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Too Much Fun: 1905
... disastrous 1903 fire. (The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 1:49pm -

New York circa 1905. "Dreamland Park at Coney Island." Among the amusements to be sampled: An observation tower, the Bostock trained animal show, a Baltimore Fire cyclorama, the General Bumps ride, a miniature railway, Will Conklin's Illusions, the Temple of Mirth and Hooligan's Dream. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Oil burnersThese were oil burning steam locomotives. The Miniature Railroad was built by the Cagney Brothers in 1904 to replace an earlier version that was lost in a November, 1903 fire. It made a circuit of the park running underneath the promenade. The locomotives, which could pull three of the two-passenger cars, were built by the Cagney Brothers' Miniature Railway Company in New York. Their ad below is from the February 7, 1903 issue of The Billboard. An earlier Shorpy post with a closeup of one of the locomotives has more information here, and a 1903 Edison silent movie of Coney Island before the fire (found here) shows the train emerging out from under the promenade at the 7:44 minute mark. You Can't Miss MeI'll be the one wearing a mustache a hat and a dark suit. The cops must have had an awful time with witness descriptions of the perps back then. Where to look first?There are so many wonderful aspects to this picture, I hardly know what to take in first. I love the "Temple of Mirth" (Can you imagine "mirth" being used on a ride today? How many folks even know what it means anymore?) I also love the "Hooligan's Dream" (but ditto on the meaning being mostly lost on 21st century folk). What REALLY intrigues me however, is what the people in the forefront are looking at instead of the elephants right behind them, which I would be fascinated by. Surely elephants weren't a commonplace sight. [Happy Hooligan, whose image is in the circle on the sign, was an extremely popular comic strip character of the time. - tterrace] Soon to be gone - againDreamland was rebuilt in early 1904 after a disastrous fire destroyed it in November, 1903. Six years after this picture was taken this scene was again destroyed by fire. It made news even in far away Australia where, two days later, the tragedy was reported by The Argus newspaper. FIRE AT CONEY ISLAND. AMUSEMENT PALACE DESTROYED. DAMAGE 3,000,000 DOLLARS. NEW YORK, May 27. A destructive fire occurred yesterday at Dreamland, one of the great amusement resorts at Coney Island, New York. The damage is estimated at 3,000,000 dol. The menagerie was destroyed, 50 wild animals being cremated. The adjoining place of entertainment, Luna park, was saved. [Dreamland and Luna Park practically constitute Coney Island, which is the greatest resort of its kind in the world. The resources of inventors are taxed to provide new thrills, with the result that each season finds some ingenious novelty installed for the New York clerk and shop-girl. Dreamland contains dozens of forms of entertainment. The visitor may travel by captive airship, or glide at fearful speed down the chute, through a cascade of real water. He may "loop the loop" in a car, or travel in a small chariot over an undulating sea of metal, the waves of which are caused by machinery below. The "Rocky Road to Dublin, " a fearful switchback apparatus, and "General Bumps," involving a hazardous slide down a polished wooden surface, are among the joys of the place; while those who desire to visit other lands may take a trip to the North Pole or the wilds of Central Africa with equal ease and cheapness.] A more complete newspaper story with pictures of the aftermath can be found here, and a few more pictures can be seen here and here. The steam locomotivehas been hooked up to some pretty fancy oversized cars, and can you believe observing HYENAS for 25 cents, forget lions and panthers, they've got HYENAS ! Bostock's Wild Animal Exhibition Broadway Magazine, April 1905. Although Coney Island has improved greatly in the character of its shows within the last few years, the same atmosphere of careless holiday-making prevails, and you always have a feeling of jolly irresponsibility as you go from one place of amusement to another. Bostock's wild animal exhibition in “Dreamland,” is again a prominent feature of the summer. The animals are interesting, whether in their dens or in the arena, while the trainers who put the savage creatures through performances in the large steel cage are as impressive as ever. There was one act I saw at Bostock's lately which struck me as particularly good. A young lady in short skirts, who was announced as “La Belle Selika,” skipped into the cage with seven—I think it was seven—lionesses. She made them get up, reluctantly, upon pedestals in different parts of the cage. Then, as the orchestra struck up the music of the “Pretty Maidens,” in “Florodora,” she danced, teasing the animals by pointing her slippers at them one after another, and retreating just far enough to escape the angry paws darted at her each time. They seemed eager to tear her to pieces. She pirouetted about the creatures, always close to them, but just far enough away to avoid being clawed, until at last she struck an attitude immediately in front of the most savage of her pets and smiled in response to the applause, while the lioness growled. It was decidedly the prettiest act I ever saw in connection with trained wild animals, and it looked fearfully dangerous, whether it was so actually or not Live Steam?I would assume that that little locomotive was actually a steam powered kerosene burner... does anyone know? UPDATE: The kerosene assumption was (wrongly) made because I couldn't imagine firing a firebox that small with coal to maintain a working head of steam - Ausonius. Pigmy Locomotive While the Cagney Bros. operated many miniature railway concessions, the actual builder of this engine was the McGarigle Machine Co, of Niagara Falls, NY. Tobbacconist, is there something in the photo that indicates oil as the fuel source? The following article states the originals were built with a 10 inch firebox burning anthracite. I think this engine is coal fired. In 1905, coal was still a widely available and familiar fuel. Also, the trousers on the engineer appear rather well coated in coal dust. [Additional information and photos.] The Railway Age, July 1, 1898. A Pigmy Locomotive. What is claimed to be the smallest locomotive ever made for drawing passenger cars has been made for the Miniature Railroad company by Thomas E. McGarigle of Niagara Falls. This steam railroad is to be operated at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, Neb., and, in all, six locomotives are to be built for the company under the present contract. It is possible they will be used at other resorts, such as Coney Island, Atlantic City, Deal Beach, Washington Heights and Niagara Falls. … The height of the locomotive from the top of the stack to the rail is 25 inches, and the gauge is 12½ inches. The cylinders are 2x4 inches. The boiler is 1½ horse power, made of steel, and is tested to 300 pounds pressure, and will hold 24 gallons of water. … The firebox is 10 by 10 inches. The weight of this little engine is about 600 pounds, and it will run on a rail three-quarters of an inch square. Hard coal will be used as fuel. The capacity of the locomotive is 10 cars, each containing two persons, or about 4,000 pounds. The locomotive is equipped with sandbox, bell, etc., and has a steam brake between the drivers. One man, whose position will be on a seat in the tender, operates the engine. The scale on which the locomotive was built is about one-seventh that of one of the New York Central's largest engines, and as it stands in the shop it has a very businesslike appearance, as shown by the illustration. Live Steam Model FuelsThere`s no guarantee or requirement that this locomotive is oil fueled. Even today Live Steam enthusiasts operating large scale locomotives are running with a variety of fuels. Propane is popular as is oil or kerosene. However coal is still the most popular fuel for ridable trains like this and can be used at gauges as small as 1.26 inches. So unless there were other considerations, like local laws, there`s a high likelihood that this engine was coal fired. All in the FamilyYes, a great number of the 'Cagneys' (as they were known) were built in the Niagara shop of Thomas and Peter McGarigle; however, since their sister Winifred married Timothy Cagney, it was considered to be all in the family. Peter—an engineer—was mostly likely the one who designed the first of the miniature locomotives, ostensibly in 1885. In the early 1890s Timothy and his brothers David and John, were running a ticket brokerage company known as Cagney Bros. in New York, but by 1898 decided to fully concentrate on marketing the McGarigle locomotives and so incorporated The Miniature Railway Company, of Jersey City. For years the two businesses were nearly indistinguishable from one another, and were in fact interchangeable as far as miniature railways were concerned, as they worked together on various projects. In 1903 the Cagney Bros. Co. was ensconced in the Planter's Hotel in St. Louis—there to build the eight mile miniature railroad that would run through the grounds of the St. Louis Purchase Exposition (the 1904 World's Fair). Timothy Cagney was listed as President, and Peter McGarigle as Chief Engineer. While the Cagney Brothers' Miniature Railway Company was selling the vast majority of the McGarigle railroad oriented output, the Niagara firm was still peddling their own product as late as 1915 when they made a proposition to the City of San Francisco to operate a miniature railway in the park. By the 1920s however, the Cagney Bros. had absorbed the miniature railway portion of the McGarigle Machine Company, and McGarigle's—once also known for their gasoline marine engines—appears to have been reduced to being an automotive machine shop. The locomotive building operation was now referred to as "the Cagney Brothers' Amusement Company Niagara Falls plant." By the 1940s the late Timothy Cagney—and not Peter McGarigle—was being given credit as the inventor. According to one report, two of Cagney's "best known installations were two gold-plated trains with steam locomotives built for the King of Siam, and the 'Trip Around the World' exhibit at the New York World's Fair of 1939 and 1940." As for the oil burner reference, it's from a list of Coney Island rides and shows complied by Kingsborough Community College Professor Emeritus (and former Brooklyn Borough Historian, director and archivist) John Manbeck. He complied a vast collection of Coney Island ephemera that has since been donated to the Brooklyn College Library. On his list of rides and shows is this entry: A Miniature Railroad built by the Cagney Brothers made a circuit of park beneath the promenade. Each of its three small cars, pulled by a small oil-burning steam locomotive, held two passengers. I do not know what his original source was (but I'll try to find out); however, while the vast majority of the McGarigle/Cagney locomotives were coal-fired, it makes sense that these would be oil-fired as it would have virtually eliminated the fear of sparks from the smoke stack—especially so soon after the disastrous 1903 fire. (The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC, Railroads)
Heroes' Welcome: 1919
... paraded in platoon formation. Employees of the six railroads centering in Chicago from which the 13th Engineers was mainly ... 13th Engineers consisted of personnel from the six largest railroads that ran through Chicago; it operated about 142 kilometers of French ... 
 
Posted by Christoph Traugott - 11/12/2018 - 4:08pm -

Chicago, May 12, 1919. "Return Parade for the 13th Railway Engineers, Michigan Boulevard." View full size. For another view, click here.         Thirteenth Engineers Returns to Chicago. The greatest reception given to any organization of returning soldiers at Chicago was given to the 13th Railway Engineers on May 12. Its welcome to its home town was unequaled in point of enthusiasm and spectacular expression in the after war history of the city. Approximately 100,000 people banked Michigan Boulevard on both sides and maintained a bedlam of noise as the regiment paraded in platoon formation. Employees of the six railroads centering in Chicago from which the 13th Engineers was mainly recruited were organized in groups along Michigan Boulevard to welcome the men. -— Railway Age and Railway Review, 1919 During World War I, the regiment known as the 13th Engineers consisted of personnel from the six largest railroads that ran through Chicago; it operated about 142 kilometers of French railways, serving the Verdun-St. Mihiel, Champagne-Marne, and Meuse Argonne sections. The scan is from a family photo album titled "My Vacation Days," with dates ranging from 1914 to 1922. Delayed ReturnI wonder if they really took this long from the end of the war to get back or if their skills were so sorely needed post-armistice that they had much work to do getting European railroads back into action again. [It's the parade that was delayed. Because Chicago winters. - Dave] Marching OrdersThe Michigan Avenue marchers are rapidly approaching the intersection of Michigan and E. Van Buren Street which would have crossed right in front of the tallest building in the picture to the left. Except for the gabled building (4th from left-front) which has been replaced with a building which respects the design of the other two buildings to the left, all those buildings exist today, including the small 5-story building which now has a remodeled facade. At the time of this parade, there would have been a railroad switch yard between Michigan Avenue and a much smaller Grant Park. The tracks were subsequently lowered and covered over to make a much larger Grant Park which now borders Michigan Avenue. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Mobilized: 1942
... world trying to mobilize like America did in WWII? Railroads trying to handle the traffic? For that matter, just the people ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/04/2021 - 3:30pm -

October 1942. "Great numbers of C-47 transport planes move along the assembly lines at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant at Long Beach, California. The versatile C-47 performs many important tasks for the Army. It ferries men and cargo across oceans and mountains, tows gliders and brings paratroopers and their equipment to scenes of action." 4x5 inch acetate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Lunch BoxesI carried one of those for almost 35 years. When I retired, my wife gave it away without telling me. Horror! I still loved her. Big BizWars are certainly good for industry. The sheer volume of aircraft, tanks, guns, ships, freight trains, trucks, armored vehicles, submarines, ammunition, bombs, etc, and all its infrastructure, produced in short order from all sides was staggering. Smoke 'em if you got 'emPretty sure that's a cigarette machine under the left wingtip. The Gooney BirdArguably (but not for me) the greatest aircraft ever built. This Could Be One of Those PlanesWith what I believe is a C-47 behind them, this is my father when he was on a war bond tour in September 1943. He had served early in the war as a tank commander in North Africa and was injured. Because of his war record he was selected to accompany several movie stars of the time to help sell war bonds. My father is the army man kneeling in front. The lady directly behind him is an actress named Helen Walker. Next to her is Albert Dekker, of Dr. Cyclops fame. The lady to the right of him is actress Elyse Knox. She would later be married to Tom Harmon and is the mother of Mark Harmon. Plate or door?What is that square plate or door above the pilot's station on the top of the fuselage? Some kind of door? A plate covering some kind of electronic equipment? The round one that's inboard and aft a bit is for the Navigator's acrylic dome I believe. Clean plant!Can you imagine in today's world trying to mobilize like America did in WWII? Railroads trying to handle the traffic? For that matter, just the people bonding together. Unbelievable output by our factories, many repurposed to produce war materiel. Amazing. The Old DaysWhen you could find a cigarette machine in your workplace conveniently near where your locker and lunch are located. Gooney BirdsWas the affectionate term for the venerable C-47. A quarter century after this photo the Air Force gave me my first (uncomfortable) airplane trip in one of them. The plate above the flight deck is an escape hatch. What is known as an "astrodome" was, indeed, a plexiglass dome for the navigator to take celestial bearings. Food safety?I would hope all those lunch boxes we're seeing on top of the lockers are there post-lunch instead of pre-lunch. Maybe refrigeration wasn't that big of a concern back then. [What planet did you grow up on? You are evidently not one of the eighty zillion schoolkids who ate from unrefrigerated lunchboxes back in the day. - Dave] (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, Factories, WW2)
Apocalypse Then: 1906
... showing they had the same wheel width as standard gauge railroads, 4'-8-1/2". Here many wagons are traveling along the rails as it was ... most forms of vehicles followed the rut spacing. Early railroads were developed using wooden rails spaced to fit horse drawn carts, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 5:17pm -

"Looking up Market St. from near Ferry." Another look at San Francisco in the aftermath of the earthquake and fire of April 18, 1906. View full size. Hot time tonightMSG: You were pretty close with your guesstimate of temperatures that would cause granite to crack and scale off. Most histories of the 1906 conflagration estimate fire temperatures reached 2,500-2,700 degrees F. FrighteningThat wall that's left on the right side looks like a strong wind could finish the job. Those that survived and were able to rebuild were very lucky. Grandma? Is that you?Can't get enough of the '06 quake shots. My grandparents and 6 week old uncle survived the great temblor. My G-grandmother's parakeet did not however. It was blasted away with her house when General Funston's soldiers dynamited vast swaths of the city (causing more destruction and fires). The picture is of my grandfather's crony, my grandmother, grandfather, great aunt, her son, and a rather dapper chap whose name is lost to history. They're sitting outside of my grandfather's cigar store with the cookstove removed from the building to prevent more fires. I love hearing all the hullabaloo from the East Coasters going on about the recent quake. I'll take the occasional rumble over a "hurricane season" anytime! Still in their Sunday bestTalk about a different time and stiff upper lip. Ladies still dressed to the nines and men in suits and bollers. April 18, 2011My family and I visited San Francisco on the 105th anniversary of the famous quake. Just to mark the occasion, a 3.8 magnitude earthquake occurred at 2:57 p.m. that day. We were at Coit Tower and quite oblivious to any shaking. We found out about it later when we were watching the late news. Tragedy and lossThe dust/smoke in this photo reminds me of some 9/11 photos Just had a small one last night. Just sitting at the computer, when around 11:30 last night, a 3.8 jolt hit the house. Always nice to have a little reminder of just where you stand with mother nature. Just north of S.F. No two ever feel the same. The BlitzExcept for the ancient attire and the parade of horse carts, this could be a photo of London, the morning after a WW2 air raid. Extreme heatFrom the appearance of the stone walls on the first floor the heat from the fire must have been truly extreme. The wooden floors would have pancaked one on top of the other to continue feeding the fire on the first floor. Temperatures must have been in excess of 2000 degrees. Scalded StoneThe brick portions of the building appear to have survived with much less damage than the stone. I'm no expert in this but given the way the stone has blistered and peeled I would think it more likely to be some sort of sedimentary rock such as sandstone. Is there any Shorpy geologist, mason, or firefighter who can weigh in and explain the damage to the stone? CoverupFWIW, I'd guess limestone blocks faced with some sort of plaster or stucco-like material, which flaked off in the heat. You can see where it remains on the lower right and left. Wagon wheel gaugeNot seen often but notice the wagons traveling along the rails. A great example of wagons and most carts along with the early automobiles showing they had the same wheel width as standard gauge railroads, 4'-8-1/2". Here many wagons are traveling along the rails as it was a smoother ride on cobble stone streets, and not seen so much on smooth streets. They are not directly on the rails but just off to one side. Early automobiles had the same wheel spacing as the wagons they replaced so that they could travel in the same ruts as created by wagon travel, certainly not for this example on city streets, but for the many ruts created across the country, many of which still exist. Apparently this wheel gauge originated with the Roman chariots and most forms of vehicles followed the rut spacing. Early railroads were developed using wooden rails spaced to fit horse drawn carts, naturally following previous wagon wheel spacing, 4'-8-1/2". Rumor has it that this spacing works out from the convenience of constructing Roman chariots to fit behind two horses. (The Gallery, DPC, Fires, Floods etc., San Francisco)
The Waste Land: 1939
... (The Gallery, Landscapes, M.P. Wolcott, Mining, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/03/2019 - 11:18am -

September 1939. "Ducktown, Tennessee. Fumes from smelting copper for sulfuric acid have destroyed all vegetation and eroded the land." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Still appears to be almost a wastelandThe Verdant hills of Tennessee are marred by a scar in that area, and one of the areas close specifically calls out a tailings retention pond. So I think this may be the place: Sorry I'm having a problem embedding a Google Map; maybe Dave can figure out what I can't? [Click "Share", click "Embed a Map." - Dave] The land is poisoned, butSomeone took great care to hand-letter that railroad crossing sign with the entirety of pre-automotive verbiage, complete with serifs. Copperhill smelterThis is one time when Wikipedia really does summarize things well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burra_Burra_Mine_(Tennessee) The mine itself is located below the marker in RGMBill's image, where there are a couple of small ponds. That's part of the mine's collapse. A larger collapse can be seen closer to the center of Ducktown. The mine buildings were located on the east end of town, the Ducktown Museum building being one of them (with a large mine collapse pond nearby). The name "Citiservices" is also associated with this mine on the map, if you're poking around. About this picture, though: The smelter was located in Copperhill (formerly McCay), next to the Ocoee River, which is how ore was initially shipped out, and where train lines were built starting in the 1850s. The old smelter site is clearly visible from Google Maps or Earth. Although copper mining began in the 1840s, the large-scale industrial smelting and sulfuric acid problems probably began in 1899. A good summary is here: https://web.archive.org/web/20120211230436/http://www.gamineral.org/copp... I could not figure out where the image was taken, but the rail line followed the river north toward Ducktown, passing it on the west and continuing northward through Postelle, TN, skirting the foothills to its west. This would be about two miles west of the lake in RGMBill's image. I suspect the image was taken somewhere near Postelle. East by NortheastI believe the photographer's vantage point is just northeast of the intersection of Main Street and Hiwassee Street in Ducktown, the camera pointing east-northeast. If this is correct, the barren region pinpointed by our friend RGMBill in the Google image below corresponds to the lighter-valued patch of land seen in the photograph at 2 o'clock from the railroad crossing sign. I searched through online historic map imagery to locate the snaking rail lines seen in the photograph. Upon discovery of a map showing rail lines that compare favorably with elements of the photograph, it did not take long to formulate my end-of-Main Street theory. Today, it appears, Main Street ends at or just northeast of Hiwassee Street, but old maps show a road extending from Main Street across the railroad (as seen in the photograph), then down and out into the Ducktown hinterland. (The Gallery, Landscapes, M.P. Wolcott, Mining, Railroads)
Ordnance Mate Waller: 1942
... 1918 and died 16 Sep 1983 in Virginia. If so, he worked on railroads after the service. hide that one from the marketers... ... or ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/22/2012 - 12:43pm -

August 1942, Corpus Christi, Texas: "It's an intricate operation, installing a 30-caliber machine gun in a Navy PBY plane, but not too tricky for Jesse Rhodes Waller. He's a Georgia man who's been in the Navy 5-1/2 years. At the Naval Air Base he sees that the flying ships are kept in tip-top shape. Waller is an aviation ordnance mate." View full size. Kodachrome transparency by Howard Hollem. Possibly..This may be Jesse R. Waller born 22 Sep 1918 and died 16 Sep 1983 in Virginia. If so, he worked on railroads after the service. hide that one from the marketers...... or they'll photoshop "the new fragrance by XYZ" on the side ;-( That's one hell of a cool picture, right there! White socks?White socks, penny loafers, flying helmet and goggles just to install a gun? Me thinks the photographer didn't know what the military worn when he dressed the "model". [Jesse Waller was a Navy ordnance mate stationed at the Corpus Christi naval air base. The photo was posed as a study for a recruiting poster. - Dave] Why is Jessie wearing pennieWhy is Jessie wearing pennie loafers? [We might also ask why Jesse is wearing penny loafers.] penny loafersActually these are not penny loafers. He is wearing a pair of black buckle strap oxfords similar to an optional shoe that could be worn by army air force officers. I have not seen this shoe in black before but its probably something a naval aviator could have worn. Jesse is also wearing standard navy issue blue denim trousers and chambray work shirt along with a load carrying equipment belt. However... The M-450 navy summer flight helmet(with added electric headphone receivers) and 6530 flying goggles is certainly not something he would be wearing to maintain an aircraft. -bgb Jesse Rhodes WallerWhen I first looked at this picture I couldn't believe Jesse looked old enough to have been in the Navy 5-1/2 years by 1942. But I have known guys who kept their boyish faces well into the 30s, including a former college roommate who looked essentially the same 16 yrs after we got out of college. So, the suggested birth date of September 1918 would have made Jesse almost 24 at the time this picture was taken and as he'd turned 18 in 1936, he'd have had time for 5-1/2 years in the Navy as well as the Great Depression to motivate him to join. Remember, that to most people in the US, WWII was not yet seen as inevitable in 1936. In fact, most in the US in the late 1930s strongly hoped to stay out of another war even if one did occur. We have a believable age and a youthful model--great for an enlistment poster. As for the shoes, they are indeed buckle strap--I took the photo into my photo program and blew it up and lightened it enough to see the buckle on the foot that's still on the concrete. Likewise the toe area of the other shoe is too tapered to be a penny loafer. As for the white socks, perhaps they were the absorbent type as we wear today, a real boon for an active man in hot leather shoes in the steamy August climate of Corpus Christi, TX. While the goggles and helmet would not have been worn by a maintenance mechanic, there is an explanation for that, also. There are two companion pictures to this one showing Jesse "trying out" the newly installed machine gun and he has both the helmet and goggles on as you would expect. Here and here. There's no evidence he actually fired the gun but he's got the right "look" for it in this other photo, I think. There were many other photos taken of the base, other military and civilian personnel, and of Corpus Christi generally at the same time. Most are not color, but a surprising number for that time are. One other item about him turned up in the small search I did: Two months after this picture was taken young Jesse and his wife had a baby girl they named Beverly Carolyn (or perhaps the other way around.) She could well be living today, as she'd only be about 66. So the Jesse R Waller mentioned by another poster who passed away in Virginia in 1983 may very well be this man. The dates certainly fit. Excellent photo and it could have made a powerful recruiting poster indeed. High caliber photo but low caliber gunBy the time of this photo it was quite obvious to the U.S. military that a .30 caliber machine gun was inadequate for attacking enemy aircraft or, in the case of this PBY, for defense. Japanese fighters had guns as large as 20 millimeter (and sometimes bigger than that), and Japanese machine guns that fired .51 caliber (by our measure) came along during World War Two. Equipping U.S. fighters with as many as eight "fifties" created a fearsome opponent; other Allied aircraft were fitted with multiple guns of that size and cannon, too. Among heavy bombers, the aptly-named B-17 Flying Fortress eventually had thirteen .50 caliber guns. (My Uncle Andrew was a B-17 tail gunner.) Here's a comparison of ammunition sizes. Stylish Safety That heavy belt he's wearing has straps on either side for attaching to his gun mount, kept the gunner from being tossed around by the pilot's evasive maneuvers and steep banked turns. There were an awful lot of sharp and pointy parts on those highly functional military aircraft, I've got the scars to prove it. (The Gallery, Aviation, Howard Hollem, WW2)
Factory Town: 1910
... 30 years but no one seems to care” You made their railroads rails and bridges. You ran their driving wheels And the towers of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 1:32pm -

Homestead, Pennsylvania, circa 1910. "Homestead Steel Works, Carnegie Steel Co." 8x10 inch dry negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. U.S. Steel - Tom RussellHomestead Pennsylvania, the home of the U.S. Steel And the men down at the Homestead Works Are sharing one last meal Sauerkraut and kielbasa, a dozen beers or more A hundred years of pouring slab, They’re closing down the door And this mill won’t run no more. There’s silence in the valley, there’s silence in the streets There’s silence every night here upon these cold white sheets Were my wife stares out the window with a long and lonely stare She says “you kill yourself for 30 years but no one seems to care” You made their railroads rails and bridges. You ran their driving wheels And the towers of the Empire State are lined with Homestead Steel The Monongahela valley no longer hears the roar There's Cottonwood and Sumac-weed inside the slab mill door And this mill won’t run no more. So, me, I'll sit in Hess' bar and drink my life away. God bless the second mortgage and the unemployment pay And my ex-boss, Mr. Goodwin, he keeps shaking my one good hand. He says "Son, it's men like me and you who built the Promised Land". We made their railroad bridges. We ran their driving wheels And the towers of the Empire State are lined with Homestead Steel The Monongahela valley no longer hears the roar There's Cottonwood and Sumac-weed inside the slab mill door And this mill won’t run no more. I used to live up the hillI used to live up the hill in Pittsburgh, back when this steel mill produced one-third of the steel used in the United States. It is now a shopping center, with a few pieces of machinery and a line of old smokestacks from the soaking pits left to mark the spot. The town of Homestead is pretty much dead at this point. Remembering PeteLittle boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky tacky, Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes all the same. There's a green one and a pink one And a blue one and a yellow one, And they're all made out of ticky tacky And they all look just the same. Mom's birthplaceThis photo may show the house where my mom was born. I can't wait to get a copy of it in her hands. The properties from 8th Street to the Monongahela were all bought up by the steel companies and torn down to accommodate expansion in the early 1930s. Thanks for providing this. Sic TransitHome of the epic 1892 strike that was the start of union breaking in the steel industry. The plant, eventually owned by US Steel, closed in 1986 and today the land is home to The Waterfront shopping center and Sandcastle Waterpark. ParticulatesI look at this and just imagine all the lung disorders in the nearby population. They must have waited for a holiday shutdown to take this shot. 100 years later.I'm using those same rollup bamboo blinds on my porch as the house in the foreground. Nice to see some things don't change! Shades of GrayIn 1943 when my maternal grandmother died, my mom took me to the small Pennsylvania coal mining towns (at that time) of Bradenville and Loyalhanna. I was very young at the time but I remember it clearly as it was my first long train trip from Connecticut to Pennsy, overnight. As we passed through many similar industrial towns, I could not help but notice that everything was gray, whether by plan or by the never-ending soot in the air. We stayed a week in a house just like these but the roads and "sidewalks" were charcoal gray dirt, all the homes were gray and for that entire week, so were the skies and everyone's emotions. Train tracks were everywhere and coal trains ran continuously. I'm sure it has changed now but this picture really took me back there to my gray period. Nice people though, ALL very kind, very hard-working and very giving. Ikea et alI know it's a given that much of the old development will, in time, be replaced with new. But how much we have lost over the decades in regards to industrial development. I can't see much to interest me in new development or office buildings, or high tech industrial. Driving through Emeryville, CA this morning I realized what a wasteland of totally new buildings it is today. It used to be an industrial area with a large train yard. Now it's filled with Ikea and other large stores and huge apartments. I could never live there. Found itThese houses still exist, but as others have already mentioned, the factories are gone. Based on the roof styles and the pattern of house construction, I found the houses. They're at the east end of E10th Ave. Since the time of the photo, four more houses on both the north and south sides have been added, but you can figure out which these are based on the roof patterns on Google Maps. The photographer was likely positioned on the rise at the end of the alley (Park Way). Taking a 'drive' down the alley you can see the backs of the two houses in the foreground - they're still the same. Houses in the background on 9th Ave also match up, though it appears that not all the lots were constructed, and since then some of the houses at the right end in the photo have been torn down, where Toth Carpet is now located. The row of flat roofed dwellings still exist, on 9th Ave and Andrew Street. It looks like the sidewalks might originally have been brick, which there is still some today. In front of most homes the approx. one foot wide area where the trees were planted is now sidewalk, though there is still evidence of that previously unpaved area. An earlier picture from the same spot!Isn't it amazing how clean the houses on the left side of the picture are? I can remember in the 1950s, going back to Ohio after a weekend at Grandma's (I'm a Whitaker boy) and watching the bath water turn a reddish brown -- I can't imagine what it must have been like to live in one of these homes. The mill under construction is immediately adjacent to 8th Avenue, and the intersection of 9th and Martha is plain to see. My mom was born in 1925 in a house on 4th Avenue, in what I suspect is one of the houses still visible in this shot. These photos were taken from an accessible bluff (lots of trees, though) just east of where 11th Avenue turns south to avoid going into the ravine. I'll try to get there this summer to get an updated photo of the area. The original can be found here and can be blown up to your heart's desire. (The Gallery, DPC, Factories)
Colorado Choo-Choo: 1900
... and find this picture on Shorpy! (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, W.H. Jackson) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 4:07pm -

Pikes Peak, Colorado, circa 1900. "Summit, cog wheel train, Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway." 8x10 glass negative by William Henry Jackson. View full size. How they did it.Taken a few years ago: Dinosaurs in the mountainsThe sister to this locomotive, M&PP #4, is still nominally operable and is as far as anyone knows the only operable Vauclain compound. The two cylinders you see are both power cylinders; the valves are hidden on the inside. Vauclain compounds, named after the head of Baldwin, were briefly popular around 1900 but fell out of favor along with most other compound locos with the introduction of the superheater; in this case part of the problem was unequal forces from the two pistons which produced wear problems at the crosshead. On this little bitty engine it apparently wasn't too bad a problem. Nice Trip!Today a ticket on the Railway costs $34. You can hike up and take the train down, but if you miss the last train and have to be evacuated, the fee per hiker is $500! I'd stick with the train. Looks lovely. http://cograilway.com/Pikes%20Peak%20train%20videos-A.htm Oh My. Call a Tow Truck, er Train"But officer, just look -- that passenger car was heading the wrong way on my side of the tracks. Now how am I ever gonna get the front end of my engine out from under it??" Cog and Pinion Appliances Crofutt's Overland Guide, 1892. The Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway, a recent organization, commences at a point just above the Iron Springs and runs to the summit of Pike's Peak. The road is about 8¾ miles in length. The average grade is 18 per cent.,the maximum being 25 per cent. and the minimum 8 per cent., with 16 degrees curvature. The rails are the standard T rail, with a double cog-rail in the center, weighing 110 tons to the mile. Each engine has three cog and pinion appliances, which can be worked together or independently; in each cog appliance is a double set of pinion brakes that work in the cog, either of which when used can stop the engine in 12 inches going either way, on any grade and at a maximum speed of eight miles an hour. Fare for "round trip," $5.00. The Street Railway Journal, April, 1893. Manitou & Pike's Peak Railroad, which is known as the "Cog Wheel Railroad," and which runs to the top of Pike's Peak, a distance of about about 8,000 ft. higher than Manitou. The road was opened for traffic in October, 1890. The fare for the round trip is $5, and the round trip is made in about three hours. The rack, which is placed midway between the rails, consists of two steel bars, notched to a depth of about two and a half inches, with teeth staggered, and which are firmly fastened to the ties by means of bolts and shouldered chairs. The engines are of peculiar shape, and the power is transmitted to two pinions located under the boiler, which mesh with the gear of the rack, so that sufficient power is obtained to force the engine and car up the steepest grades. Only one car trains are run, and the cars are pushed ahead of the engines in ascending, and return in the same relation. The engine and car are not coupled, but there are bumpers consisting of perpendicular and horizontal steel cylinders about five inches in diameter and eighteen inches long, which provide for the varying grades and angles. The car, as well as the engine, is equipped with pinions which mesh into the rack and which are controlled by powerful band brakes, so that the car can be controlled independent of the engine, every known safety appliance being employed to prevent the possibility of an accident. Formerly, high pressure engines were employed, but during the last season one compound engine was run, and the other three engines have recently been sent to the Baldwin Locomotive Works where they are being made over into compounds. The line is operated only during the summer months, as the accumulation of snow upon the mountains during the winter prevents the running of the cars. Journal of the Association of Engineering Societies, 1894. Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway. The Engines During construction and the first year's operation, the Pike's Peak Railway had three engines built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. These weighed about 26 tons each, loaded with fuel and water. The cabs and boilers of these engines were much like those of ordinary locomotives, but here the resemblance ceased, for the bearing-frame of the engine was inclined, so that the boiler was level on a 16 per cent. grade, the average grade of the road. The engine had no tender, water being carried in two tanks at the side of the boiler, and coal in a box at the rear of the cab, holding one ton. The engine rested on three axles, the forward two being rigidly fastened to the frame, while the rear one was furnished with a radius bar, the rigid wheel-base being 6 feet 8 inches, and the total wheel-base 11 feet 2 inches. To the two forward axles was fastened an inside frame carrying three sets of two pinions each, making six pinions in all. The specifications for these pinions called for hammered crucible steel, with ultimate tensile strength of 100,000 pounds per square inch, stretch 16 per cent, in 8 inches, the teeth to be cutout of the solid disk. SynchronicityWhat a coincidence! We just rode the Pikes Peak Cog Railway three days ago with children and grandchildren. It still takes about three hours, and it is an amazing ride. Temps were about 90 degrees in Manitou Springs and below 50 degrees at the summit. We even had a little skiff of snow up top. We passed by the original water cranes that supplied the early steam engines. The trip is spectacular, but I kind of wish I could have taken it in the steam days. (Of course, I would be dead by now, right?) It was great to get back to internet civilization and find this picture on Shorpy! (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, W.H. Jackson)
Greased Lightning: 1924
... hood. (Technology, The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/06/2014 - 1:29pm -

        Our second look at this locomotive, whose cylindrical design echoes the shape of its steam-boiler brethren even though it's entirely electric. June 1924. Washington, D.C. "Largest and most powerful electric locomotive in the world being exhibited by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway and the General Electric Co." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Power ContestsGeneral Electric and the St. Paul Road, as the Milwaukee was then known, made every effort to maximize the publicity value of these centipede-like locomotives. Before delivery to the West Coast, where they would work for most of their careers, side trips such as the one shown here, and stops along the way, allowed the public to see, touch, and feel the future. Once delivered to the Coast Division of their railroad, several events were set up to pit these mighty electrics against their biggest steam locomotives. The "white coal" locomotives won, hands down. What's missing from this photo?Where are the overhead electric wires that the pantograph uses to make the electrical connection. How did the train get there? [The same way it got to Washington -- attached to another locomotive. - Dave] Small Steam BoilerThe Milwaukee Road Bipolars contained a small steam boiler for heating the passenger cars. The exhaust stack is visible on the top of the locomotive. Practical Reasons for ShapeWhile the shape of this locomotive certainly echoes the shape of a steam engine's boiler, there were practical reasons for this shape. Many electric locomotives were "box cabs" where the locomotive was basically shaped like a rectilinear shoe box. The engineer or driver operated the loco from a little box-shaped cab at the leading end of the loco, meaning that the visibility was excellent but that the driver was right there at the business and was the first to die in the event of an accident. This locomotive's centrally located cab would have been preferred by engineers from a safety standpoint, but the sides of the loco had to be rounded in order for the engineer to see past them when the train was in motion. The driver's view would have been virtually identical to what a steam loco driver was be used to seeing, so they were comfortable with that. My guess is that these locos could run in either direction without being turned on a turntable or wye, and the engineer only had to walk a few feet to the other cab in order to reverse direction. They Were Bi-Directional and Bi-PolarThese magnificent locomotives were called Bi-Polars, not because they were depressed but due to the design off their traction motors. They spent their lives pulling passenger trains on the western section of the Mwaukee Road's electrification. Modernized over time they lasted through the 1950's. One is preserved in the National Museum of Transport near St. Louis. Eletricity vs SteamI find the photographs of the EP2 Locomotives very interesting, while C. M. & St. P. chose electricity for their mountain routes the Southern Pacific chose oil fired Cab Forward steam. The snow sheds and tunnels of the Sierra Nevada which lead to the Cab Forwards might well have been solved with double headed EP2's. Should the reader be interested Wikipedia has two entries, one for the EP2 and another for the bipolar electric motor. It would appear that the cab is dual control as the drawing in the Wikipedia page shows dual electric feeds although the photos has only one. The earliest photo shows stairs and signs labeled ENTER indicating internal access tours. Comments and correctionsBy "dual electric feeds" I assume that agedooster is referring to the pantographs. This loco has two, one is raised and the other locked down. Neither pan has their contact shoes fitted. This photo was not taken on a side trip on the loco's delivery run. The Bipolars had been in service since January 1920. By the time of this photo numerous modifications had been made to the locos in the light of operational experience. A number are visible in this and the other photo. While nominally bidirectional, the locos were mainly run from the A end, as that cab had a kilowatt hour meter, which the fireman had to regularly take readings from. They were usually turned at Tacoma and Othello to keep the A end leading. If they ran with the B end leading the fireman would have to walk through the centre cab to take a reading, and this meant worming his way past the train heating boiler and its water and fuel oil tanks, which occupied most of the centre cab. You can just see part of that equipment through the open window. The "exhaust stack" visible on the B end hood is a hot air vent. As delivered the Bipolars had the air compressor, intake filter and cooling coil pipes mounted inside the hood, along with the control switchgear and regenerative braking resistances. In operation the temperature inside the hoods was so great that the compressors would fail and the electrical insulation would be damaged. So the vents were added, and the intake filter and cooling coil pipes were moved onto the outside of the hood. (Technology, The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Railroads)
Needle's Eye: 1943
... Cars, Trucks, Buses, Eateries & Bars, Jack Delano, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/01/2014 - 10:14am -

March 1943. Needles, California. "General view of street leading to depot of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad." Photo by Jack Delano. View full size. Cooling towersThe structures atop both hotels resembling inverse pagodas are cooling towers, as no decent hotel in a place like Needles could have done any business without some kind of comfort cooling. They may be water-cooled condensers for refrigerated systems, or they may be just plain old "swamp coolers"; it's impossible to tell from this evidence alone. From what I've seen and been told, the louvers on the sides were usually made of wood, probably cedar or cypress. The man straddling the foreground tower attests to the intensive maintenance that these systems required, while the tower in the background may have emanated the warm smell of colitas. The Joads, of course, drove past this place at night, after spending the searing hot desert afternoon immersed in the Colorado River, the poor man's air conditioning. Welcome to the Less ornate today.I am certain this is the location, with all the charm thoroughly removed: View Larger Map ID for CarsWe often hear it said that today's cars are not distinctive enough to ID. That was also true in the 30's, especially from the rear! To the right of the fellas on their way to the USO Club is a nice new 1941 Pontiac Streamliner "Torpedo" Four-Door Sedan. With a nice pair of non-factory fender skirts as well. To their left is a 1939 Ford Tudor. Can't tell if it is a Deluxe as we cannot see the right tail light - or lack thereof. Updated IDThe 1939 Ford is definitely a Tudor and not a De Luxe Tudor. The De Luxe models are easy to spot because the headlights are in the fenders, not between the fender and hood as shown here. The 1941 Pontiac is a De Luxe "Torpedo" Four Door Sedan and not a Streamliner. In addition to there being a definite break between the roof line and the trunk, the side trim on the De Luxe ends in a straight line, parallel to the ground, before the trunk begins. The Streamliner, which is a true fastback, has side trim which extends far beyond the trunk top, dips down towards the rear bumper, and follows the fender line. Also of note, the fender skirt shown on the Pontiac is a standard accessory that was shown in the Pontiac catalog. Photos of everything below. Needles Today...The soldiers in this picture were most likely stationed at the Needles Army post located between the Riverview Cemetery and what is now Needles Airport on the road going to Blythe. They would be going to the U.S.O. located inside the El Garces Hotel (Harvey House), which also serves as the passenger train station (it was completely refurbished in 2014 and serves as an Amtrak station and office space, although the only office space being used now is for the local city bus company). Most of the buildings in the picture are still around. Some are abandoned but available for reuse. We are looking south on F Street from Front Street, which jogs around Santa Fe Park via F and G Streets. Looking at the postcard here, the building on the left, at the corner of F and Front Streets is the Needles Point Pharmacy along with some other businesses. Beyond that (during wartime) there was a service station at the northeast corner of Broadway and F Street. Across the street from that is the Needles Theater (Cinema)/Masonic Lodge (the local Masons built it in 1929 as a dual purpose building). The theater closed down many years ago and the Masons no longer meet in Needles. However, the marquee still works and it can be rented for messaging. On the other side of F Street, where the palm trees are is Santa Fe Park, which is in front of El Garces Hotel (Harvey House). There aren't as many palm trees today. We cross Front Street as it jogs around Santa Fe Park. Here we see the Needles Point Liquor Store (complete with loyal customers at the front door) and then we see the Needles Eye Lunch. This is the Butler Building and it's all abandoned but it's serviceable. Beyond the Needles Eye Lunch we see a Shell Station and the northwest corner of F Street and Broadway. This is now where Needles Glass and Mirror do business. Across the street from that we see the Hotel California, which burned down in 1952. Today that site serves as the parking lot for the Frontier Phone Company. Beyond that is Robinson's Motor Inn (cottages) which is now Robinson's Apartments. (Three of the old 1930s motels became apartment complexes.) Needles Point Drug and Liquor Stores are now neighbors on Broadway to the southwest of this picture. The former site of the Needles Point Drug Store is now property of the Needles Unified School District. There are still other businesses in that building, including a beauty salon. The solid white line down the middle of the street is now a double yellow line. The crosswalk from the drug store to the park no longer exists. Only parallel parking is allowed on Needles streets today. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Eateries & Bars, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Hotel Vermont: 1911
... allowed X miles' worth of "interline" travel over multiple railroads. Below, an excerpt from "The Modern Railroad" (1911), and an example ... in New York State , still on the books , that requires railroads with fares between 2 and 3 cents per mile to issue mileage books for ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2018 - 10:06am -

Burlington, Vermont, circa 1911. "Hotel Vermont." Last glimpsed here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Gift cards, 100 years ago.To the left of the Western Union sign, a small sign that says "Mileages bought and sold" caught my eye. A little research reveals this phrase appearing in newspapers and photos from around 1900 to 1915. I couldn't find a definite explanation, but based on the context of some of those ads, I think it was possible, at that time, to buy a certain number of miles on a particular railroad - sort of like buying a gift card today. ["Mileages" were the coupons in mileage books, which allowed X miles' worth of "interline" travel over multiple railroads. Below, an excerpt from "The Modern Railroad" (1911), and an example of an interline mileage exchange ticket stub. Selling the remaining coupons to a broker before they expire lets the holder avoid a loss on his unused miles. - Dave]         In addition to the railroad selling its tickets there are also railroad passenger traffic organizations, half a dozen or more important ones across the country, which are engaged in selling various forms of railroad transportation. In some cases this takes the shape of a mileage-book which may be honored by fifteen or twenty different lines. The book will perhaps be sold for $25 and will permit of 1,000 miles’ riding at a saving over local fares, if the purchaser comply with its provisions. If he has complied with its provisions within the year’s life of the book, he will be paid $5 rebate upon return of its cover which has given him his riding at two cents a mile. Sometimes these books take the form of “scrip” which is silent upon mileage but which has its strip divided into five-cent portions, sold at wholesale, as it were, at a fraction less than five cents each. Edit, 31 July 2018: Today I learned, thanks! This also jogged a memory of reading one of those signs on the back of a hotel-room door, and seeing "mileage books" as one of the things you were supposed to deposit in the hotel safe instead of keep in your room. I'm still not quite sure why mileage books aren't mentioned much in publications after about 1915. I did find a law in New York State, still on the books, that requires railroads with fares between 2 and 3 cents per mile to issue mileage books for no more than 2 cents per mile. Maybe as fares went up, the laws weren't updated, and therefore the railroads were no longer obligated to issue mileage books. Hotel Vermont? Not with a bit of imagination.I do believe that to be Rick's Cafe with Sidney Greenstreet (Ferrari), wearing his fez hat and just crossing the street to enter as everything magically turns into Vichy-Casablanca of December 1941. Waiting inside, in addition to Rick, are Victor Lazo, Ilsa, Sam, Capt. Renault, Major Strasser and the lovable Carl (Cuddles Sakall). After all, everybody comes to Rick's, though not always for long as Peter (Ugarte) Lorre has already been eliminated. Academic CoincidenceThe Bowling Academy at left is where Lewis Hine, the man who made Shorpy famous, photographed two pin boys whose work kept them up late on school nights. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/nclc.03374/ [Coming soon to a website near you! - Dave] https://www.shorpy.com/node/23650 Loved the awnings back then!Still there! Went to a Brazilian Restaurant on the ground floor a few years back. (The Gallery, DPC, Horses)
Flatcar Follies: 1920
... adjusted for wear. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/21/2018 - 11:40am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Washington Times -- Oil Co." is all it says on this glass negative showing a rusty coal-fired boiler, a crate on skids and a guy holding a beer bottle. National Photo Company Collection. View full size. Boiler TypeI'm at a loss on this one. My guess is that it is a water-tube stationary boiler perhaps for marine use or heating a building. It is certainly not a locomotive fire-tube boiler; the massive steam dome rules that out. F&TThis is a Farrar & Trefts boiler used to power an oil pump. The name plate at top front says "F&T", with a buffalo in between, as the company was located in Buffalo, NY. The article below notes the company's connection with the NY Central RR -- the same company whose logo is on this freight car. Better picture of a similar boiler, and some oil field usage history here: https://scvhistory.com/gif/galleries/lw2762/ F&T history and view of the Buffalo plant here: http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=2258 Excerpt: " Chilion M. Farrar , inventor of a reversible steam engine, much used in boring oil and artesian wells, formed a partnership, in 1864, with John Trefts, and Theodore C. Knight, and the firm established a modest plant that year, on Perry Street, for the manufacture of engines and boilers and for general machine work. Mr. Knight retired from the firm in 1869, and the business, grown large with the years, has continued ever since under the name of Farrar & Trefts. In conjunction with Rood & Brown, manufacturers of car wheels, the firm established also the general foundry business of the East Buffalo Iron Works, on the New York Central Belt Line, near Broadway. In 1869 Knight left the company at which time it became known as Farrar & Trefts. They had seen great potential in the oil business and wanted to build a superior steam engine that would run for 25 years with very little care for the engine. During the course of the buisness many patents were aquired including a patent for the palm link. In 1900, the company was taken over by the Erie Pump & Engine Co. At some point in time a boiler shop was opened to supply boilers for their engines. They were able to produce any European or American boiler design and they were of utmost quality. According to The Derrick's Handbook of Petroleum published in 1898 over 25,000 engines and boilers had been produced, sold, and delivered. An account of Chilion Farrar's life states that he was born in Detroit, MI in 1829. He married Almira Siver of Buffalo in 1845. At the age of seventeen he moved to Buffalo and started to work as a machinist at the Shepard Iron Works later known as the King Iron Works. He later became a Superintendent. After the death of both the partners, George M. Trefts , John Trefts son, has carried on the business." F and TThe plate on the boiler reads F&T, which stands for Farrar & Trefts. The company manufactured stationary boilers and steam engines for the oil industry. "Locomotive Style" Boiler for Stationary UseThis is a "Locomotive Style" firetube boiler designed for stationary use. The large steam dome over the firebox is consistent with this identification. In use, it would be mounted on a brickwork "setting." I don't think it's "rusty", rather it looks to be brand new with a "shop coat" of red lead paint which is now peeling in some places. The maker's plate says "F&T", which a correspondent identifies as "Farrar & Trefts" There are parts visible on that flat car which may be components of a steam-powered cable-driven oil well drill. The crane hook is said to have something written on it, but I can't see it. There is also lettering on a part resting on the flat car to the left of the firebox. There are two horse drawn freight wagons on the other side of the flatcar. In one case, the feet of the horse are visible. BoilerFor what little I know, this is what's called a donkey boiler that is usually mounted on a wheeled frame. They are used to steam winches, drills and other portable equipment on docks, mine sites and the like. The examples I've seen like this were at the Quincy Mine museum in Hancock, MI. Morgan EngineeringThe hook block is marked: Morgan Engineering Alliance Ohio -- still very much in business in Alliance, building newer versions of this crane. There are quite a few Farrar & Trefts engines, and at least one F&T boiler, on display in various places in the Pennsylvania oil country. There are several F&T engines at Coolspring Power Museum, including one that runs, powering an oil pump jack. Long life was partly due to a tapered rotary valve that was easily adjusted for wear. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads)
Tim's Room: 1946
... He also runs a holding company that operates several railroads operating under the Pan Am name, the brand of which he bought the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/11/2016 - 8:32am -

October 29, 1946. "Paul Mellon, residence in Upperville, Virginia. Tim's room." 5x7 acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. So where's Tim?Maybe it didn”t have so many nooks for Tim to hide in, but to me this room looks perfect! It must have been really nice to live there! Nice and tidy. Tim can have his dinner tonight. I can hear the screen door slamming. Mom, when's dinner?Drapes, summer breezes, nice and tidy. Probably a mom who worked at home. Beautiful memory maker for us 60 + year olds. [Mrs. Mellon probably didn't work, here or elsewhere, though. -tterrace] I've found him!This is where the little rascal was. Box-Style Door Lock, Crown MoldingNote the deluxe crown molding; this is indeed a nicer sort of house. The box-style door lock, the raised-panel door, and the flooring imply that the house is not new circa 1946. [The crown moldings are probably plaster. The house, pictured below, was new at the time. Its owner was heir to the Mellon banking fortune; his wife-to-be, "Bunny" Lambert, was heir to the Lambert pharmaceuticals (Listerine) fortune. - Dave] Just One Problem"Tim" is 27 years old! Sack the Bottom!!Those knobs on the bedrails were not for ropes per se, but for rope to be used to attach a canvas sheet or sailcloth with eyelets to hold up the matress. It was called a sacking bottom, or something like that. Sheets? Blankets?What’s with the bare mattress? Nice ToysLove all of the wooden toys little Tim has. Maybe they are still around in someone's collection today. Todays plastic junk toys will probably not make it too long. I see them out at the curb in the trash pile everyday. VA 20184When I worked at the Post Office I sacked mail for Upperville; the residents get high quality mail. Pan AmTim grew up to become a trustee of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and a founder of the Heritage Foundation. He also runs a holding company that operates several railroads operating under the Pan Am name, the brand of which he bought the rights to after the airline went bankrupt. Rachel "Bunny" Lambert was Tim's stepmother. In her will she bequeathed him a porcelain cabbage. My Question Is...My question is, what is the poem or saying in the partly hidden rug? Rug PoemThe poem on the rug appears to refer to the Transcontinental Railroad. Grenville Mellon Dodge supervised track-laying operations for the UP. Maybe: "Hail to the plucky souls, who built the Iron Horse that rolls, swiftly and with sure intent, across the continent." Or something... FamiliarThis scene reminds me greatly of the opening credits scene from the old Wonderful World of Disney Winnie the Pooh movies, when the camera would pan thru Christopher Robin's room toward the Pooh on the window sill. I can hear the theme song now... Eeyore, Is That You??That looks very much like Eeyore leaning up against the chest of drawers. (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, Kids)
Mauch Chunk: 1940
... industry of tourism grew in importance alongside coal and railroads, and Mauch Chunk boasted seven grand hotels to handle all the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/21/2013 - 9:58am -

August 1940. "Street scene in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania." Paging Edward Hopper. Medium-format negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Found it!It looks very similar today, outside 31 Broadway, in the town of Jim Thorpe, PA, which is what Mauch Chunk changed their name to, in the mid-1950s. View Larger Map Now named Jim Thorpe After "The Worlds Greatest Athlete." Really great looking1939 (I think) Packard parked diagonally there, 2nd from the bottom. Sign HereHow come Coca-Cola didn't outbid Breyer's Ice Cream for the Drug Store hanging sign? Nothing against Jim Thorpe......but Mauch Chunk is an awesome name. I would have loved to put that down as my home address on all the paperwork I have filled out over the years. Accurate Hopper ReferenceCongratulations on your Edward Hopper reference in the caption. A number of Shorpy commenters have invoked Hopper when the photo in question shows a solitary figure in a window or at a table. Hopper lovers know that it's all about the light. Now if someone would tell us just how to pronounce Mauch Chunk. [Most sources say something along the lines of "mawk chunk." -tterrace] Name Change AsideThe olde name makes me want a candy bar for some reason. RagtopI'm digging the 2nd car from the bottom In the mountainsJim Thorpe was a town dependent on (anthracite) coal and the railroad. Like other towns in Pennsylvania, it went through a period of decline when those two industries took a nose dive. Since then it's dusted itself off and is today a charming and friendly little town to visit. By the way my family pronounced it "munk chunk" although people in parts of Pennsylvania have some peculiar language variations. Great photo by the way. During its coal dust and sooty past the street could've been as gray as seen in the photograph! HandprintThe jail in town is the home of the handprint that can't be removed. When some of the Molly Maguires, Irish miners, were hanged there in 1877 one of the condemned placed his handprint on the wall and stated that as proof of his innocence it could never be removed. It's still there today after many paint coverings of the area. Maw ChunkMy, Jim Thorpe looks so clean, prosperous...productive. These days it's one of those "quaint" tourist towns--mountain bikers doing the Lehigh River gorge in the summer and skiers doing the local trails in the winter. For those who actually live there, life is pretty depressing in Carbon County. I live about thirty miles away in Nazareth. We pronounce Jim Thorpe's former name as "Maw Chunk". Second only to Niagara FallsFrom the local history website: "During its golden era in the late 1800s the town was known as the wealthiest town - per capita - in America. The industry of tourism grew in importance alongside coal and railroads, and Mauch Chunk boasted seven grand hotels to handle all the visitors. Mauch Chunk became a tourist destination second only to Niagara Falls." It's a wonderful little town to visit during the summer or around Christmas. All you sports fans need to ensure you visit Jim Thorpe's grave site on Hwy. 903. Why did they want to visit here?I can understand why people go to Niagara Falls as tourists, but what was the visitors' attraction to Mauch Chunk in the past? I don't understand the reason for seven grand hotels, since I don't see falls or rivers or lakes or breath-taking mountains nearby. relatives from here My maternal grandmother and her family lived in Tamaqua, near Jim Thorpe. Her brothers and father were all coal miners for generations. I still have family in the area. F.O.E.Fraternal Order of Eagles? (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano, Stores & Markets)
War Birds: 1917
... and they began to leave camp shortly after noon. All the railroads ran special trains. The passes expire 6 p.m. Friday. And in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/25/2009 - 3:00am -

"1917. Camp Meade, Maryland, winter views." An eerie double exposure of the camp mess from the Harris & Ewing archive of glass negatives. View full size. Shadowy figureI'm interested in the shadow or bleed through figure on this image. What causes that sort of effect, double exposure? [As noted in the caption. - Dave] RankThe guy in uniform (who fails completely at looking tough) is a sergeant of some sort, but what type? I was in the military, and I never saw a sergeant with four chevrons up and no rockers beneathk, although upon examination it seems that the bottom chevron is a little smaller than the top three. Could this smaller chevron be a hashmark denoting four years of service? These days such hashmarks are sewn on the lower sleeves separate from the rank insignia. [This looks like three stripes on a darker background. - Dave] BravoAwesome use of poultry!~ Testing 123Comments should be working again. Deleted a crucial chunk of code by mistake! Turkey SaluteIt seems turkeys were popular in Army decorating circles. I like the Hitler wannabe on the top step. Ahead of his time. Recycling!I'm tickled to see how they have the waste items separated out. I was aware that this was a common practice, but seeing it in a photo is wonderful. Hitler's Mustache?Looks more like a young Chef Boyardee to me. Note his body language. He does not wish to be there. Wonder if he already knew there would be a great future in ravioli. Germs? We don't need no stinking germ theory here!If the enemy didn't get you, salmonella could. Granted, the snow indicates nature is providing a deep freeze to store those birds in. And they will be cooked before they are served. But between those filthy aprons and all those juices seeping into the wood crates -- yecch. No wonder they called where they ate a mess. A toast, and hearty round of applauseFor Stanton Square, who tireless fingers have immeasurably enriched the Shorpy commentarium. It's easy to take all this typing and research for granted. Eastern shore tomatoesThe Eastern Shore still grows a lot of tomatoes, but mostly farther south than in those days. If you drive down US 13 between Salisbury, Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel you'll see fields and fields of them. Of course, shipment from there to the western shore is quite a bit easier these days with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis and the Bay Bridge-Tunnel near Norfolk. Corn-Fattened TurkeysGiven the snow on the ground, it's possible this scene relates to Thanksgiving dinner preparations. 40,000 pounds of turkey would be about 3000 birds - a tad more then the carcasses displayed for this photo. The crates of tomatoes are from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I make out the printing to be "Zekin Brand Tomatoes, packed by Chas. Webster, East New Market, MD." If correct, "Zekin Brand Tomatoes" have disappeared leaving little historical documentation. Washington Post, Nov 29, 1917 Big Dinners at Meade 40,000 Pounds of Roast Turkey Make Men Cancel Passes. For the thousands of boys who will remain in camp over Thanksgiving, army cooks are preparing dinners as good as banquets. A glimpse at the menu, at the cakes, mince pies and roast turkey in the company kitchens, has caused many soldiers to cancel their applications for passes. A consignment of 40,000 pounds of corn-fattened turkeys reached the quartermaster's department yesterday, and the work of roasting birds was undertaken at once. The snow today balked the plans for a review of the entire division by Secretary Baker and Gen. Biddle, acting chief of staff. The snow also halted most of the regular drills, and lectures were given indoors instead. Twenty-five per cent of the troops here, about 5,000 soldiers, have been given permission to go home for thanksgiving, and they began to leave camp shortly after noon. All the railroads ran special trains. The passes expire 6 p.m. Friday. And in regard to recycling: Washington Post, Sep 22, 1917 Hogs to be Raised at Camps Waste from Kitchen Will be Saved; Other Economies Planned. Economy of every sort is to be rigidly practiced at Camp Meade and the other draft cantonments now getting into their stride for the gigantic task of training the new national armies. At several of the cantonments it is planned to raise hogs on the waste from the kitchens. Lieut. Col. J. Austin Ellison, of the quartermaster corps, has estimated that left-overs from the plates of 12 men will provide a hog with food sufficient to enable him to gain an average of a pound a day. Wherever possible nearby farm produce will be used by the cantonments, thus conserving canned goods and relieving transportation congestion. Ministry of Silly CooksThese guys look like they stepped out of a Monty Python skit -- I want to believe that in the next photo of the series, they start doing the turkey-slapping dance. Old Is New AgainWe saw at this year's Bonnaroo that the trash bins were arranged in a somewhat similar fashion. "Landfill," "Compost" and "Recycle" were the categories on signs above each color-coded barrel. They even had attendants ("trash talkers", in blue shirts below) making sure people knew what went where and they also were there to dig out mislaid items as needed. KP....Not a bad thing hereJudging by the snow and icicles, this would have been one time slaving over a hot stove or sink on KP duty would have actually been enjoyable. "I need some volunteers for KP this morning." "Me, Sarge, pick me! Me!" Re the question about rank, WW1 Army chevrons were strips of wool sewn on a slightly darker wool background, often with the branch-of-service insignia beneath (looks like this one has a crescent moon, insignia of the old Army Subsistence Department -- check out some of the ration crates in the photo as well), indicating this guy would have been a mess sergeant. (The Gallery, Harris + Ewing, Kitchens etc., WWI)
Industrial Strength: 1901
... 1940". (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cleveland, DPC, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/28/2019 - 7:29pm -

Lake Erie circa 1901. "Ore docks and harbor -- Cleveland, O." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Whiskey IslandSince nobody has commented yet on this wonderful scene, here is my attempt to get things started. There is much more unexplained than what I can surmise, especially those odd disconnected trestles. The boat (not called a ship on the Great Lakes) is in the "old river bed", with Whiskey Island in the background. The twisty Cuyahoga River originally emptied into Lake Erie west of its current mouth, near where the Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant is now. A new direct river entrance was cut east of this scene, unsure of when. The boat appears to be at the Cleveland Shipyard, either being completed or under repair under the sheerlegs. The boat's stern is sitting very high in the water, with work platforms around the rudder. There is a vertical boilered steam pile driver across the river, just left of the boat's mizzenmast, building a grid of pilings for some new construction. The round white object in the foreground looks like a ship's boiler, fat and stubby. None of these wooden buildings survive. The shipyard's abandoned drydock is still visible on satellite, to the west of the Great Lakes Towing Company (G Tug) yard. The concrete framed drydock entrance is still there, visited it a few years ago. Some time on the Bowling Green site might turn up the name of the boat, assuming it was being built at this time. The 'P' is probably Pittsburgh Steamship Company, but uncertain. The Cargill salt mine now occupies the area where the more distant disconnected trestle stands. The nearest trestlework appears to be the shipbuilding ways. Those crossed timbers would be light duty cranes for hoisting pieces of plating and small fittings. The disconnected trestle with the 4 hopper cars is a puzzle, unless there was an elevator to hoist the cars from ground level, not uncommon with lighter cars of the era, or it might be a curved ramp from the background. Seems like a long lens was used, the perspective is confusing. The embankment in the background is the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, later New York Central, Penn Central, Conrail, now Norfolk Southern, climbing westward from the old lakefront depot. Beyond the railroad is where the Lakefront Ore Docks are now. The breakwall is apparently being built or expanded, a pretty constant process to this day. Now I hope somebody comments on the equally wonderful "Along the Ohio: 1940". (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cleveland, DPC, Railroads)
Oyster Alley: 1922
... them and the oyster moved inland thanks to the burgeoning railroads that could deliver them. Soft Clams I know what soft shell ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 10:18pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "Wearley's front." Exterior of the oyster bar seen in the previous post. This stretch of 12th Street N.W. seems to have been something of a seafood hot spot. At the right we see a sliver of the enormous Raleigh Hotel. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Raleigh HotelA recent profile of the hotel here. The differencebetween an oyster depot and an oyster house is the baggage clam! Weser's OystersThe establishment to the left is Weser's Oyster Depot. Prior to Howe's, #423 was Hogan's Oyster Depot. Wearley's (established 1898 by Oscar B. Wearley) later moved to 418 12th. In 1950 another move to 516 N. Capitol Street, where it survived until the 1960s. Does anyone know the distinction between an Oyster Depot and an Oyster House? Washington Post, Feb 20, 1907 Edward Weser Dies of Old Age. Edward Weser, eighty-three years old, died yesterday morning at this home, 441 Seventh Street southwest. Death was caused by a complication of diseases due to old age. He was a native of Germany, but came to the United Sates when a boy. He was for several years a maker and seller of sulphur matches. In 1858 he established an oyster house at Twelfth and E streets, the management of which he continued until his death. He is survived by his wife and three daughters, Mrs. Annie Gordon, Mrs. Barbara Swing, and Mrs. A.J. Comiskey, and two sons, C.H. Weser and Joseph B. Weser. 1887 Boyd's directory of the District of Columbia 1908, Washington Times At a theatre near you!Dorothy Dalton in The Siren's Call. Here's what she looked like. Has anyone ever seen it? Larry, Moe, & Curly (or was it Shemp?)Might this be the place where the stooges had such trouble eating a simple bowl of soup? "Old Fashion"Isn't it interesting and telling that "Old Fashion" could be used in 1922 to distinguish one establishment from two adjacent businesses that all seem to sell the same basic product. Re: Why Oysters?Anyone with the time and inclination to learn about oysters ought to read Mark Kurlansky's book The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell. In part, the prevalence of oyster houses reflects the prevalence of the oyster itself. Europe's oyster beds had long been depleted from over-fishing and destruction of beds. In contrast, the waters of east coast (especially around New York Harbor) were bounteous. At one time, the fledgeling U.S.A. produced 88% of the world's oyster production. As a result oysters provided a cheap source of protein for people of all economic classes. In the 20th century, urban pollution (largely sewage and run-off) lowered the water quality and destroyed many of the oyster beds. Incidentally, when this photo was made, my ancestors were dredging oysters in the Chesapeake - probably supplying oyster depots in both Baltimore and Washington. UPDATE: Link to 2001 NYT article by Mark Kurlansky: "CITY LORE; When the Oyster Was Their World" The world would be my oysterif I could rent that room on the top floor! Ornamental crustaceansGotta love those lobster decorations on the balcony railing above Wearley's. Gayety, Palace, and MetropolitanThe posters in front of Howe's advertise shows at three theaters that we've seen before on Shorpy: Gayety: https://www.shorpy.com/node/6455 Palace: https://www.shorpy.com/node/5844 (in comments) Metropolitan: https://www.shorpy.com/node/5539 OystercentrismMuch like today, blame New York for the trend. They became very popular there in the 19th century. Cheap from beginning to end, you could get them on most streets and they fed the working class. As immigrants poured in and the shift moved, they took their appetite with them and the oyster moved inland thanks to the burgeoning railroads that could deliver them. Soft ClamsI know what soft shell crabs are but what is a soft clam? Why Oysters?This may have been discussed before, but can anyone shed light on the appetite for oysters in America in the late 19th to early 20th centuries? I've seen pictures of small Midwestern and western towns with only a handful of businesses, and an "Oysters" sign among them. It seems folks couldn't go more than a day or two without eating an oyster. [Fast-forward 100 years. Substitute "Starbucks" for "oysters." - Dave] Weser descendants thank youAs descendants of Edward Weser and Joseph B. Weser, we thank you for this posting. (The Gallery, D.C., Eateries & Bars, Natl Photo)
Hoboken Public Bath: 1905
... day. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Railroads) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/13/2017 - 10:44am -

1905. "Holland America line piers, Hoboken, N.J." Points of interest include the Hoboken Public Bath at center and S.S. Potsdam. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The steamboatat the upper right is the William F. Romer, launched in June 1881 by the Skinner Shipbuilding & Drydock Company at Baltimore for the Weems Steamboat Company as the Mason L. Weems. It operated between Baltimore and Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River in the passenger and freight trade, one of the largest and fastest in that trade at the time. In 1890 Weems sold the vessel to Romer & Tremer Steamboat Company which had taken over the Cornell Steamboat Company route between Rondout and New York City on the Hudson and was renamed Willliam F. Romer. In 1899 Romer & Tremer sold out to the Central Hudson Steamboat Company and the Romer entered that firm's employment. It ran until the fall of 1918 when laid up at Newburgh. In 1920 the vessel was dismantled there and its hull sold to a brick manufacturer at Eavesport who intended to use the hull as a dock facing. That was never done, and the Romer's remains can still be seen there. The Potsdam, built at Hamburg in 1900 by Blohm & Voss, became the Stockholm of the Swedish-American line in 1915 and was converted into the Norwegian whale factory ship Solglimt in 1928 and served as such until seized by Germany in 1940 and transferred to the German Navy, renamed Sonderburg. It was sunk as a blockade ship at Cherbourg, France, 29 June 1944 and destroyed by British bombing soon after. Its remains were raised in 1947 and broken up at England. Remains of the DayThe remains of the William F. Romer can barely be seen at low tide in the cove formed by Eves Point at the end of Emerick Road, on the west bank of the Hudson (now part of Bristol Beach State Park), just over a mile up river from the Village of Saugerties. More visible is the better known M. Martin (1863-1918, scrapped 1920), named for Milton Martin, a prosperous Hudson merchant and banker. She was built at Jersey City for the Romer & Tremper Steamboat Company to run day passengers and freight from Catskill to Albany. Pressed into service during the Civil War, she became known as the Union Army's "greyhound" (not to be confused with the Union troop transport Greyhound, which was sunk by a Confederate "coal torpedo"). She served as General Grant's personal dispatch boat on the Chesapeake Bay, and carried messages and troops across the bay and river. Early in 1865 the Confederate peace commissioners, led by the Vice-President of the Confederacy Alexander H. Stephens, were quartered for several days as guests (without guards) on board the M. Martin at City Point, while they waited to negotiate terms of peace with someone that President Lincoln would designate for what became known as the Hampton Roads Conference. The conference, which ended in failure, was held on the River Queen and the Union was represented by Lincoln himself. Click on the photo to enlarge. SS Potsdam sailed from RotterdamThe "NASM" on the flag you see on the mast stands for "Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij" or "Netherlands-American Steamship Company", the original Dutch name for the company. Like many other passenger ship lines, it was assimilated by the cruise line Borg -- Carnival Cruise Lines -- and continues zombie like as the "Holland America Line". The ship itself ended up being scuttled in the Cherbourg harbor by the Germans in 1944. NABISCOOver yonder across the North River (well, ok, Hudson River), is the Uneeda Biscuit bakery on the west side of Manhattan. Uneeda Biscuit later became part of National Biscuit Company, aka NABISCO. The Oar WeathervaneThis image is rich in salubrious period nautical detail. The bowsprits in the right foreground belong to Hudson River Sloops, of which the late Pete Seeger's Clearwater is a replica. These sailed up and down the Hudson carrying bluestone, hay for the city's horses, and, especially, bricks from the many brickworks of the Hudson valley. The steam yacht in the left foreground has beautiful flowing lines and a clipper bow. Modern yachts are clu8nky in comparison! The second building has a charming weathervane shaped like an oar. It must be a rowing club! The Uneeda Biscuit factory on the Manhattan shore in the left background later became part of Nabisco. Uneeda biscuits, which lasted until about a decade ago, were like thick matzos or unsalted saltines; basically "hardtack". Among other things, they could be used to make a truly excellent poultry stuffing. The real prize might be the side-wheel steamboat in the right background. Can't make out her entire name: Looks like William F. Bower or Rower. Have not been able to find a reference. The pier to which the S.S. Potsdam is tied has some sort of cargo rigging strung between heavy poles. It would be interesting to learn how this worked! Wireless Technology The Potsdam's wireless antenna was strung from the stack to aft. State of the art for its day. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
Nouvelle Cuisine: 1938
... to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgage associations, and other businesses. Its purpose was to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/15/2019 - 6:43pm -

September 1938. "Mrs. Betty Zimmerman and child in kitchen of new home at Greenbelt, Maryland." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size. The DressAm I mistaken, or does her dress look like it was made from a tablecloth? Reminds me of the flour sack dresses. After all, it was the Depression. Ben a long, long timeIt looks like there is a Westclox Baby Ben on the shelf above the sink. Westclox has been making the Baby Ben since 1910. My grandparents had the version with a wooden case as long as anyone could remember. Betty's a babeShoe game strong, beautiful figure, gorgeous hair, stylish dress. Show 'em how it's done, Betty. But is that kid chowing down on frozen vegetables right out of the Birds Eye bag? My kids didn't want them even perfectly cooked, with salt and butter. I don't think this is a "new house"Maybe new to her? Strongly reminds me of Grandma's house, especially the sink, built about 10 years prior to this pic in 1938. Floor is worn- not new. But Grandma is hose and heels and a dress, oh yes. But she wore an enormous apron to protect her clothes (but would never have let an outsider see her in it). And I'll bet that Betty was the same way. Never ever saw Grandma except in heels and a dress. [It is a new apartment home. This was one of hundreds of photos taken by Marion Post and others to document the construction of housing in the federally planned community of Greenbelt, Maryland. - Dave] Radiating curiosityAnyone else wonder why they put the radiator under the sink? I mean, it would be great to keep the pipes in the outside wall from freezing in the winter, but a lot of the heat from it would never make it out into the room and end up on the underside of the sink. [It might be time for that refresher course in thermodynamics. - Dave] Scans wellOne of my best friends has lived in Greenbelt for the 20+ years I've known him. His family first lived in one of the row houses there, and now has a nice detached home on a shaded street. Greenbelt was designed for foot traffic and has a pleasant park with a lake, which I suppose is man-made. Some of the houses in Greenbelt still have their original furniture and room dividers, and all that stuff was of a sort of a Scandinavian design. In the town center, where the co-op store and swimming pool often shown on Shorpy are, has a great club called the New Deal Café, which offers live music. Great town. Creative RecyclingI am quite certain that Betty's dress is made from one or more tablecloths. Re: babeI love it when women make these comments about other women. Especially these strong, beautiful Depression women who are like a later generation of pioneer folk to me. Her hair is indeed gorgeous: silken soft and deftly arranged like a braided eggbread. Square corners and glass bricksReferencing your photo below, this really has the Bauhaus look pioneered in Germany by Walter Gropius between 1919 and 1933 down pat! You can see its influence in lots of commercial structures in the late 1930s. A casement window yet in 1938Crank out and screened. Living is easy. Kinda, anyway -- no Swing-a-Way can opener in sight. "Get-Up!" sound of my childhoodThe bell alarm of the Westclox "Big Ben" is embedded in my brain. (archfan: Baby Bens were much smaller) I remember purposely "forgetting" to wind it so I might have and excuse to not go to school. It rarely was successful. Wearing fastI agree with francesblo that the place does not look new. The sink and faucet look nice, but the paint on the radiator and steam pipe is scuffed in lots of places. Some of it looks like damage from the trash can being repeatedly kicked into it, but some doesn't. I can't tell if the floor is worn or not, since it's clearly dirty. And there's a fair amount of accumulated grime in the corners. But the date of the photo is clearly September 1938, and I can't find any evidence of Greenbelt housing being occupied much before 1937. So I think we have to conclude that the place is indeed quite new, but the Zimmerman family is pretty hard on it. Betty x2Here we have Betty the elder (born in 1917) with her daughter, Betty Brooke, born in 1936. She lived with her husband, Paul Zimmerman, at 10-D Hillside Road, and Betty Brooke's little sister, Paula, born in 1937. Paul was an accountant in "government" work, and earned a whopping $2200 in 1939. Their monthly rent was $34. That's my sink!My 1883 building was renovated in the late 1930s, and my kitchen is original from that date. The only difference is that there's a metal cabinet enclosing the pipes under the sink, with two doors, leading to storage area. The decrepit condition of my kitchen is not something I'm happy with, but when I asked what it would take to get a new kitchen, the landlord said, "Move." One Gen. Ben LargerI believe the clock is a Westclox Big Ben, style 4. Made from 1934 to 1939. Both beauteous BettysAdding to Karaboo's information from the 1940 Census, husband Paul worked as an accounting clerk for the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. According to Wikipedia, "The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) was a government corporation administered by the United States Federal Government between 1932 and 1957 that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgage associations, and other businesses. Its purpose was to boost the country’s confidence and help banks resume daily functions after the start of the Great Depression. The RFC became more prominent under the New Deal and continued to operate through World War II. It was disbanded in 1957, when the US Federal Government concluded that it no longer needed to stimulate lending." Occupations of the Zimmermans' neighbors include file clerk at the White House, guard at the Bureau of Engraving, guard at the Post Office, boilermaker at Navy Yard, electrician at Navy Yard, and lecturer with a sightseeing company. Another photo of both Bettys can be found here: https://www.loc.gov/resource/fsa.8c35659/ Plastic Bag?Looks like a plastic bag. I thought they did not come into use until the 1950s? [It's cellophane, which has been around forever. - Dave] (The Gallery, Kids, Kitchens etc., M.P. Wolcott)
St. Bart's: 1905
... father Cornelius amassed a giant fortune in shipping and railroads. The Parish House had a multitude of large gathering spaces, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/31/2022 - 11:32pm -

New York circa 1905. "St. Bartholomew's Church parish house and clinic, East 42nd Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. FashionistasIt's Derby O'Gill and the Little People! So Many Ways --Those old sidewalks were minefields for the careless stroller. One can easily trip on those slightly elevated vault lights or drop down into the netherworld through those many open cellar doors! I Shutter to Think?It looks like those open shutters in the sidewalk along the front of the building are for basement windows, or possibly ventilation? I see a substantial stairway going down, where the railings on the sidewalk are. Never saw anything quite like those shutters before. The lowdown on ... low downThis shot offers joy for the many of us who refuse to accept the idea that (early) 20th century Manhattan was still filled with unpaved streets: superficially this looks like dirt, but the rupture in the street surface seems to show a thin surface layer ... macadam? Early asphalt?? [Asphalt paving goes back at least to the 1870s. - Dave]         By 1907 The Real Estate Record and Guide counted more than 400 miles of pavement in Manhattan, with asphalt on the inside track at 248 miles. There were also 90 miles of granite, along with macadam and wood block. -- New York Times "Asphalt paving goes back at least to the 1870s" So THAT explains what's in front of my house !! Thanks ... who knew? (other than the RER&G) Vanderbilts and VaccinesNone of the buildings in this frame survive to the present day, for better or worse. The former Parish House of St. Bart's was located at 209 E. 42nd Street and was the vision of the Rev. Dr. David H. Greer with support from Maria Louisa Kissam (Mrs. W. H. Vanderbilt) and her son Cornelius II who funded purchase of the land and construction of the building. W.H. Vanderbilt's father Cornelius amassed a giant fortune in shipping and railroads. The Parish House had a multitude of large gathering spaces, classrooms, recreational rooms, a running track, and a rooftop garden where you could purchase temperance drinks for cost and "hear good music and get fresh air during hot weather." The Parish House was expanded in 1897 with an additional story and was also paid for by the Vanderbilts. http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/StBartholomewEpisParishHouse.html Just to the right of St. Bart's at 235 E. 42nd now stands the headquarters of Pfizer, Inc., who just today requested approval from the FDA for a coronavirus vaccine regiment for children under 5. Pfizer was established in NYC in 1849 by two German cousins. Farther east, crossing the street at the frame's vanishing point, is the 42nd Street Station of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company's Second Avenue Elevated, which began operations in 1878 and ceased in 1940 before being demolished in 1942. 42nd Street Station was an express station with 3 tracks and 2 center island platforms. Connections could be made on the Flushing Line (the current 7 and 7 Express lines), named for its current eastern terminus, but prior to 1928 was known as the Corona Line or Corona and Woodside Line, for the neighborhoods in Queens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRT_Second_Avenue_Line Good work was done hereThis source places the parish house and clinic at 209 East 42nd Street. It was designed by Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell, opened in 1891, and paid for by Mrs. William H. Vanderbilt and her son, Cornelius. In 1897 a floor was added to meet the needs of an increasing immigrant population needing assistance. It closed in the 1920s and the land was sold as immigration slowed and earlier immigrants no longer needed assistance. St. Bartholomew's Church still stands at 109 East 50th Street The replacement brick building on the left is number 205 and engulfs much of what was in the 1905 photograph. But, across the street is a building, the one with fire escape, that was probably there in 1905 and has watched East 42nd Street change considerably. ShuttersThe shutters in question used to be (and many still are) in central business districts all over the place. If you have spent time in downtown anywhere, you've probably trodden on several. They are variously called sidewalk elevators, sidewalk freight lifts, &c. I don't know that I've ever seen so many in front of a single building, but hey, Vanderbilts! [Those aren't lifts. They're skylights that can be opened for ventilation, with screens underneath. - Dave] Too clever by half...sigh. - slr (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
Flour Power: 1911
... of the 19th century and into the 20th a handful of Eastern railroads established steamboat lines as extensions of their services that ... to connect with the Northern Pacific at Duluth. The railroads were forced to divest these steamship lines by the Panama Canal Act ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/06/2014 - 10:50am -

The Buffalo River, city ship canal and flour mill elevators circa 1911. "A busy section of the canal -- Buffalo, N.Y." 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. Freighters' FateToward the end of the 19th century and into the 20th a handful of Eastern railroads established steamboat lines as extensions of their services that carried freight westward and mostly grain eastward. The Bethlehem, launched 29 February 1888 as the E. P. Wilbur by the Globe Iron Works at Cleveland, ran for the Lehigh Valley Transit Company, a subsidiary of that railroad. The Schuylkill, launched 2 July 1892 also by Globe, ran for the Erie & Western Transportation Company, a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, to connect with the Northern Pacific at Duluth. The railroads were forced to divest these steamship lines by the Panama Canal Act of 1912. Aside from their builder and similar service, both vessels shared a common experience of lake package freighters upon the advent of the United States' entry into the Great War: Requisition or outright sale for wartime service on saltwater. The Bethlehem was cut in half at Ashtabula in 1917 and reassembled at Montreal and slightly enlarged. It survived the war and entered British registry in 1921, and was dismantled two years later. The Schuylkill was halved at Buffalo and reassembled at Quebec. On its first voyage on saltwater the Schuylkill was torpedoed by German submarine U-39 on its delivery voyage to Greece, 21 November 1917, becoming one of the 157 vessels sunk by the U-39 during the war, second largest total among Germany's U-boat fleet. The Blue PeterThe flag on the foremast of the ship on the left is the flag for the letter "P". When it was raised in port it indicated that the ship would be sailing soon and all passengers and crew should make haste to get on board. The flag was called the Blue Peter as it had a white square in the center of a blue flag. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Buffalo NY, DPC)
Erie Canal: 1910
... frontiers to viable economies because of this canal. The Railroads rendered almost every canal in the nation useless overnight. The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/29/2012 - 10:20am -

Utica, New York, circa 1910. "Erie Canal at Utica." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Possible location..The George W.Head Flour, Grain, Feed (on the right in the photo) is listed on a 1906 billhead as being at the corner of Broad and John streets. I can't seem to find any buildings today that appear in the photo minus the possible spire of the St. Johns Catholic church which sits 2 to the 3 blocks south on John st. Great photo. George M. Cohans The Honeymooners.It was a 1907 Play so the sign is a few years old. Starring George, Jerry and Nellie Cohan, it ran for 72 Performances. Source: Musicals101.com LocationThe trolley is crossing the John St. bridge, so the spire is Grace Episcopal a bit south of the canal. St. John's, which has twin spires, would be out of the photo at left, since, it too is on John St., south of where it intersects with Broad. The route of the old Erie through Utica was filled in and is now Oriskany St. That's pretty coolDoes any of that survive? Did the canal go through the heart of Utica? I live outside Boston and you can still see the remnants of the old Middlesex Canal. Sad though, as the suburbs fill up more and more of it has been lost to history. Could that be...the remains of the Squire Whipple designed Utica weigh lock on the left, which hadn't been used since tolls were abolished on the canal in 1882, after the construction bonds/loans had been paid off? Those were the days! weighlockThe building on the left is a weighlock. I don't think it still exists in Utica (or at least I didn't see it the last time I was there). But the one in Syracuse is still standing, and has been turned into the Erie Canal Museum. Picture from the museum's website below. What about now?I would love for some Utica NY Shorpy expert to figure out what this shot looks like now,if it even exists. The Erie canal was the most financially successful canal venture ever built in this country. First proposed over 100 years before it actually opened, and taking nearly 20 years to build at a staggering cost both financially and politically for those that opposed and supported it. The Erie canal forever changed the makeup of this nation in terms of east to west migration and allowed the "middle" to reach the east coast and ultimately Europe with both agricultural and manufactured goods and also allowed the vast manufacturing of the East to move West, cheaply. Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and many other states went from wilderness frontiers to viable economies because of this canal. The Railroads rendered almost every canal in the nation useless overnight. The Erie, while greatly diminished in tonnage after 1850 remained very important to New York, and the Eastern Great Lakes Region almost into the 20th century. Oriskany StreetAbout the time this photo was taken the New York State Barge Canal was being built to handle larger barges. In some places the Erie Canal was simply widened, but in cities like Utica, Syracuse and Rochester a new canal was built. In Utica, the new canal was about a half-mile north of the Erie Canal. This map shows the Weigh Lock. It is where Oriskany St. turns into the East-West Arterial Highway at the intersection of Broad St. None of the buildings in the photo are still there. Mr. Rogers Was HereLooks like an open-sided trolley or street car is on the cusp of crossing the bridge from left to right (gauging by the angle of the trolley pole), while a couple of men-folk are crossing on the bridge's pedestrian walkway. A bucolic urban scene for yesteryear. Lovely shot. Thanks for posting it. Singing "Erie Canal"I was in the 4th grade in 1950 in Cincinnati and our music teacher always had us sing "Erie Canal". I still know the words as that song always stuck with me: I got a mule her name is Sal, Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal, She's a good old worker and a good old pal, Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal. We've hauled some barges in our day, full of lumber, coal and hay, and we know every inch of the way, 15 miles on the Erie Canal..... Low bridge, everybody down; Low bridge 'cause we're comin' to a town. And you'll always know your neighbor, You'll always know your pal; if you ever navigated on the Erie Canal. SUCH SWEET MEMORIES! LocationTo set the record straight, the street in the background is Genesee Street. The vantage point appears to be from the John St. bridge. The canal is now Oriskany St. By the time this photo was taken, the State had stopped collecting canal tolls, so the building had no use aside from office space. You can see by the broken windows that this building appears to be empty. There were once five of these weighlocks, the only one left is in Syracuse. The State DOT, which had control of the canals up to the 1990's used the Syracuse building as office space until the late 1950's or early 1960's. It was then purchased by the city of Syracuse and turned into a museum. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Utica)
The Toyopet Kid: 1960
... dirt road that among other amenities crossed several BIG railroads and forded a river that could get you stuck in the rainy season. Lots ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 5:01pm -

In answer to countless requests for photos of 13-year-old boys smoking pipes while driving the automobile ultimately to be called the Toyota, I hereby submit this 35mm Kodacolor negative my brother took in January 1960. Full disclosure: it's my brother's unlit pipe and I'm not driving. I'm in a parked 1960 Crown Custom at Hil Probert's Toyopet dealership in Larkspur, California. That's our house up the hill at the top right. Note the special bonus for fellow Shorpy obsolete car make aficionados. View full size. Look out below!That house didn't slide down the hill and into the car lot did it? It looks like it is perched on the edge of a previous landslide. Fill er upIn a circa 1959 car mag I read an article on one of these early Toyotas (the Tiara, I think). The reviewer noted with some surprise that instead of a regular gas cap, the fuel filler was corked with rubber stopper on a nylon string. The pipe was a nice touchI never pictured your house on a hill. Maybe I got things confused, in my mind's eye with that picture of you and your brother in 1949, on your grandmother's steps. You shot an AeroI believe the dark-colored car is a Willys Aero from 1952-55, the last generation of Willys passenger cars. First case of dealer buy-back?An elderly aunt of mine bought an early model Toyopet and experienced considerable woes with its mechanical reliability. As this was a secondary product line with a well-established dealer in her town, he had the good sense to buy the car back from her. Not sure of the exact history from there, but a vague memory is that Toyota pulled out of the U.S. market until they had the bugs worked out of their export products. ToyopetI have heard that roller skates had more under the hood than a Toyopet! I hope your family never had the misfortune to have one of these sad vehicles. Of course, that same car might be worth a fortune today. Obsolete featuresSuicide doors at the rear, but is it a working semaphore on the B pillar or a delete plate for U.S. import? Former Toyopet ownersMy, I hadn't seen one of those since ... forever! My dad owned a light green Toyopet Crown back in the early 1960s. Used, but almost new, bought through a local Datsun dealer. Toyota didn't have permanent operations in Mexico at the time, so the car was basically an "orphan" which at best got serviced at the local Datsun shop with Datsun spares. I am told that once, when the little motor finally gave up, it was refurbished completely with Datsun spare parts, from pistons and rings to valve lifters and such. Funny thing is, they fit and worked nicely in that car, making it good for another several thousand miles. I've heard the Toyopet was indeed flimsy and had a whole lot of space under the hood - my brother used to joke that the engine was barely bigger than one of those exercise wheels they give hamsters to run in; he even said that the engine was rated at about "1 HP" (Hamster Power). Nevertheless, that car lasted well into the early '70s with the family, and in the meantime it made a lot of trips to my grandparents' home, a grueling, three-hour trip over a rutted dirt road that among other amenities crossed several BIG railroads and forded a river that could get you stuck in the rainy season. Lots of childhood adventures there! Guam ToyopetIn the late '60's our family was stationed on Guam, and my dad drove a dark blue Toyopet for a short time. Judging from the color slides I've seen, it looks like a 1959 model. I can't recall the circumstances (I was 4 or 5), maybe our Coronet wagon was in the shop, or we were waiting for it to be shipped from the States. We lived on Anderson AFB, and drove that thing all over the island. I wonder what ever happened to it. ToyopetMy father had a car repair shop from the 30s until 1972. I remember him and his friends laughing at a Toyopet that had been in a wreck. When he took off the front fender, on the inside you could see the printing on the cans that had been used to make it. House on the hillAbout that chasm below our house: up until two years prior to this shot, that was a continuation of the gentle slope seen above and to the left, covered by acacias. One day a crew showed up and, after clearing the trees, brought in earth movers that excavated up to within a few feet of our foundation - which turned out to slightly encroach the adjoining property. Other than scaring us to death, the eyesore remained vacant for several years - during which our house fortunately remained in the spot on which it had been built in 1906. A couple years after this photo was taken an ugly apartment building was built way down at street level, as seen on Shorpy here. All of it, our former home included, is still there today. Also, kudos to commenter argo for nailing the Willys Aero identification. Toyopet PowerI was stationed in Japan with the Navy in the late 1960's. My buddy and I owned a 1962 Toyopet Crown that appears to have been nearly identical to the one in the picture, but with right hand drive. There was a mild hill near the base, and if there were more than two people in the car, the extra passengers would have to get out and walk up the hill. I do remember we never had a mechanical problem with the car, and when we got new orders, we sold it for we had paid for it two years earlier. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)
Off-Street Parking: 1921
... second-class mail matter or the proper compensation of railroads for transporting the mails until we shall have established business ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/11/2020 - 10:58am -

January 1921. Washington, D.C. "Penrose car, accident." Senator Boies Penrose's Winton Six touring car, last seen here, after taking out a mailbox, call box and lamppost on an icy sidewalk. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. NOT A MAILBOX!That mailbox was fire hydrant. Look at the debris, they always win. Mailboxes tend to lose & never inflict that quantity of vehicle damage. [So it's a fire hydrant shaped like a mailbox that says "U.S. MAIL". - Dave] A different orderIt seems the description lists the car's victims in reverse order. It seems to have taken out a lamp post then a call box and was finally stopped when a mailbox sacrificed itself in an effort to bring the car to a stop. Rain, nor sleet, nor wayward motor vehicle ...Crushed the little bugger! Oh dearSomething similar happened to me on an icy, gently sloped street (mine) in Knoxville, Tennessee, many winters ago. The item struck was also a fire hydrant -- NOT marked US MAIL -- but the only damage sustained was in the form of a tiny dent in the bumper of my white Mercury Sable. I don't know where Senator Penrose was bound, but I was trying to go to work. Oooops!No doubt typing and driving. These car wreck picturesmake me instinctively look for Laurel and Hardy somewhere in the vicinity. What we need, Senator, is Driver EdAlthough I have no date to reference, I'm certain it will be at least a decade before automobile drivers are advised to steer into the skid. Snowman was an oak tree stumpYears ago a coworker was out for a couple weeks. What we learned was he saw a snowman on the sidewalk and decided to run it over with his van. The snowman was built over a large oak tree stump. He was almost killed, the van destroyed. Be careful out there. Are We There Yet?My goodness, for a moment there I thought we were in Oakland! I must have taken quite a knock to the noggin. One mailbox at a timeSenator Penrose of Pennsylvania was member of the 1906-7 Penrose- Overstreet commission on 2nd class mail and Chairman of the 1911 Senate Committee on Postoffices and Postroads: "It is idle to take up such questions as apportioning the cost for carrying second-class mail matter or the proper compensation of railroads for transporting the mails until we shall have established business methods in postoffice affairs by a reorganization of the whole postal system." — Senator Penrose. "In this connection, however, it may be said that some members of the commission may have come near to such unusual opportunities as just mentioned for acquiring expert knowledge of the classification, transportation and handling of second-class mail. " — W.H. Cantz, Postal Riders and Raiders, 1912 Collision avoidanceFrom the Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), January 10, 1921 [Kudos for the excellent detective work! - Dave] I miss the accidents!We haven't seen a good fender bender in some time on Shorpy. This is a real treat. I love the part of the post lying in the gutter. This must have been quite the impact having thrown iron that far from the post's original home. This is a great reminder as the wintry weather starts to set in on parts of the Northern Hemisphere to use caution while driving. And as previously stated, avoid using your typewriters while driving. (Good one, Frisco1522.) (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
Arsenal of Democracy: 1941
... output of war machines, airplanes and ships. And how the railroads managed to come back from very lean years with worn out equipment to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/16/2020 - 4:55pm -

August 1941. Warren, Michigan. "Tank manufacture (Chrysler). These are partially completed M-3 tanks, 28-ton steel giants being turned out at the huge Chrysler tank arsenal near Detroit. The camera was directed toward the end of the three main assembly lines. Mass assembly methods developed in automobile manufacture are used. Note overhead cranes for heavy parts." Photo by Alfred Palmer for the Office for Emergency Management. View full size. BookWhen I was younger, I found, in a used book store, a small book about the effort by an automotive manufacturer to build tanks for WWII. I believe it was actually published by the manufacturer to document their work after the war. Don't remember whether it was GM, Ford or Chrysler. But, it was a fascinating read, with pictures of the assembly process, at least one of them much like this one. Previously on Shorpy --Quite a few Alfred Palmer 4x5 Kodachromes featuring M-3 crews training at Fort Knox have appeared on Shorpy. Here are a few: M-3s in Action: 1942 Aim High: 1942 Fort Knox: 1942 Hits the SpotLooks like a very thrifty operation indeed, at least if judged by the recycled Pepsi-Cola bucket sitting on the floor just ahead of the stand-mounted engine at lower right. M-3 Medium Tank (Lee)as opposed to the M-3 Light Tank (Stuart). The Confederate general names were applied by the British to distinguish the tanks, with the Grant M-3 being a modified version that suited the Brits more. They were used extensively in the North Africa campaign by the British, despite the tank being a stopgap measure until the M-4 Sherman could be developed. An unusual characteristic was the 75mm cannon in a fixed sponson on the right side because a turret capable of handling such a large gun hadn't yet been developed. The turret at the top held a rapid firing 37mm cannon. As a little note, the tank pictured by Vonderbees is an M-3 Stuart light tank. The Stuart has four road wheels and no 75mm cannon and the Lee six road wheels. Continental R-975Based on the glimpse of the yet-to-be installed engine on the floor in the bottom right-hand corner, this would appear to be one of the many thousands of Wright developed R-975 C1 air-cooled radial engines manufactured under license by Continental for use as a powerplant for Allied tanks and other armored vehicles. http://usautoindustryworldwartwo.com/images/Continental%20Engine/r975-aa... This engine in its C4 variant went on to be the main engine for the Sherman. Not that the R-975 isn't a great engine (it is!) but it's a bit of a disappointment for me as I was hoping to catch sight of the Chrysler A57 Multibank. The A57 was a 30-cylinder 1,253 cid engine (five Chrysler 250.6 cid L-head inline six cylinder engines arranged around a central shaft) that was developed in 1941 out of the necessity for a rear-mounted tank engine to be developed and produced in the shortest time possible. ... and here I am, hijacking my own post about the R-975 For sheer output to space ratio, the Radial Engine configuration can't be beat. Yank In A TankUpon further review, the tank on fire in the photo below is actually the M3 Stuart Light Tank which is different than the M3 Lee tanks in the manufacturing photo. PhotographerIs the photographer really Russell Lee? Per https://www.loc.gov/resource/fsa.8b00695/, the photographer is Alfred T Palmer. [It is indeed and the caption has been corrected. - Dave] More About The PlantInteresting info here about the tank plant in the photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Arsenal_Tank_Plant Tanks!"Yer welcome!" Amazing timesI continue to be amazed at how America mobilized for WWII, the massive output of war machines, airplanes and ships. And how the railroads managed to come back from very lean years with worn out equipment to handle all the traffic. America truly came together. I'll be 80 in two days and really all I can remember is my dad being on the road as a Frisco engineer and the huge number of trains running then. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Detroit Photos, Factories, WW2)
Meet the Loomises: 1939
... farmland. However, once the Erie Canal, and later, the railroads, came in and opened up the fertile (and flatter) lands of the Midwest ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/12/2020 - 7:01pm -

        Social Distancing 1.0 -- no matter how close you get, these folks are always at least six feet away. October 1939. "Graveyard, Shaftsbury Center, Bennington County, Vermont." You can exhume the hi-res Loomises by clicking here. Acetate negative by John Vachon. View full size. United AboveDivided Below. (Okay, I'll bite: What's that ball?) Now, but before the trees in frontFoo. Having once again forgotten how to embed a Street View. (Edit: Thanks. I've told others in the past how to embed Street View, but, as happens, this time didn't find the trick. A note in the FAQ/Instructions would be handy. 2008: ) Anyway, trees and jet trails now, but the fence remains. Vachon had such a good eye. An acorn?If it is a giant acorn, it is a clumsy image, given its disproportion to the tree. But a tree by itself, or an acorn by itself, might not convey anything, and an acorn proportional to the tree would not be noticed. It brings to my mind the verse from the gospel of John, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." It might be difficult to portray the fall of a grain of wheat in sculpture, but a tree and an acorn seem readily intelligible. Not much has changedExcept for more trees. It's always interesting to see how many more trees exist today than in America of the early 20th century. AcornThank you for that, Archivist. But what does the oak signify in this context? I must confess I’m a bit adrift here. I get that the chain is united above and divided below (whatever that really means), but does it also refer to the family – united in life, divided in death? I’m puzzled. Forests in New England come full circleMuch of New England was clear cut of timber in the pre-Revolutionary days to create farmland. However, once the Erie Canal, and later, the railroads, came in and opened up the fertile (and flatter) lands of the Midwest to farming, most of the agricultural lands were abandoned, and the forests regrew. It took a couple of hundred-odd years, but now the forests are more verdant than before. Never mind the acornThe more important part of the carving is the broken chain, symbolizing an ended life. This can also refer to the "divided below," meaning the family circle which is now broken, while "united above" refers to the deceased reunited with God in Heaven. Clarrisa, ClarissaAnyone else notice that Clarissa's name is misspelled on her headstone? [Or if her name is Clarrisa, the typo is on her son's headstone. - Dave] Ah, the Loomis clan.Fairly prolific bunch of New England settler folk. Among their many descendants are such luminaries (Loomis-naries?) as Doodles Weaver and his niece Sigourney. Got a Loomis in my own family tree, too—the same one on both sides, as a matter of fact. She's the reason my parents were seventh cousins, and the reason an ex and I (who met by chance a quarter of a world away, on another continent entirely) are eleventh cousins on both sides of our families. New England genealogy, the source of endless amusement. Interesting IconHere's my take. The tree is a symbol of Jesus and the cross in a lot of Christian communities worldwide. A fruit (or acorn) bearing tree would be a symbol of spiritual rebirth and to family. The chain and the caption of "United above, divided below" represents the passing away of a loved one who will be reunited with family again in heaven. Now tell me I'm wrong. Illicit Loomis branchOne branch of New England Loomises drifted West to Madison County, New York, and for several generations were known as the “Loomis Gang,” operating out of the Nine-Mile Swamp, not far from Utica. They alternated horse theft with other larcenies, and were adept at escaping raids by the local sheriff. Witnesses to their offenses were often stricken with amnesia around the time the cases reached the court docket. Only the eventual deaths of the key figures brought an end to the Gang’s colorful adventures. (The Gallery, John Vachon)
Palm Beach: 1905
... in the 1960s would know all about Henry Flagler and his railroads and hotels. If I'm ever offered a time machine, my first trip will be ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2012 - 4:53pm -

Florida circa 1905. "The Palm Beach 'trolley.' " Early development in the Sunshine State. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Flagler hotelsThis trolley led from the the gargantuan Hotel Royal Poinciana about a half mile east to the Breakers on the ocean. Guests could also choose to take the palm-lined "Ocean Walk." The hotel closed around 1930 and was razed in 1936. It was the largest wooden structure in the world when it was built. http://royalpoincianahotel.blogspot.com/ A quibbleis that the term "trolley" refers to the apparatus for picking up electrical power from an overhead wire, absent in this case. [The word meant "cart." As in horse trolley. It eventually came to be applied to the apparatus drawing electrical current from overhead wires to power a trolley car. Strictly speaking, this conveyance is a horsecar. Which is why the caption puts the word trolley in quotes. - Dave] JustificationAnother reason I visit Shorpy every day is to give myself a linguistic tuneup. Trolleys = Go-kartsIn New Zealand (and probably other places) go-karts are "trolleys." There are annual "trolley races" all over. A friend is an organizer for one. Flagler SystemThe trolley is owned by Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. Flagler was the man most responsible for early real estate development and resort building in Florida, bringing all interested parties down there via his own railroad, which ran all the way to Key West, with ferry service to Havana. HorsepowerWhatever it is, it gets around on 1 HP. Old FloridaHaving grown up in South Miami, I'm loving this series. Anyone who attended South Florida schools in the 1960s would know all about Henry Flagler and his railroads and hotels. If I'm ever offered a time machine, my first trip will be to South Florida and the Keys circa 1900. It's wall-to-wall concrete now even compared to when I was a kid, but the pristine, undeveloped wilderness of the area must have been stunning at the time. (The Gallery, DPC, Florida, Horses, Streetcars)
Burned Out: 1942
... the shapes in this image. Good! More deaths on the railroads of yesteryear were caused by this thing than by anything else. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/10/2013 - 10:56pm -

May 1942. "Washington, D.C. Scrap salvage campaign, Victory Program. 'Old Ironside' is written on this stove found in warehouse of wholesale junk dealer." Photo by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size. Been on its legs all dayThat stove could almost be either an embryonic, primitive robot taking a hard-earned rest, or a small atomic bomb, complete with radiation warning device above the company's name. It is certainly a most striking design. Old IronsidesIt looks as though Ironsides might be saying, "I'm going to sit down and rest for just a minute. Be right with you." Wehrle FactoryThat stove was manufactured in my hometown. I've read in several locations that it was the largest stove factory in the world at points in time. The factory itself sat on land that was part of the Newark Earthwork Complex, and was razed in 2010. IronyIronic in that, the shapes of these Iron stoves in their original form are not so different than the shapes and forms that many of them were probably melted into, during their process of transformation, that started with their collection for the Victory Program, and ended in the various munitions that required such shapes. Ironic Indeed. Sorry, I couldn't help it. I just saw the puns lying there hours ago, and nobody had posted anything yet. So I decided to do so based upon that being the first thing that came to mind in seeing the shapes in this image. Good!More deaths on the railroads of yesteryear were caused by this thing than by anything else. Fan of FansThe fan is a "roller coaster" oscillator. It moves up and down in addition to side to side. They are very rare today and are worth several thousand dollars to collectors. Some rare antique electric fans can go for $15 to $20k. It makes you wonder how many were melted down during the wartime scrap drives. CrackedThe stove so reminds me of Humpty Dumpty after he fell off the wall! Stoves weren't the only thingA lot of stuff was lost to WWII scrap drives - Revolutionary & Civil War cannons from innumerable city parks, statues, plaques, monuments, early locomotives, early ships, untold historical artifacts, even a lot of the big classic cars of the 1930s like Duesenbergs and Pierce-Arrows. Anything and everything made of aluminum, bronze, brass, tin, iron and steel was melted down for the war effort. A scrap drive todayIf we had a wartime scrap drive today, I suspect we would be in trouble. Our tanks and bullets would have to be made of plastic. (The Gallery, D.C., Marjory Collins, WW2)
Hell Gate: 1915
... gave way (last to fall would be Hell Gate Arch, built for railroads and easily good for another thousand years). Ok, since ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/25/2018 - 10:04am -

"Hell Gate Bridge (New York Connecting Railroad Bridge)," circa 1915. This steel arch span over the East River was completed in 1916. View full size. I remember this bridge!I used to bike out on Ward's Island & sit next to the base of this bridge! It brings back neat memories; thank you! The Eighth BridgeI first learned of this bridge from a memorable New Yorker article (Jan 14, 1991) written by Tom Buckley. A few extracts from the opening section are below. Eight bridges cross the East River, Four of them - the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan, the Williamsburg, and the Queensboro - have been in the news frequently in the past few years. They are the oldest, are owned by the city, and can be crossed free of charge. As a result of these interacting circumstances, they have suffered from prolonged and serious neglect, which has already cost hundreds of millions of dollars to remedy..... The three newest bridges - the Triborough, the Bronx-Whitestone, and the Throgs Neck - are by contrast, pampered darlings. They are owned by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, and the tolls it levies are more than sufficient to keep them gleaming with fresh paint.... Whatever their condition, these seven bridges are such conspicuous landmarks that most New Yorkers could probably name at least five of them. Even a cabdriver might be able to identify two or three and drive across them without getting lost. The eighth bridge is another matter. Even in a period of heightened bridge consciousness, scarcely anyone I asked about it over a period of many months was able to provide its name or location, let alone to describe its appearance or function. ... The Hell Gate was a lot more noticeable in 1917, when it was opened, than it seems to be nowadays. It was the longest and by far the heaviest and strongest steel-arch bridge in the world, at a time when the country rejoiced in such evidence and skill. The bridge was also the final link in one of the costliest privately financed construction projects of the industrial age - the New York Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The extension brought that railroad into Manhattan, and from there to a connection with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad in the Bronx, giving it, for the first time, a direct route to New England. Hell GateThis bridge is still in regular rail use, by the way--by freight trains and Amtrak passenger rail, between NYC and Boston, Mass. I'm not ashamed to say I get a bit of a thrill when I ride across Hell Gate on the Amtrak. View Larger Map Hell Gate ForeverNot only is the Hell Gate bridge still in regular use, it is likely to be the longest surviving bridge of any of the current NYC spans. The February issue of Discover Magazine postulated what would happen to humans' creations if we suddenly disappeared: Unless an earthquake strikes New York first, bridges spared yearly applications of road salt would last a few hundred years before their stays and bolts gave way (last to fall would be Hell Gate Arch, built for railroads and easily good for another thousand years). Ok, since nobody's askedI will. Why is it called Hell Gate? Why Hell Gate?From the Dutch "Hellegat" it refers to a portion of the East River between Astoria, Queens and Ward Island. Between tide driven currents and rocks it was extremely difficult to navigate and hundreds of ships were lost in the area. In September 1876 the worst of the rocks were blasted away by the Corps of Engineers. Navigation continues to be difficult thanks to the tidal flow (the East River isn't really a river but rather a tidal strait) but considerably easier than it was. StackedI wonder what that smokestack is used for on the far right? It's doing something in this picture cause it's a smokin. [It's for a coal-fired boiler. You can see the steam farther down. - Dave] (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)
Midday Traders: 1910
... curb exchange usually traded more speculative stocks - railroads and steel got their start here. As the industries matured, they often ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2016 - 12:44pm -

New York circa 1910. "The Curb Market, Broad Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Lunch HourWhat a fabulous New York City moment! Nothing really changes in NY; the lunch hour provides for quick 'buffet' meals and informal meetings along the streets with colleagues. It was still "rather interesting" 11 years laterThis is from my wife's grandmother Mary Jorjorian's diary, Tuesday, April 19, 1921: After breakfast was dressing to go out when a telegram came from Peter. Left house about 10 am, went in answer to ad. Disappointed. Went to uncle’s place, hard time finding it. After leaving there went to answer to couple ads downtown, took B’way car. After leaving these places went to Wall Street curb market. Rather interesting. Next took Elevator home, had lunch 1:30 pm, swept house. Felt rather sleepy and rested awhile. Went shopping about 3:30 pm, got string beans and prepared for dinner, bought goods for pedi soak in the evening. Took aunt to hospital for eye. On return Mr. and Mrs. Musegian came to see us. Bed 12 midnight. Curb EnthusiasmThe curb exchange was just that - an outdoor stock exchange. The curb exchange usually traded more speculative stocks - railroads and steel got their start here. As the industries matured, they often moved on to the more venerable (and indoor) New York Stock Exchange. A few years before this photo, the brokers organized themselves, codifying their rules. In 1923, they moved indoors, and in 1953, they renamed themselves the American Exchange (AMEX). AMEX was absorbed by the NYSE in 2008. +101Below is the same view from April of 2011. Always there. United Cigar must have been a big chain store outfit back then. Seems like most of the Shorpy cityscapes from back then have a United Cigar store ! Signs not StoresUnited Cigar paid for signs, just as Coca-Cola paid for luncheonette signs in later decades. They didn't actually own those stores. On TeryCarroll's comment, I'd imagine Mary Jorjorian took the elevated [train], not the elevator, home. BoatersBased on the hats (boaters) the season is summer. Between Memorial Day and Labor day, you put away the wool hat and took out your boater! Not A Lunch BreakThis was not a lunch break, it was "investors" actively trading penny stocks. The "Curb Market" was the predecessor to the American Stock Exchange and favorite haunt of the legendary speculator Jesse Livermore. No such thing as coincidenceI was just talking about this area the other day. Noticed on CNBC the lack of humans on the floor of the NYSE. I recall comments my cable foreman made while on a job back in the mid 90s. We had a manhole opened nearly in front of where the United Cigar shop was. It was around 4PM on a weekday and the area was not busy. My foreman mentioned back in the late 70s the sidewalk was so congested one had to walk in the street! Timeandagainphoto gives a good idea of what is like now. Progress! (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
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