highway

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940s
maker
Associated Press
ID Number
2013.0327.0778
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0778

Oceanic Cut Plug Tobacco Pouch

In 1852, Daniel Scotten began his career in Detroit's tobacco industry as an apprentice to cigar maker Isaac Miller. At that time, Detroit was known for its cigar and chewing tobacco production, producing 210 million cigars and 14 million pounds of chewing tobacco a year.
Description
In 1852, Daniel Scotten began his career in Detroit's tobacco industry as an apprentice to cigar maker Isaac Miller. At that time, Detroit was known for its cigar and chewing tobacco production, producing 210 million cigars and 14 million pounds of chewing tobacco a year. The tobacco companies were among the leading employers in Detroit, providing over 10,000 jobs (mainly for women). In 1856 with partner George Lovett, Scotten founded the Hiawatha Tobacco Company.
In the late1880s, Scotten moved to a bigger factory and renamed his company the Scotten-Dillon Company, to signify the addition of a corporate partner. The company mainly produced cigars, chewing, and flake tobacco. By the 1890s, Scotten-Dillon had 1200 employees and $4 million in annual sales. The Conwood Corporation would eventually acquire the company.
Of Scotten-Dillon's products, chewing tobacco was the most popular. Chewing tobacco is made by pressing cured tobacco leaves, usually in sweet molasses-based syrup, between two large tin sheets. The sheets are then cut into blocks or plugs. During the 1930s the standard plug size was 2 ¾" x 4 ½" and 1" thick. This plug sold for a nickel or a dime, depending on the quality of the tobacco. The consumer could either cut or bite the tobacco from the plug for consumption.
One of Scotten-Dillon's brands was Oceanic Cut Plug tobacco. This was a reference to the 1899 ship Oceanic, built for the White Star Line by Harland Wolff Ltd. Known as the "Queen of the Sea" and considered the most glorious ship of her time, the White Star Liner was built for around one million pounds silver. It was 700 ft. long with a 68 ft. beam, 17,274 tons and a maximum speed was twenty knots. The ship would have 15 years of service before being grounded 20 miles off Northern Scotland in the Shetland Islands on September 8, 1914 while serving in the Royal Navy as an armed merchant cruiser. Oceanic would remain there untouched until 1973, when salvaged.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s
maker
Scotten-Dillon Company
ID Number
2006.3072.01
nonaccession number
2006.3072

Electric powered vehicles in Russia

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1945
ID Number
2013.0327.0997
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0997

Test Run of Vista Dome Railcar

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1945
ID Number
2013.0327.0978
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0978

Harbor Model

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1940s
maker
Criterion Photocraft Co.
ID Number
2013.0327.0482
catalog number
2013.0327.0482
accession number
2013.0327

camel drawn wagon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940s
maker
Associated Press
ID Number
2013.0327.0788
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0788

Chicago's Michigan Boulevard

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.1053
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1053

San Francisco Bay Bridge

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.1048
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1048

Railroad Terminal

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.1043
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1043

Plane with controllable wing

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945-04-11
ID Number
2013.0327.0897
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0897

Triborough Bridges

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1940s
ID Number
2013.0327.0471
catalog number
2013.0327.0471
accession number
2013.0327

Model Transportation Terminal

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944
maker
Anonymous
ID Number
2013.0327.0896
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0896

Model of World War II Liberty Ship Benjamin Rush

This is a model of the World War II Liberty Ship, Benjamin Rush, built in 1941. It measured 441 feet 6 inches in length, 56 feet 10 inches in beam, and 10,920 tons.
Description
This is a model of the World War II Liberty Ship, Benjamin Rush, built in 1941. It measured 441 feet 6 inches in length, 56 feet 10 inches in beam, and 10,920 tons. It was delivered from the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore on July 11, 1942 and sailed from Norfolk, Virginia on its maiden voyage on August 2, 1942 to the United Kingdom. According to a letter from the War Shipping Administration dated June 4, 1945, it made nine successful voyages and completed a circumnavigation, having called at many ports carrying war materials, foodstuffs, etc. to Hull and Liverpool in England; Casablanca, Safi and Oran in Africa; Fremantle in Australia, Khorramshahr in Iran, and many others. It was scrapped in 1954.
Between 1941 and 1945, more than 2,700 Liberty ships were produced – ‘the cargo carrying key to victory.’ By the time the program ended in 1945, eighteen shipyards on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf participated in the effort. Two-thirds of all WW2 cargo that left the United States was transported in Liberty ships. Two hundred of the vessels were sunk, but there were so many at sea that the enemy could not stop Allied shipping.
This model was built by Boucher Models of New York after World War II and first appears in the collection of the Insurance Company of North America around 1950.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1946
maker
Boucher, Fred
ID Number
2005.0279.083
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.083

Staybolt Tap

Staybolt taps were used by boilermakers when installing or repairing the fireboxes of steam locomotives. Taps" are designed to cut threads into drilled holes, so that threaded bolts or threaded machine screws can be screwed in.
Description
Staybolt taps were used by boilermakers when installing or repairing the fireboxes of steam locomotives. Taps" are designed to cut threads into drilled holes, so that threaded bolts or threaded machine screws can be screwed in. The long tap was screwed into pre-drilled holes through the boiler's outer steel shell and into the steel firebox within the boiler. The tap cut threads into the hole in the outer boiler shell and also into a corresponding hole in the firebox. The tapped hole permitted a "staybolt" to be inserted and screwed into place; each staybolt held the boiler shell and the firebox firmly together."
This tool is part of a collection of hand tools used in the inspection and repair of steam locomotives in Salisbury, North Carolina from the early- to the mid-20th century, roughly 1900-1955. Light repairs on steam locomotives were usually done in roundhouses at the many small locomotive terminals
Date made
1940s
date made
ca. 1940s
maker
unknown
ID Number
2002.0075.02
catalog number
2002.0075.02
accession number
2002.0075

Model of the C-2 Cargo Ship Challenge

C-2 cargo vessels were designed by the United States Maritime Commission between 1937 and 1938. They were all-purpose cargo ships with five holds. From 1940-1945, 173 were built; launched on June 20, 1939 Challenge was among the first completed.
Description
C-2 cargo vessels were designed by the United States Maritime Commission between 1937 and 1938. They were all-purpose cargo ships with five holds. From 1940-1945, 173 were built; launched on June 20, 1939 Challenge was among the first completed. It measured 459 feet in length, 63 feet in beam, and 9,788 tons. It was built by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock in Kearny, New Jersey and was acquired by the Navy on October 23, 1940. Six days later the ship was renamed Castor.
On March 12, 1941 Castor was commissioned and put under the command of F. Johnson. That year, the it began a series of voyages from the West Coast to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It arrived in Pearl Harbor just three days before the December 7, 1941 attack, but suffered only limited damage and no casualties. It continued making trips to Pearl Harbor until February 1942, when it started to support operations in the South Pacific with trips from San Francisco to New Caledonia, the New Hebrides, the Fijis, and New Zealand. After a brief overhaul in Seattle, the vessel began to operate from Manus and Ulithi in September 1944, replenishing the fast carrier task force at sea and helping to expedite raids pushing the Japanese westward. From December 1945 to February 1947, Castor supplied occupation forces in the Far East including Guam, Saipan, Tsingtao, Hong Kong, and Japanese ports. It was decommissioned and placed on reserve in San Francisco in 1947.
With the beginning of the Korean War Castor was recommissioned on November 24, 1950. It operated from Sasebo supplying ships in the harbors of Inchan and Pusan, Korea as well as replenishing TF 77 ships at sea. On March 18, 1952 its engines suffered severe damage and was dead in the water for 22 hours before it was towed to Japan for emergency repairs. In September 1952 the ship returned to Yokosuka. There it supported the operations of the 7th fleet which was to keep the Taiwan Patrol Force at sea.
Castor received three battle stars for World War II service and two of Korean War service.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1946
maker
Boucher, Fred
ID Number
2005.0279.080
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.080

Ship Model of the Whaling Barque Mary Frazier

Mary Frazier was a three-masted whaling bark built in 1832 in Newbury, MA. It measured 108 feet 10 inches in length, 24 feet 1 inch in beam, 12 feet 1 inch in depth of hold, and 288 tons. It was originally a cargo vessel, with multiple owners. In 1842 its captain was James L.
Description
Mary Frazier was a three-masted whaling bark built in 1832 in Newbury, MA. It measured 108 feet 10 inches in length, 24 feet 1 inch in beam, 12 feet 1 inch in depth of hold, and 288 tons. It was originally a cargo vessel, with multiple owners. In 1842 its captain was James L. Smith; George Hagery took over as captain in 1849. The Frazier was registered in New Bedford, MA, a center for American whaling. In 1889, Mary Frazier was abandoned at sea in the Dutch East Indies after an unusually long career for a ship of 67 years. This model appears to be sailor-made, which indicates a lower overall quality but with detailed rigging. There is elaborate rigging and lines but no sails, and the model is not highly finished.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1945
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0279.074
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.074

Crowfoot Wrench

Called a "crowfoot" wrench because of its shape, this wrench was used in steam train repair work and to reach and to hold nuts and boltheads in difficult-to-reach places.This tool is part of a collection of hand tools used in the inspection and repair of steam locomotives in the
Description
Called a "crowfoot" wrench because of its shape, this wrench was used in steam train repair work and to reach and to hold nuts and boltheads in difficult-to-reach places.
This tool is part of a collection of hand tools used in the inspection and repair of steam locomotives in the early- to the mid-20th century, roughly 1900-1955. Light repairs on steam locomotives were usually done in roundhouses at the many small locomotive terminals throughout a railroad's system; heavy repairs were done in a large, centralized repair shop serving the whole system (often referred to as the "Back Shop").
Date made
1940s
date made
ca. 1940s
used date
1880s-Present
maker
unknown
ID Number
2002.0075.13
catalog number
2002.0075.13
accession number
2002.0075

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