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 117 items.
Page 1 of 12
Patent Model, Life Boat
- Description
- Many 19th-century inventors turned their attention to life boats, a large number of them focusing their efforts on simplicity of construction, ease of launching, and imperviousness to sinking. By contrast, two Bavarian immigrants living in New York City—George Tremberger, carpenter, and Michael Stein, patterns machinist—focused on the “comfort, convenience, and safety of the passengers.” Their main innovation was to design the boat as a cylinder in which the cabin rolled independently from the overall motion of the boat. A geared wheel inside allowed the crew to adjust the cabin’s tilt by hand or to lock it in place. The inventors also fitted a telescoping mast, hand-lever-operated propeller, and external rubber bumpers for increased buoyancy.
- This is a cutaway model of Tremberger and Stein’s idea. It shows seats and benches running lengthwise in the interior of the cabin. A wheel inside turns a gear that keeps the inner cabin from rolling as the outer hull rolls in the sea. Four hatches on deck slide open for access. The telescoping mast with sail can be operated from inside, while two interior levers activate the propeller. There is also a steering wheel forward connected by a line to the rudder.
- Date made
- 1879
- patent date
- 1879-01-28
- patentee
- Tremberger, George
- Stein, Michael Joseph
- inventor
- Tremberger, George
- Stein, Michael Joseph
- ID Number
- 1978.2282.06
- catalog number
- 1978.2282.06
- accession number
- 1978.2282
- patent number
- 211,807
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Moby Dick, or The Whale
- Description
- In early 1841 at the age of 21, Herman Melville shipped out on a voyage to the Pacific Ocean aboard the Massachusetts whaler Acushnet, which he deserted in the Marquesa Islands after only 18 months. He then served briefly on the Australian whaler Lucy Ann; the Nantucket whaler Charles & Henry, and in the US Navy. His whaleship experience supplied the background for his sixth and most famous novel, Moby-Dick, or the Whale, published in 1851. The first American edition of Moby-Dick of 2,915 copies did not sell well at $1.50 and only netted Melville lifetime earnings of $556.37.
- Although he continued to write poetry and fiction, Melville supported himself as a New York City customs inspector for 19 years before dying in 1891 at the age of 72. It was not until the 1920s that Melville achieved recognition as one of the icons of American literature. This 1930 edition of Moby Dick, published by Random House and illustrated by Rockwell Kent, introduced Melville to thousands of Americans.
- Date made
- 1930
- author
- Melville, Herman
- illustrator
- Kent, Rockwell
- publisher
- Random House, Inc.
- ID Number
- 2007.0071.1
- catalog number
- 2007.0071.1
- accession number
- 2007.0071
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Half Hull Model of Clipper Ship Young America
- Description
- This is the original builder’s half hull model of the famous ship Young America, constructed by the renowned shipbuilder William Webb in 1852/53 at his New York shipyard. Measuring 243 feet long on deck and 1,961 tons, the Young America was an extreme clipper, characterized by a sharp bow and long, narrow hull. Constructed lightly for speed and commonly sailing the harsh waters of Cape Horn off the southern tip of South America with crews of up to 100 men, clippers often lasted only about ten years before being sold to foreign owners.
- Costing $140,000 to build, the Young America set a number of speed records. It sailed from New York to San Francisco 20 times, averaging 118 days per trip. Its reputation for strength and speed earned high freight rates—its maiden voyage from New York to San Francisco earned $86,400. The clipper traded mainly between Liverpool, New York and San Francisco, but also sailed to China, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, the Philippines, Mauritius and other countries. After a very long and profitable 30-year career, the Young America was sold to Austrian owners in 1883 and renamed the Miroslav. In February 1886, the ship cleared Delaware for a trading voyage and was never seen again.
- Half hull models were the first step in the construction of a ship. They were carved out of horizontal strips of wood known as lifts, and only one side was needed since ships are symmetrical. After a model was approved, its lines were taken (measured) and it was disassembled. Then the lines were lofted, or drawn at full scale on the floor. The actual ship’s frames were cut to fit the lines on the floor and then set in place along the keel during the construction process. Sometimes the models were discarded or even burned as firewood after use, but many original examples are preserved today.
- Date made
- 1853
- sold and renamed
- 1883
- ship disappeared after setting sail from Delaware
- 1886
- maker
- Webb, William H.
- ID Number
- TR*160135
- catalog number
- 160135
- accession number
- 15059
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Patent Model, Method of Building Wood Boats
- Description
- The inventor Joseph Francis (1801-93) was best known for developing corrugated-iron lifesaving boats. This 1841 patent model reveals his ideas about a new method for constructing boats made of wood.
- Trade and communication in 1840s America relied heavily on waterborne transportation, and boat building was an important related industry. With this invention, Joseph Francis sought to reduce the cost of constructing boats by simplifying the process. He proposed setting up a reusable frame over which very narrow planks would be bent to form the hull. The planks would be fastened together by bolts or nails driven through their edges, and no complicated joinery was to be done where the curves of the hull converged at bow and stern. “Ordinary workmen and machinery” could build this simple boat, he wrote. It would save on material, as none of the planks would overlap, and it would not require caulking, “as the narrow planking is drawn so closely together by the . . . nails . . . .” Finally, Francis claimed that the boat’s metal fasteners, buried between the planks, would not be likely to corrode and loosen the structure. Francis may have used this technique in his own boat works, but it was otherwise ignored by the nation’s many skilled boat builders.
- date made
- 1841
- patent date
- 1841-10-11
- patentee
- Francis, Joseph
- inventor
- Francis, Joseph
- ID Number
- TR*308538
- accession number
- 89797
- catalog number
- 308538
- patent number
- 2,293
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Patent Model, Life Boat
- Description
- In 1845, Joseph Francis patented the use of stamped corrugated metal to make boats. Through collaboration with the Novelty Iron Works in New York, he began to manufacture lifeboats, military cutters, and coastal rescue craft, along with other marine safety gear. His sturdy products proved popular, and he sold many to commercial steamship operators, life-saving stations, and the United States Navy. By 1853, strong sales warranted the construction of a dedicated factory at Green Point, New York, where each hydraulic press could turn out parts for 40 boats a day. Francis continually experimented with new designs for his stamping process, and this patent model reflects changes to the shape of his boats’ corrugations that he developed in the late 1850s.
- Joseph Francis (1801-93) is best known today for designing an enclosed rescue craft called a life-car, which was extensively used in coastal life-saving stations in the second half of the 19th century. The first life-car he made was used to spectacular effect in the rescue of all but one of the passengers and crew of the immigrant vessel Ayrshire, which ran aground on the New Jersey shore in a storm in January 1850. The Smithsonian preserves that life-car in addition to numerous models and ephemera documenting Joseph Francis’s work.
- Date made
- 1858
- patent date
- 1858-03-23
- patentee
- Francis, Joseph
- manufacturer
- Novelty Iron Works
- inventor
- Francis, Joseph
- ID Number
- TR*308546
- catalog number
- 308546
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 19,693
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Rigged Model, Steamship George Law (Central America)
- Description
- The ocean steamer George Law was built in 1852/53 at New York, NY by William H. Webb for the United States Mail Steamship Company. Named after the company president, the Law measured 278 ft. long and 2,141 tons. It was built to sail the New York-Panama route for the California gold rush; on its return maiden voyage from Panama, it brought 465 passengers and $872,831 in gold to New York. Over more than 40 bi-monthly trips, the Law averaged slightly less than nine days per leg. In 1857, the ship went aground and returned to the Webb yard for a major overhaul.
- The Law’s name was changed to the Central America during the rebuilding, possibly to reflect its most common route and because George Law had sold his interest in the company. On the vessel’s second trip under the new name, it cleared Havana, Cuba for New York on 8 September 1857. Two days later, during a gale south of South Carolina, a bad leak was discovered and the main boilers had to be shut down. On the 12th, some passengers were rescued by passing ships, but the Central America sank that night with 425 passengers and $2,189,000 in gold bullion from the San Francisco Mint. The loss helped fuel the Panic of 1857, which sent the nation into an economic recession that lasted into the Civil War.
- In 1987 the wreck of the Central America was discovered in more than 8,000 feet of water depth, and treasure salvors recovered much of the gold bullion and coinage.
- date made
- 1961
- ship built
- 1852-1853
- ship sank
- 1857-09-12
- wreck discovered by treasure salvors
- 1987
- owned ship
- New York and Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company
- designer
- Webb, William H.
- maker
- Webb, William H.
- Boucher-Lewis Precision Models, Inc.
- ID Number
- TR*318465
- catalog number
- 318465
- accession number
- 236170
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Rigged Model, Auxiliary Steamship Savannah
- Description
- The steamer Savannah holds pride of place in American history as the first steamboat to cross the Atlantic. Measuring 98’-6” and 320 tons, the little two-decker began as a sailing vessel at a New York shipyard. Local ship captain Moses Rogers and his partner William Scarbrough of Savannah, Ga. formed a Savannah-based steamship line, and Rogers had the shipyard convert the vessel to a 75-hp auxiliary steamer for a total cost of $66,000. It was luxuriously appointed, with 32 berths in 16 cabins, full-length mirrors, mahogany-lined public areas, and other amenities.
- On May 22, 1819 the Savannah cleared Savannah, Ga. under steam for Liverpool. It carried 25 cords of wood and 1,500 bushels of coal for fuel, but neither a single passenger nor any cargo. No one—not even the owners—trusted the new technology enough on the open ocean to invest their own money. On the 29-day passage to Liverpool, the Savannah operated its engines for about 100 hours, or 16% of the time. The rest was spent under sail.
- The failure to secure any paying cargo or passengers altered the company’s plans for transatlantic service. The steamer left Liverpool for Stockholm, Sweden on July 23, 1819, again unladen. Under steam 28% of the passage to Sweden, the Savannah became the first steamboat in the Baltic on August 13. Capt. Rogers declined an offer for the ship from Swedish King Charles XIV for $100,000 in hemp and iron, as well as an offer from Russian Tsar Alexander for an exclusive monopoly on steam navigation in the Black and Baltic Seas.
- The Savannah returned to Savannah in November 1819 and almost immediately sailed for Washington, DC. After two months in Washington, Rogers had failed to interest the U.S. Navy in his vessel, and it was sold to Capt. Nathan Holdridge of New York. He promptly removed the engine and began packet service between New York and Savannah. On its first voyage in October 1820, the Savannah sailed with 24 passengers and a full cargo hold. Ironically, four of its prior owners consigned cargo aboard the ill-fated vessel, now that it was an old-fashioned sailing ship. After a successful year as a packet, the Savannah wrecked at Fire Island, NY on November 5, 1821.
- In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated May 22 as National Maritime Day, in honor of the day that the Savannah hoisted anchor on its inaugural transatlantic passage. The Smithsonian has Savannah’s original logbook detailing that pioneering voyage.
- Date made
- 1961
- cleared Savannah, Georgia
- 1819-05-22
- sailed from Liverpool to Stockholm
- 1819-07-23
- sailed in the Baltic
- 1919-08-13
- returned to Savannah
- 1819-11
- sailed from New York to Savannah
- 1820-10
- wrecked at Fire Island
- 1821-11-05
- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt named May 22 as National Maritime Day in honor of the Savannah
- 1933-05-22
- ship captain and owner
- Rogers, Moses
- owner
- Scarbrough, William
- ship captain
- Holdridge, Nathan
- designated 05-22 as National Maritime Day in honor of the Savannah
- Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
- ID Number
- TR*319026
- catalog number
- 319026
- accession number
- 236167
- 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
Patent Model, Life Raft
- Description
- This model represents a raft made up of four rows of watertight sheet-metal cylinders enclosed by two wood decks and fastened together with metal bolts. It was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office in 1874 by George Clark, of Ecorse, Michigan, to accompany his design for an improved life raft.
- A contemporary compiler of accidents noted 1,167 marine accidents on the Great Lakes for the year 1871 alone. “Of this number, 225 were caused by collisions,” he clarified, “280 vessels went ashore, 81 were burned, 26 capsized, 19 foundered, 182 sprung a leak, 65 waterlogged, 60 were dismasted, 110 lost deck-loads, and 10 exploded their boilers.” In the context of these harsh statistics, some inventors looked for ways to prevent accidents, while others sought ways to preserve life after the accident had occurred. George Clark was aiming for the second goal with this raft. He wrote, “The nature of this invention . . . has for its object the preservation of life in case of disaster at sea, by making the raft very buoyant, thoroughly protecting the float-cylinders, so they will not be injured under any ordinary circumstances, and furnishing a much more durable, a lighter, and more easily handled raft than those heretofore in use for this purpose.”
- Clark envisioned these rafts carried on the hurricane decks of steamers, where they would be easily accessible in a disaster. The materials and construction made for a fairly lightweight raft, which could be thrown into the water “by one or two persons of ordinary strength, thus avoiding the delay and uncertainty of working falls and cranes in launching boats.” Because both sides of the raft were the same, it didn’t matter how it was tossed into the water. Clark acknowledged that cylindrical floats were already in use for other life rafts, but they tended to be much longer, extending the raft’s entire length or breadth. Under heavy conditions at sea, these long floats could have worked loose and destroyed the raft. Clark claimed that his use of shorter cylinders, arranged in courses and enclosed by the wooden decks, were less likely to cause such an accident, while providing the raft with greater flexibility.
- Date made
- 1874
- patent date
- 1874-01-13
- patentee
- Clark, George
- inventor
- Clark, George
- ID Number
- TR*325945
- catalog number
- 325945
- accession number
- 249602
- patent number
- 146,316
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Patent Model, Life Boat
- Description
- Although Joseph Francis is the best-known inventor of lifesaving boats in the 19th century, other people from diverse walks of life developed their own ideas for improving safety at sea. Among these were two fishermen from Peaks Island near Portland, Maine, Alpheus G. and Abram T. Sterling, who patented their design for lifeboat improvements in 1874.
- In the Sterlings’ design, the hold below the boat’s watertight deck was fitted with a rubber “air reservoir,” which conformed to the shape of the boat. A series of “apertures,” or openings, in the hull allowed water into the space around the air-filled chamber. This water-ballast helped the boat resist capsizing while air sealed inside rubber fenders and in a second interior chamber preserved the vessel’s buoyancy. The rubber air-filled reservoir was also meant to prevent the boat’s sinking if it hit an obstruction.
- Date made
- 1874
- patent date
- 1874-12-12
- 1874-04-21
- patentee
- Sterling, Alpheus G.
- Sterling, Abram T.
- inventor
- Sterling, Alpheus G.
- Sterling, Abram T.
- ID Number
- TR*325947
- accession number
- 249602
- catalog number
- 325947
- patent number
- 149,891
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center