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.

Resource Type: Ships

Model of the Cargo Ship Del Norte

After WW2, the United States Maritime Commission, in cooperation with the Delta Line, arranged for the redesign of the wartime C-3 cargo ships by naval architect George Sharp.
Description
After WW2, the United States Maritime Commission, in cooperation with the Delta Line, arranged for the redesign of the wartime C-3 cargo ships by naval architect George Sharp. The Delta Line used the three resulting “Del-series” ships to reestablish postwar trade with South America. Del Norte and its sister ships Del Sud and Del Mar were all built in the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, which had built several C-3 vessels between 1940 and 1947. Del Norte was the first of the three sister ships to be completed and the first to leave the shipyard on November 26, 1946.
Del Norte measured 995 feet in length, 70 feet in beam, and 10,074 tons. It was equipped with new features not previously seen on other, similar vessels, like air conditioning for the passenger, officer and crew accommodations. It also was fitted with postwar radar. For twenty years, Del Norte sailed mainly between the United States, the Caribbean, and South America. In 1967, the Delta Line discontinued its passenger service because of financial difficulty, and the three sister ships were converted to express cargo liners. In 1972, Del Norte was chartered for a one-way trip to Indonesia. One source indicates that it was broken up for scrap after this; another implies that the ship merely disappeared from the record after completing the voyage.
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
ca 1946
maker
Boucher, Fred
ID Number
2005.0279.085
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.085

Ship Model of an American Two-Masted Brig

Donated by the CIGNA Corporation of Philadelphia, PA, this model is of an unknown but fully rigged 19th century American two-masted brig. Adapted from the British brigantine, American brigs were built as early as the 18th century and used frequently by the U.S. Navy.
Description
Donated by the CIGNA Corporation of Philadelphia, PA, this model is of an unknown but fully rigged 19th century American two-masted brig. Adapted from the British brigantine, American brigs were built as early as the 18th century and used frequently by the U.S. Navy. Brigs were extremely efficient and economical and were also used by coastal sea traders and in the West Indies trade.
This particular model was commissioned around 1924 by Captain Frederick Williamson of Snug Harbor, which was a rest home for retired sailors in New York. It was ordered at the same time as 2005.0279.069.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1924
maker
Williamson, Frederick
ID Number
2005.0279.072
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.072

Model of a Chinese Junk

Made of silver, this decorative model of a three-masted Chinese war junk with square sails, square bow and raised square stern is decorated with three round masks on each side. The deck is fitted with seven cannon, a scored rectangular cabin, three crew figures, and an anchor.
Description
Made of silver, this decorative model of a three-masted Chinese war junk with square sails, square bow and raised square stern is decorated with three round masks on each side. The deck is fitted with seven cannon, a scored rectangular cabin, three crew figures, and an anchor. Four pennants are at the stern, and a pennant flies from each mast. The model is mounted on a carved and scrolled ebony stand and enclosed in a glass top case.
V.I.G. Petersen, who acquired this model, served as an agent for the Insurance Company of North America (INA) in China during the WW2 Japanese invasion. For an account of his successful preservation of INA records and escape from the advancing Japanese troops, see William Carr, Perils Named and Unnamed, 1967, p. 183-200.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca early 20th century
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0279.088
catalog number
2005.0279.088
accession number
2005.0279

Ship Model of a French Barque

Made ca. 1890, this model is of an unidentified four-masted barque. It has a solid oak hull and scored deck to simulate planking.
Description
Made ca. 1890, this model is of an unidentified four-masted barque. It has a solid oak hull and scored deck to simulate planking. The model is fully rigged, but without sails, and has a galleried stern and bow.
The barque (or bark) is a sailing ship with at least three masts, of which all but the one at the stern is rigged with square sails. The sail at the stern is rigged fore and aft, for handling purposes. In the later 19th century, the bark grew as large as 3,000 tons capacity, mainly for the bulk cargo trade (grains, coal, fertilizers). The biggest sailing ship ever built was the 1911 bark France II of 5,806 tons. Today, the few remaining examples of the type are museum or sail training ships.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0279.073
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.073

Model of Sloop of War USSJamestown

The USS Jamestown was built in 1844/45 at Gosport Navy Yard, Virginia. It measured 157 feet 6 inches in length, 35 feet in width, and 16 feet 2 inches in depth of hold.
Description
The USS Jamestown was built in 1844/45 at Gosport Navy Yard, Virginia. It measured 157 feet 6 inches in length, 35 feet in width, and 16 feet 2 inches in depth of hold. One of the last sloops built for the old sailing navy, it was the largest of a class of 7 and carried four 8-inch Paxihan Shell guns and eighteen 32-pounders. Its first cruise was to the coast of Africa, where it served as flagship for Commodore Charles Skinner in the suppression of the slave trade. In 1847 she and Macedonian delivered food to Ireland to help ease the hunger caused by the potato blight. During the Civil War, Jamestown was assigned to the Atlantic Blockading Squadron. It captured several ships during her service there. It cruised various other places including South America, Hawaii, Alaska, and France. It was transferred to the Treasury Department, and used as a quarantine ship, it was destroyed by a fire in Norfolk Navy Yard in 1913.
The rigged model is plank-on-frame and open below the water line. It has open and exposed deck and hull framing as well as planked sides, with contrasting light and dark planks on raised niches at bow and stern. there is a carved eagle at the stern.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1844
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0279.087
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.087

Ship Model of the British Warship HMS Centurion

Built in 1732, H.M.S. Centurion was a British 60-gun fourth rate ship-of-the-line—the fourth largest class of warship in the Royal Navy. It measured 144 feet in length, 40 feet 10 inches in beam, and 1,005 tons.
Description
Built in 1732, H.M.S. Centurion was a British 60-gun fourth rate ship-of-the-line—the fourth largest class of warship in the Royal Navy. It measured 144 feet in length, 40 feet 10 inches in beam, and 1,005 tons. Over the course of an extremely long and active 37-year career, Centurion contributed to the trials of the world’s first chronometer in 1736 and served as flagship for Captain George Anson’s circumnavigation (1740-44), after which it was rebuilt. In company with H.M.S. Norwich, Centurion escorted troops to America in 1754 to help the colonies with the uprising of Native Americans working with the French. The ship was broken up in Chatham, Great Britain, in 1769.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1840
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0279.076
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.076

Model of a Sampan

The model is of a sampan, a small trading vessel used along rivers and coastal areas in China. They are usually rigged for sailing, though some are propelled by oars. The model has a squared bow and a raised squared stern. It is made of teak and has a gold painted boot topping.
Description
The model is of a sampan, a small trading vessel used along rivers and coastal areas in China. They are usually rigged for sailing, though some are propelled by oars. The model has a squared bow and a raised squared stern. It is made of teak and has a gold painted boot topping. The keel and rudder are pierced by diamond shaped motifs. A single canvas sail is raised on a chamfered mast above an open hold with three transverse ladders across the opening. The model is fitted with two oars, four covered boxes and two anchors attached with chains to crank mechanisms on the bow. A brass plate attached below the mast is marked "made by/A. King/Hong Kong."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
maker
King, A.
ID Number
2005.0279.096
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.096

Ship Model United States Victory

United States Victory was constructed in 1944 for wartime cargo service at the California Shipbuilding Corporation, which was created specifically for the WWII shipbuilding effort. It measured 455 feet 3 inches in length, 62 feet in beam, and 10, 757 tons.
Description
United States Victory was constructed in 1944 for wartime cargo service at the California Shipbuilding Corporation, which was created specifically for the WWII shipbuilding effort. It measured 455 feet 3 inches in length, 62 feet in beam, and 10, 757 tons. United States Victory was used as a troopship during the war and in 1945/46 it exchanged prisoners, taking German POWS to Le Havre, France, picking up American troops in Bremerhaven, Germany and returning them to the United States. In 1947 the ship was sold into private ownership. It was scrapped in 1971.
The WW2 Victory ship was built to carry more cargo and operate faster than the earlier Liberty Ship. The first Victory was delivered in February 1944; by November that year, 82 of them were commissioned. After Pearl Harbor, many Victory ships were converted to transport vessels, and they saw heavy service in the Pacific. Liberty ships were designed for fast mass construction to meet the demand for the cargo space necessary to supply allied forces abroad. They were manned by merchant marine crews and also carried naval gun crews. After the war, some of the ships were scrapped, but many others were sold as surplus property and used to transport products around the world.
This model was built by the Boucher Model Company of New York in 1946 and acquired by the Insurance Company of North America by 1950.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1946
maker
Boucher, Fred
ID Number
2005.0279.090
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.090

Ship Model of Thomas Dana

The merchant ship Thomas Dana was built at Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1876—the 86th vessel constructed by shipbuilder John Currier, Jr. It measured 203 feet 5 inches in length, 38 feet 5 inches in beam, 24 feet 2 inches in depth of hold, and 1,445 tons.
Description
The merchant ship Thomas Dana was built at Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1876—the 86th vessel constructed by shipbuilder John Currier, Jr. It measured 203 feet 5 inches in length, 38 feet 5 inches in beam, 24 feet 2 inches in depth of hold, and 1,445 tons. According to Lloyd’s Register, the Thomas Dana was owned by Thayer & Lincoln, a Boston firm of merchants, ship owners, and operators; however, another source indicates that it was owned by W.H. Lincoln & Company. The ship traded throughout the Atlantic Ocean, with frequent stops in Liverpool, Great Britain. On 30 October 1883, the Dana was en route from Liverpool to the Azores when it collided with and sank the French brig Rocaley. The French vessel was transporting 102 fish salters from Newfoundland back home to France after the fishing season ended. The Dana managed to rescue 21 men and remained in the area for 4-1/2 hours, but was unable to find any more survivors. Captain C.C. Sisson of the Dana believed that the lost crew probably were asleep belowdecks when the ship sank. The Dana disappeared from the registry in 1895.
This rigged model was attributed to Captain Fredrick Williamson. Captain Williamson lived at Snug Harbor, a sailor’s rest home in New York, and in the 1920s he crafted ship models for the Insurance Company of North America, among other clients.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Williamson, Frederick
ID Number
2005.0279.075
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.075

Rigged Model, Privateer Prince de Neufchatel

The privateer schooner Prince de Neufchatel was built by Adam and Noah Brown at New York in 1813. It measured 117 feet long and 320 tons.
Description
The privateer schooner Prince de Neufchatel was built by Adam and Noah Brown at New York in 1813. It measured 117 feet long and 320 tons. With a recorded speed of 13½ knots and a crew of 129 men, and armed with 18 cannon, it was one of the swiftest and most successful privateers of the War of 1812.
The Prince was initially owned by Mme. Flory Charreton, a French widow who moved to New York and became an American citizen sometime before 1812. It was sailed to France under Capt. J. Ordronaux and fitted out as an armed privateer at Cherbourg. In March 1814, it captured nine British prize vessels in the English Channel.
In June 1814, the Prince took six more prizes in just six days. That summer, the Prince evaded no fewer than 17 British warships that chased and tried to capture the swift American privateer. In October 1814, it survived a battle off New England with a much larger British frigate. Two months later, a squadron of three British frigates finally captured the Prince and promptly sailed it back to London to have shipwrights copy the lines of the speedy vessel at Deptford Dockyard. The Royal Navy planned to purchase the American vessel, but it was badly damaged coming out of the dry dock and sold as a wreck.
The original October 1814 articles of agreement that accompany this model list it as a brig, which is a two-masted vessel with both masts rigged with square sails. However, ship captains had the authority to rig their vessels as they pleased, and this model portrays the Prince as a hermaphrodite brig. This was a rare and short-lived rig from the early 19th century, and modern scholars disagree on its exact layout. The foremast is rigged with square sails, and the main sail on the mainmast is fore-and-aft rigged, but the upper sails on the mainmast can be rigged differently.
The lines of the Prince de Neufchatel were redrawn by the Smithsonian’s Howard I. Chapelle from the original line drawings by the British Admiralty. They are available from the ship plans collection at the National Museum of American History (americanhistory.si.edu/csr/shipplan.htm).
Date made
1965
associated date
1813
ID Number
AF.59447-N
accession number
266053
catalog number
59447-N
59447N

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