The Mississippi Kite makes a streamlined silhouette as it careens through the sky on the hunt for small prey, or dive-bombs intruders that come too close to its nest tree. These sleek, pearly gray raptors often hunt together and nest colonially in stands of trees, from windbreaks on southern prairies to old-growth bottomlands in the Southeast (and even on city parks and golf courses). After rearing their chicks they fly all the way to central South America for the winter

Prompt: Create a 3D digital fine art of a ultra-realistic painting of the Mississippi Kite, in the style of John James Audubon and Robert Bateman-inspired, highly detailed, vertical aspect ratio, full view, no logo, no text, no writing, no signature, no watermark, no border, no people, no frame

This digital fine art was created using Google Flow AI and Photoshop

Norfolk Southern operated N&W streamlined J-class 4-8-4 Northern coal burning steam locomotive # 611 provides a 70 inch driver tire view that is seen at Chattanooga, Tennessee, October 1989. In this view the driver along with the driver tire that includes the rolling surface and the flange radius is shown. Surprising as it may be, but this modern steam locomotive sill utilizes a spoked driver instead of a disc or Boxpox driver.

Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America

Summary

The Jackie Robinson Play Center is one of a group of eleven immense outdoor swimming pools opened in the summer of 1936 in a series of grand ceremonies presided over by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and Park Commissioner Robert Moses. All of the pools were constructed largely with funding provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), one of many New Deal agencies created in the 1930s to address the Great Depression. Designed to accommodate a total of 49,000 users simultaneously at locations scattered throughout New York City’s five boroughs, the new pool complexes quickly gained recognition as being among the most remarkable public facilities constructed in the country. The pools were completed just two and a half years after the LaGuardia administration took office, and all but one survives relatively intact today.

While each of the 1936 swimming pool complexes is especially notable for its distinctive and unique design, the eleven facilities shared many of the same basic components. The complexes generally employed low-cost building materials, principally brick and cast-concrete, and often utilized the streamlined and curvilinear forms of the popular 1930s Art Moderne style. Sited in existing older parks or built on other city-owned land, the grounds surrounding the pool complexes were executed on a similarly grand scale, and included additional recreation areas, connecting pathway systems, and comfort stations. The team of designers, landscape architects and engineers assembled to execute the new pool complexes was comprised largely of staff members and consultants who had earlier worked for Moses at other governmental agencies, including architect Aymar Embury II, landscape architects Gilmore D. Clarke and Allyn R. Jennings, and civil engineers W. Earle Andrews and William H. Latham. Surviving documents also indicate that Moses, himself a long-time swimming enthusiast, gave detailed attention to the designs for the new pool complexes.

The Jackie Robinson Play Center was the only one of the WPA-era pools sited in a predominantly minority neighborhood. Formally opened on August 8, 1936, the Play Center was built on a narrow hillside site acquired by the City of New York and developed as Colonial Park soon after the turn of the 20th century. The uniquely monumental two-story design of the Center’s bath house is an ingenious response to the topography of the park. A rocky cliff drops off sharply from Edgecombe Avenue to the west, and the terrain then continues in a gentler downward slope to level ground along Bradhurst Avenue to the east. The locker rooms are located on the upper floor in order to provide direct access to the swimming and diving pools located above the grade of Bradhurst Avenue. The unusual dimensions of the swimming pool (82’ x 236’) and the oddly shaped diving pool are accommodations to the narrowness of the site and the presence of the stone cliffs.

The fortress-like design of the Bradhurst Avenue elevation of the bath house capitalizes on its two-story height. Recessed bays which employ both rounded and slightly pointed arches are demarcated by giant rounded attached buttresses. Large round towers rise above the roof line at the ends of the building and flank the entrance. Rounded and curvilinear forms also characterize the design of the bandshell terrace to the north of the pool complex, as well as its perimeter walls and the elevated pathway continuing northward from the terrace, all which date to the same time period. The wading pool complex located between 152nd and 153rd Street also includes an attractive and contemporary comfort station which repeats the curvilinear forms employed elsewhere.

DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS

History of the Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center Site

The Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center is set within a 12.8 acre, narrow hillside site acquired by the City of New York between 1894 and 1899. The acquisition of parkland during this time was part of a larger nation-wide reform effort to increase the availability of organized play areas in inner cities, made possible by the Small Parks Act of 1887, which authorized the creation of parks south of 155th Street as deemed necessary for the public welfare. The New York Times noted at the time of the acquisition that the Colonial Park site already “had much of the character of a park,” but needed to be preserved for park purposes before land values increased to the point that it would become impossible. Formed by retreating glaciers some 20,000 to 50,000 years ago, the parklands were particularly notable for having varied topography, a picturesque appearance, and trees providing ample shade. Colonial Park officially opened as a playground on August 12, 1911. Site interventions from this era included the addition of a comfort station, drinking fountains, and children’s playgrounds.

A variety of names have been given to the area in which Jackie Robinson (Colonial) Park is located. Known as Harlem Heights to Dutch and English settlers in the 1700s, by 1870 the neighborhood was referred to as Washington Heights, in commemoration of Revolutionary War battles that took place nearby, as well as to set it apart from neighboring working-class areas. By the turn of the century, both upper-middle class white professionals and recent immigrants from Italy, Ireland, and Germany were living in Harlem’s many neighborhoods. When African Americans began moving into the area after 1920, the elevated residential enclave just west of Colonial Park became known as “Sugar Hill,” one of the choicest neighborhoods in Harlem, tenanted by some of the area’s most successful black citizens. By the 1930s, however, much of Harlem was suffering under the combined effects of racism and the Great Depression. Colonial Park was noted at this time for being a welcome relief from the crowded conditions of the tenements and rooming houses that surrounded it.

Under the auspices of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and his legendary Park Commissioner, Robert Moses, major improvements to Colonial Park were made in the 1930s. By August 1935, the Parks Department had broken ground on the Colonial Park Play Center, a complex which would include new swimming and diving pools and an elaborate bath house. Other additions planned for the park were a new wading pool area, comfort station, bandshell and dance floor terrace, in addition to recreational areas for adults and a children’s playground. Overall enhancements were also planned for the surrounding park grounds. Funding for the various improvements was largely made possible by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), one of the many public works programs created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the United States Congress during the Great Depression.

In 1978, under a local law introduced by Councilmember Fred Samuel and signed by Mayor Edward I. Koch, Colonial Park and the Colonial Park Play Center were renamed for Jackie Robinson, the first black professional baseball player in the major leagues. A bronze bust of Jackie Robinson by Inge Hardison was installed inside the bath house lobby in 1981.

Fiorello LaGuardia, Robert Moses and the New Deal

Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President of the United States in 1932 in the middle of the Great Depression that followed the stock market crash of 1929. Roosevelt promised to rebuild confidence in American capitalism and to improve the nation’s standard of living by creating the New Deal economic program of unprecedented public spending on social programs and construction projects.

New York City had been especially hard hit by the economic downturn, and its citizens, hoping for change, elected Fiorello H. LaGuardia to the mayoralty of New York City in 1933 as an anti-Tammany Hall reform candidate. A maverick Republican and a five-term congressman from East Harlem, LaGuardia won the mayoral election on the “Fusion” ticket after losing the 1929 mayoral race on the Republican line. The Fusion Conference Committee at first considered running Robert Moses, another Republican, who was appointed Chairman of the New York State Council of Parks in 1924 by his political mentor, Governor Alfred E. Smith, a Tammany Hall Democrat from New York City. However, the committee decided against Moses because of his association with Smith, and chose LaGuardia instead. At the time, Moses was a popular public figure with a reputation as a progressive and as the builder of great parks and parkways like Jones Beach and the Northern State Parkway on Long Island. His endorsement of LaGuardia during the campaign was considered instrumental in securing a victory for LaGuardia. Within a week of the election, LaGuardia chose Moses, a champion of reform politics, as New York City’s new Park Commissioner.

Moses accepted the position of Commissioner of Parks in the LaGuardia administration on the condition that the five existing independent Parks Departments (one for each borough) would be consolidated into a single department with himself as the sole Commissioner, with authority extending also over the City’s parkways. Moses also demanded to be appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the Triborough Bridge Authority, which was then building the bridge of that name, and that a new agency, the Marine Parkway Authority, which would build a bridge to the Rockaways, be created with himself at the helm. Already in charge of the Long Island State Park Commission, the New York City Council of Parks, the Jones Beach State Park Authority, and the Bethpage State Park Authority, Moses would then be in control of all existing and proposed parks and parkways in the New York metropolitan region, with the exception of areas outside of New York State.

In the 1920s, Moses was at the forefront of the national recreation movement that began in the first decade of the twentieth century, led by such men as President Theodore Roosevelt and the lesser-known George D. Butler of the National Recreation Association. The movement gained momentum under the administration of President Calvin Coolidge with the organization of the National Conference on Outdoor Recreation (NCOR) in 1924. The Depression of the 1930s further amplified the need to provide more, or improve existing, outdoor recreational opportunities, especially in urban areas. Fortunately, such goals fit nicely into FDR’s New Deal economic programs. Mayor LaGuardia’s success in securing a lion’s share of monies made available by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA), and Moses’ management skills and his ability to attract talented designers and engineers to his staff, resulted in profound physical changes to the environment of New York City. The construction and renovation of neighborhood recreation areas, such as pools and play grounds, were some of the most ambitious and successful programs undertaken by Moses with funds largely provided by the WPA.

Moses began to assess the state of the City’s parks and to plan for their future as soon as LaGuardia announced his intention to appoint Moses as Park Commissioner. According to one source: “Immediately after the election he wrote out, on a single piece of paper, a plan for putting 80,000 men to work on 1,700 relief projects.” Moses hired a consulting engineer and three assistant engineers to survey every park and parkway in the City. The survey was completed by the time he took office in mid-January 1934.

When Moses took over the Parks Department, it was already employing 69,000 relief workers funded mainly by the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) and the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration (TERA). However, Moses found the men to be ill-equipped and inadequately supervised, and considered many of the construction projects to have been poorly designed. He immediately began to revamp the entire operation of the Parks Department and established a Division of Design, located at the Arsenal in Central Park. The staff was to be headed up by experienced professionals drawn mainly from his State agencies. Some of his talented staff of young architects, landscape architects and engineers had worked on the designs for Long Island’s highly acclaimed parks, including Jones Beach, which his considered one of Moses’ greatest accomplishments. His staff also included a number of well-known and accomplished designers, among them architects Aymar Embury II and John M. Hatton, and the landscape architect and civil engineer Gilmore D. Clarke. Other top members of Moses’ staff were the landscape architect Allyn R. Jennings, and civil engineers W. Earle Andrews and William H. Latham.

The Parks Department’s Division of Design was organized in the following manner: a topographical unit of about 400 surveyors and draftsmen, a landscape architecture unit of about sixty people, an architecture unit made up of sixty architects and draftsmen, and an engineering unit of about fifty. Smaller units included an Arboricultural Department and an Inspection Department. All the work in the Division of Design was under the direct supervision of the Park Engineer, who was aided and advised by a Consulting Architect, a Consulting Landscape Architect, and a Consulting Engineer. All new projects began in the topographical unit, where a complete survey of the land was prepared. It then moved on to the landscaping unit, where the basic concept for the design was developed. Next, the three units: landscape, architecture, and engineering, collaborated to produce the final design and all the necessary construction documents. The Park Engineer and his aides had to approve all of the plans. Moses himself sometimes stepped in to revise or overrule a design, especially on the larger, more visible projects.

Moses' superior management ability and political savvy allowed him to move projects along very quickly and to produce concrete results, gaining for him much public admiration. However, Moses’ personal demeanor was notoriously stubborn and arrogant, and he was known, at times, to disregard the legitimate authority of other governmental agencies. Once, when the Department of Plant and Structures refused to suspend a ferry service that used a terminal in the path of constructing the Triborough Bridge approach road, Moses had his men demolish the terminal while the boat was on the other side of the river. He feuded with President Franklin D. Roosevelt for years, even while Washington was pouring millions of dollars into Moses' own Parks Department. His later battles with and subsequent triumphs over community groups opposed to the routing of the Gowanus and the Cross-Bronx Expressways through their neighborhoods are now legendary. Moses was also known to have been insensitive to people of color, and reputedly tried to restrict access to many of his recreational facilities, including the WPA-era pools.

To many, Robert Moses was a master builder; to others he was a spoiled bully who seemingly always had his way. In the summer of 1934, however, Moses was a hero. Hundreds of projects, covering virtually every neighborhood in the city, had been completed. Structures were repainted, tennis courts resurfaced, and lawns reseeded. Hundreds of new construction projects were either already underway in the process of being designed. Among them was the Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center in Harlem.

The Swimming Pools, Moses, and Segregation in New York City

Institutionalized racism was still an established way of life in the United States during the inter-war years, even on the federally sanctioned level. For example, as a result of federal guidelines articulated in the 1935 Federal Housing Administration Underwriting Manual, it was impossible for non-segregated developments to attain mortgage insurance, meaning ethnic and even religious minorities could only secure mortgages in certain areas. The result was a substantial increase in both racial segregation and urban disinvestment in cities across the country, New York included. At its peak, estimates of segregation in public housing nation-wide ran as high as 90 percent due in large part to both federal and local government policies. Even as late as 1943, the City of New York gave its approval for Metropolitan Life’s all-white, middle income project – Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

Robert Moses himself has been described as insensitive to people of color, an attitude which may have impacted both the siting and administration of the WPA-era pools. LaGuardia and Moses often went to great lengths to show the media that they did care about minorities, holding, for example, a celebration for 25,000 people upon the opening of the Colonial Park pool, at which the mayor offered the facility as proof that his administration was in fact “building and doing things for Harlem.” Although LaGuardia and Moses claimed they were siting pools in the most congested areas of the city, Colonial Park in Harlem remained the only one sited in a predominantly “nonwhite” neighborhood. Moreover, the Thomas Jefferson Park pool, located in East Harlem (LaGuardia’s old congressional district) was close to Spanish Harlem where the city’s growing Puerto Rican population was settling. To discourage minority use at this facility, Moses reputedly kept the water heating system turned off, believing that the cold water would not bother Caucasian swimmers, but would somehow deter non-whites.

It has been alleged that the Parks Department at the time had an active policy of hiring only white lifeguards and attendants in hopes of deterring minority patrons. Whether or not such directives came from Moses himself, the fact remains that the pools were largely segregated at the time of their opening. In the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, “The Power Broker,” Robert Caro writes that “one could go to the [Thomas Jefferson] pool on the hottest summer days, when the slums of Negro and Spanish Harlem a few blocks away sweltered in the heat, and not see a single non-Caucasian face.” Similarly, oral histories relating to Betsy Head pool tell of an unwritten rule that “African-Americans could swim in the Brooklyn pool only in the late afternoon, after white residents had vacated the premises.” Such claims are supported by photographs and video footage from the era, showing that largely, white and black New Yorkers swam in different pools. For a handful of sites, however, including the Highbridge and Colonial Park Play Centers in Manhattan, as well as McCarren Play Center in Brooklyn, photographs and video footage seem to indicate that, on occasion, the populations did mix.

The Design and Construction of the Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Pool

The Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play center is one of a group of eleven immense outdoor swimming pools opened in the summer of 1936 in a series of grand ceremonies presided over by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and Park Commissioner Robert Moses. All of the pools were constructed largely with funding provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), one of many New Deal agencies created in the 1930s to address the Great Depression. Designed to accommodate a total of 49,000 users simultaneously at locations scattered throughout New York City’s five boroughs, the new pool complexes quickly gained recognition as being among the most remarkable public facilities ever constructed in the country. The city’s pool construction program was reported to have been the most expensive in terms of total cost. Robert Moses, an avid swimmer who had a home near the ocean in Babylon, Long Island, was known to have taken a special interest in the design and construction of bathing and swimming facilities, such as Jones Beach, Orchard Beach and Riis Park, as well as the neighborhood swimming pools. As a result of his special attention, along with that of Aymar Embury II and Gilmore D. Clarke, the design and execution of New York City’s aquatic facilities in the 1930s were a cut above most other park projects at the time.

At the start, the Parks Department adopted a list of shared guidelines for the entire pool project in order to enhance the efficiency of the design effort, to unify the operations of each complex, and to meet the various local and federal requirements of the relief programs. For example, each pool complex was to have separate swimming, diving and wading pools, and a large bath house, the locker room sections of which doubled as gymnasiums during non-swimming months. The bath houses, which would serve as the centerpieces of each complex, would be distinctive pavilions that would establish the design motif of each facility. Concrete bleachers at the perimeter of the pools would furnish spectator viewing areas to be augmented at some sites with rooftop promenades and galleries. There would be a minimum width for the decks to provide enough room for sunbathing and circulation, and at least one dimension of each swimming pool would have to be a multiple of fifty-five yards to allow swimming competitions to be held at standard distances in either English or metric systems. There had to be underwater lighting for night swimming, and heating for the pools. Plus, the complexes had to share low-cost building materials, principally brick and cast concrete, as required by the federal government as per the terms of the WPA funding.

To satisfy federal stipulation on low-cost materials, it appears that the design team for the pools determined that the streamlined and curvilinear forms of the Art Moderne and Modern Classical styles would best meet the low-cost needs and still permit pleasing aesthetics. As a group, the pools were also distinguished by the innovative mechanical systems required to heat, filter, and circulate the vast amounts of water they used. Many of these innovations set new standards for swimming pool construction, such as scum gutters that allowed in enough sunlight to naturally kill off bacteria and a series of footbaths filled with foot cleaning solution through which bathers were forced to pass upon entering the pool areas from the locker rooms.

Sited in existing older parks or built on other city-owned land subsequently developed as parks and playgrounds, the huge pool complexes were provided with landscape settings that included additional recreational areas, connecting pathway systems, and comfort stations. Despite the fact that the basic components were essentially the same and that the WPA required that only the cheapest materials be used, each of these swimming pool complexes is especially notable its distinctive and unique setting, appearance, and character.

In October 1934, the Parks Department announced the start of excavations and site work for several of the new pools. By August 1935, construction of the Colonial Park swimming pools was underway, although plans for the bath house structure were not filed until October of that year. By the time the Colonial Park Play Center opened on August 8, 1936, only half of the bath house building, with accommodations for 1,800, was open to the public. Revisions for the bath house were still being approved as late as November 1936, for the bandshell and dance floor terrace as late as December 1936, and for grading and other park improvements as late as April 1937.

The year 1936 was known as “the swimming pool year,” since ten of the eleven pools were opened that summer, one per week for ten weeks. Each opening day was a memorable event for its neighborhood. The day-long events featured parades, blessings of the waters, swimming races, diving competitions, appearances by Olympic stars, and performances by swimming clowns. Mayor LaGuardia attended every opening to perform the ribbon cutting. Festivities continued well after dusk with LaGuardia pulling the switch to turn on each pool’s spectacular underwater lighting to the “oooohs” of the crowds. The opening of the Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center was attended by 25,000 people, jam-packed into the narrow site, and spilling out onto the streets. The 369th Regiment Band welcomed the public with a song, and was joined at the chorus by the enthusiastic crowd. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, a pioneer and preeminent tap dancer, was also on hand to entertain the people.

The completed Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play center has been widely acclaimed since its opening. It was touted for being more eclectic than the other pools, with its “Romanesque-inspired details” and “bold cylindrical forms.” The monumental two-story facade has always had a striking presence on Bradhurst Avenue, where, as noted in a 1986 Parks Department exhibition on the WPA-era pools, the “imposing medieval fortress… could easily be mistaken for an arsenal.” Furthermore, of the eleven WPA-era pools, the Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center is the only one to evoke so strongly the architecture of another era, while still incorporating elements of the popular Art Moderne style, employed at each of the remaining pool sites. Whether considered alone or together with the other WPA-era park improvements, including the dance floor terrace with its undulating brick walls, or the wading pool and comfort station which closely reference the curvilinear forms found at the main pool site, the Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center complex was clearly a major achievement of the New Deal in New York City.

Subsequent History

The Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center officially opened on August 8, 1936, the tenth of the eleven pools to open. Despite its inauguration on this date, the pool complex was not entirely complete - most notably, only half of the bath house was open to the public at the pool’s opening. Many of the drawings on file at the Parks Department archives in Queens are dated as approved well after the official inauguration date. Revisions for the bath house were still being approved as late November 1936, for the bandshell and dance floor terrace in December 1936, and for grading and other park improvements as late as April 1937. There were very few alterations in the years immediately following the completion of the pool complex, although some minor work to the park grounds was done in the mid-1940s, including plantings, fencing, and reconstructive work on existing stairways. Subsequent changes to the Play Center complex include the filling-in of the diving pool to create a “water play” area and the filling-in of the wading pool for use as a children’s playground, although it is unclear when either change took place. Upgrades to the playground equipment and active recreational facilities found throughout the park have also been made.

In 1978, Colonial Park was renamed Jackie Robinson Park after the first black professional baseball player in the major leagues. Born in Georgia in 1919 and raised in California, Robinson was the first UCLA student to earn letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. Robinson served in the U.S. army in World War II, played baseball in the Negro Leagues, and signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers top farm team, the Montreal Royals, in August 1945. On April 15, 1947, Robinson made history as the first African-American to play in a major league baseball game, paving the way for generations of black athletes to compete in the sport, which did not become fully integrated until 1959. As second baseman, Robinson led the Dodgers to six World Series, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of fame in 1962. Robinson later became involved in a number of business enterprises, including several black-owned community businesses, and was active in the NAACP. He also served as a special assistant to Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller before dying of heart disease at the age of 53 (1972). In 1981, a bronze bust of Jackie Robinson by Inge Hardison was installed inside the pool and recreation center lobby at West 147th Street. A mural of Jackie Robinson was more recently painted inside of the bandshell in 2006, designed by artist Michael Young, and painted by the Junior League of New York.

By the late 1970s, many of the WPA-era pools, Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) included, had become badly run down, partially the result of the fiscal crisis of the 1970s which hit the Parks Department particularly hard. By March 1981, the Parks Department workforce had dwindled to a record low of 2,900 employees, mostly unskilled and temporary, as compared to the 30,000 parks employees on staff during the Moses administration. The strain on Parks Department resources was evident in the deplorable conditions of many of its facilities. To address the rapid deterioration of its recreational facilities, in 1977 the Parks Department began a major capital construction program involving more than 500 projects, expected to total more than $180 million, partly in Federal funds – the first such projects undertaken by the parks system since the fiscal crisis halted such work in 1975, and arguably the most ambitious program to improve the parks since the 1940s. Among the projects planned was a $10 million plan to preserve Prospect Park, a $1 million renovation of the Coney Island Boardwalk, and a $2.6 million rehabilitation of the Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center. Several of the other WPA-era pools, including Sunset Park and Betsy Head, underwent restoration under the same program.

Closed since 1978, the newly renovated Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center was re-opened on July 14, 1980, to the great relief of neighborhood residents. Much like LaGuardia and Moses before him, the administration of Mayor Ed Koch had been plagued by accusations of insensitivity towards minorities. In an effort to disprove such allegations, Mayor Koch was sure to attend the re-opening of the pool, where “an enthusiastic crowd of children plunged happily into the water at the Mayor’s signal.” Also present at the opening was Mrs. Jackie Robinson. The Parks Department called the renovations of the WPA-era pools “an essential part of the revitalization [of] the entire public recreational infrastructure of the city,” helping transform the aging pools back into modern recreational facilities.

The WPA-era pools faced a new set of challenges beginning in the mid-1980s, with pools like the Crotona Play Center in the Bronx becoming infamous for vandalism and walkways littered with broken glass. In 1991, Mayor David Dinkins proposed closing the pools as part of a package of budget cuts. Only a donation of $2 million from a private donor, real estate magnate Sol Goldman, guaranteed the pools would be kept open for at least a portion of that summer; an additional $1.8 million was still needed to cover the entire nine-week long swimming season. In the mid-1990s, a menacing ritual known as “whirlpooling” had become common throughout the pool system, a practice characterized by groups of teenage boys locking arms and shoulders, churning the water and disrupting the activities of other swimmers, particularly women who often found themselves unwilling fondled. Several more serious complaints of sexual assault were recorded throughout the pool system in the summer of 1994. With improvements in security staffing and increased vigilance on the part of patrons, many of the problems of the 1990s did eventually dissipate, and by 2003, the pools were once again touted as both extremely safe, and a welcome alternative on a hot summer day.

The Architecture and Site of the Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center

The New Deal construction projects within New York City, such as the Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center, were a part of a national trend that included similar projects undertaken by various governmental agencies, ranging from the vast Tennessee Valley Authority to small cities and towns. Urban projects built with WPA funding often possessed similar qualities from region to region, partly because the difficult economic climate dictated the use of inexpensive building materials, but also because the programs provided employment opportunities for a generation of young architects and engineers, many of whom were committed to modernism. For example, the bath house and waterfront facilities at Aquatic Park in San Francisco are similar in plan and appearance to the public pool and beachfront projects being built at about the same time in New York City. The California facility, with its streamlined, concrete facade and steel-framed windows, bears a striking resemblance to the facade added in 1936 with WPA funds to the bath house at Jacob Riis Park in Queens. The original and creative use made of these modest materials by Moses' talented design teams and the careful siting of each project makes every one of them a distinguished, individual design, as much related to their specific environment and needs as to one another.

The Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center was built on a narrow hillside site acquired by the City of New York and developed as Colonial Park soon after the turn of the 20th century. The uniquely monumental two-story design of the Center’s bath house is an ingenious response to the topography of the park. A rocky cliff drops off sharply from Edgecombe Avenue to the west, and the terrain then continues in a gentler downward slope to level ground along Bradhurst Avenue to the east. The locker rooms are located on the upper floor in order to provide direct access to the swimming and diving pools located above the grade of Bradhurst Avenue. The unusual dimensions of the swimming pool (82’ x 236’) and the oddly shaped diving pool are accommodations to the narrowness of the site and the presence of the stone cliffs.

The fortress-like design of the Bradhurst Avenue elevation of the bath house capitalizes on its two-story height. Recessed bays which employ both rounded and slightly pointed arches are demarcated by giant rounded attached buttresses. Large round towers rise above the roof line at the ends of the building and flank the entrance. Rounded and curvilinear forms also characterize the design of the bandshell terrace to the north of the pool complex, as well as its perimeter walls and the elevated pathway continuing northward from the terrace, all which date to the same time period. The wading pool complex located between 152nd and 153rd Street also includes an attractive and contemporary comfort station which repeats the curvilinear forms employed elsewhere.

Description

Plan and Circulation

Jackie Robinson (Colonial) Park is bounded by West 145th Street to the south, West 155th Street to the north, Edgecombe Avenue to the west, and Bradhurst Avenue to the east. Due to the steep difference in elevation between Edgecombe Avenue and Bradhurst Avenue, the park is mainly accessible along Bradhurst Avenue. Additional entry points can be found at the southwest corner of the park, as well as along Edgecombe Avenue, all of them via stairway.

The Jackie Robinson (Colonial Park) Play Center is located towards the southern boundary of Jackie Robinson (Colonial) Park. The Play Center can be approached from either the north or the south along Bradhurst Avenue. The two entrance doorways to the Play Center bath house are found just north of the intersection of Bradhurst Avenue and West 146th Street, beneath the imposing brick arches of the structure’s front (east) facade. Upon entering the bath house building, patrons will find themselves in the vaulted, Gothic-inspired entrance lobby. Admission to the pool must first be purchased here at the ticket booth, a projecting, oblong, glass-enclosed structure. The ticket booth structure is vaguely reminiscent of the prow of a ship, and is located between the two entrance doorways. A modern, unenclosed extension of the original ticket booth structure was added in recent years.

After purchasing an admission ticket, patrons walk up one of two cascading stairways at the rear of the entrance lobby, to either the men’s or women’s locker rooms. From the locker rooms, access to the pool deck area, located west of the bath house structure, was provided by doors at the respective ends of the men’s and women’s sides of the rear (west) facade, and only after patrons had passed first through the mandatory shower and foot baths. Today, access to the pools is available directly from the top of the two stairways, making it possible to circumvent the entirely redesigned men’s and women’s locker areas on the way to the pool deck. The two pools found here, the main swimming and former diving (now a water play area) pools, are surrounded by a narrow promenade, an accommodation to the restrictive dimensions of the play center site. Concrete bleachers run the length of the main swimming pool to the west, while smaller concrete bleachers can be found north of the former diving pool. An additional service entrance is located at the southern boundary of the pool area.

The main entrance to the bandshell, dance floor terrace and extension, located between West 147th Street and West 150th Streets, is found at the intersection of Bradhurst Avenue and West 148th Street, and may be approached from either the north or the south. After ascending the stairway located here, patrons will find the open-air bandshell and dance floor terrace directly accessible to the south. To the north extends an expansive promenade lined by an undulating brick wall featuring concrete seating niches to the west, and modern park benches to the east. The promenade terminates at the intersection of Bradhurst Avenue and West 150th Street, and provides an alternative entry point to the bandshell and dance floor areas. An additional elevated pedestrian pathway links the dance floor terrace to the northern extent of the promenade, accessible via stairways at either end. This pathway provides an additional exit onto Edgecombe Avenue via an L-shaped stairway at its approximate midpoint.

The former wading pool (now a children’s playground) and comfort station are located towards the northern boundary of Jackie Robinson (Colonial) Park. This area of the park has only one entry point which is roughly in line with the intersection of Bradhurst Avenue and West 152nd Street. This entrance may be accessed either off of Bradhurst Avenue, or via an additional elevated pedestrian pathway beginning at the northwest corner of the park at Edgecombe Avenue and West 155th Street, continuing parallel to Edgecombe Avenue, and terminating in a succession of concrete stairways near the intersection of Bradhurst Avenue and West 152nd Street. The remaining play areas, including children’s playgrounds, tennis courts, baseball fields, and handball courts, are all accessible along Bradhurst Avenue.

- From the 2007 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report

For a brief moment, the 1950's came back alive at Portland Union Station. The Union Pacific 150th Anniversary Train, led by the iconic E9, the symbol of the modern streamliner, sits on the platform. Guests on the platform had a great opportunity to see what a classic streamlined train is like, and contrast it to the modern Amtrak Cascades Talgo train two tracks over.

© 2012 Patrick Dirden Photography

All Rights Reserved

Creator: Unidentified.

Location: Brisbane, Queensland.

Description: A Ford Super Coach used by Greyhound Coaches on the Brisbane to Tenterfield route in 1946. Streamlined body built in Brisbane by Watt Brothers. Note the 'spats' to smooth airflow over the rear wheels, and the roof racks and tie-downs for extra luggage.

View the original image at the State Library of Queensland: hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/66650.

Information about State Library of Queensland’s collection: www.slq.qld.gov.au/research-collections.

You are free to use this image without permission. Please attribute State Library of Queensland.

With its distinctive plywood-skinned oval section streamlined fuselage, the Albatros D.V entered service in May 1917, but from October 1917 was supplemented in large-scale production by the strengthened Albatros D.Va with different upper wing and aileron control system. One D.V, D2859, was flown by ‘The Red Baron’, Manfred von Richthofen.

At its operational peak in May 1918, over 1,000 often brightly-coloured Albatross D.V/D.Va fighter aircraft were serving on the Western Front as well as in Italy and Palestine. This was an attempt to overcome the Allies by quantity rather than capability, since the outclassed Albatross Jagdstaffel units suffered heavy losses in combat in the German’s Spring offensive of 1918 and as a result of structural failure of the lower wing, leading in 1918 to a prohibition of prolonged diving in the type. Despite this, the type remained in production until the November 1918 Armistice, with over 3,000 produced, of which only two survive, in the U.S.A and Australia.

Actually painted as a D.V aircraft from a batch of 400 ordered in May 1917, this flying replica was built by New Zealand Company The Vintage Aviator Ltd (TVAL) in 2011, and uses an original contemporary Mercedes D.III engine from RAF Museum stocks. It represents an aircraft flown on the Western Front by Jasta 61in 1918. Flown a number of times in New Zealand and the UK in 2012, it arrived at Hendon in October 2012.

The T-38 epitomizes late 1950s fast-jet design - a wafer-thin little trapezoid wing, and a skinny, carefully streamlined area ruled fuselage. FAA records indicate this is serial 5228, which possibly corresponds to the USAF 61-0862.

I had some leftover green bricks from finding parts for my '59 Cadillac MOC, so I decided to use them and build a small model. This then snowballed into this 1930's streamlined caboose, which was inspired by a very similar real-world Wabash caboose located on the Katy Rail-Trail at St. Charles, Missouri. This caboose model is also inspired build-wise by the Katy Caboose (as in, "The Caboose who got Loose" from the children's book) model I copied in late 2021 from TrainedBricks' MOC.

The printed 1x4 bricks may be replaced with letter tiles saying the railroad's name. (I'm not sure at this time what I'm gonna do with that part of the model, so idea that may change.)

From Wikipedia...

The MV Kalakala (pronounced kah-lah-kah-lah)[1] was a ferry that operated on Puget Sound from 1935 until her retirement in 1967.

Kalakala was notable for her unique streamlined superstructure, art deco styling, and luxurious amenities. The vessel was a popular attraction for locals and tourists, and was voted second only to the Space Needle in popularity among visitors to Seattle during the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The ship is known as the world's first streamlined vessel for its unique art deco styling..

She was constructed in 1926 as Peralta for the Key System's ferry service on San Francisco Bay. On 6 May 1933 Peralta burned as a result of an arson fire at the terminal where she was moored, resulting in the complete destruction of her superstructure. The hull was still intact and on 12 October 1933 the vessel was sold to the Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSNC), also known by its marketing name, the "Black Ball Line". PSNC funded a refit to restore the vessel as a ferry.

In November 1934, William Thorniley, publicist for PSNC and president of the Olympic Peninsula Travel Association, named the new ferry Kalakala, which was said to mean "bird" in the Pacific Northwest Native American trade language Chinook Jargon.[3][4][5][6] Thorniley launched a national promotional campaign beginning with large billboard signs that simply said "KALAKALA!" Later, they said "KALAKALA, Seattle, WA" and featured a picture of the vessel as well.

The new bridge and wheelhouse were built entirely out of copper, from fear that the steel used in the rest of the vessel would interfere with the ship's compass.[7] Set back from her streamlined superstructure for aesthetics, it was impossible to see the bow of the vessel from the bridge. As visibility also depended on round portholes rather than a fully-glazed wheelhouse, she was known for being difficult to handle when docking.

Kalakala was well known for a heavy shaking vibration that ran throughout the vessel when in operation. This was probably due to poor alignment of the engines in the original construction of the vessel. When the propeller was replaced with a new 5-bladed version in 1956, the vibration was reduced by 40%.[8] Although the company wished the vessel to be known as the Silver Swan, the vessel soon attracted other, less complementary nicknames, including the Silver Slug, Silver Beetle, Galloping Ghost of the Pacific Coast, and, among Seattle's Scandinavian community, Kackerlacka, which means "cockroach"

In February 1946, Kalakala was issued Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license #001 for the first commercial radar syste

The Kalakala moored at Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma, Washington in November 2007.

After her retirement in 1967, the vessel was sold to a seafood processing company and towed to Alaska to work as a factory ship. After working as a crabbing ship for a couple of years, the Kalakala was beached in Kodiak, Alaska in 1970 and used to process shrimp.

Peter Bevis discovered the rusting hulk on a fishing trip in 1984. The Kalakala had been turned into a cannery and the internal structure had been reworked to create a building with cement floors, drywall, and ceiling tiles. After complicated financial negotiations and hard work, they managed to refloat her and tow her back to Seattle in 1998. The vessel has since been a source of controversy as her owners were unable to raise sufficient funds to refurbish the vessel or even to keep her moored in Seattle's Union Bay.

The vessel was sold in 2004 to a private investor, who moved her to an anchorage in Neah Bay provided by the Makah people. Soon after arriving at Neah Bay the Kalakala was evicted by the Makah, who also brought a lawsuit against the owners. The vessel has since been relocated to Tacoma, Washington.

In February 2008, Kalakala owner Steve Rodrigues announced his intention to acquire additional vintage ferry vessels and to restore them and the Kalakala as either ferries powered by wind and solar technologies or as museums. The Kalakala was scheduled for work on its hull and superstructure in dry dock in 2010,[11] but this never happened. After six years in Tacoma, the Kalakala began listing, and officials worried of environmental damage the ferry might pose.[12] The state had also passed a state law focusing on the removal of abandoned and/or neglected vessels in Washington state waterways so pressure is being applied to the owner to do something with the Kalakala.

Artistic projects

Several art projects arose from their fascination with the Kalakala, including a full-length album of solo cello compositions recorded onboard the vessel in November 2003, called "Songs From a Parallel Universe." There is also an as-yet unreleased film, also filmed on the Kalakala, about the "Ghost Dance."

There was also a live concert featuring the Icelandic band múm, Serena Tideman and Eyvind Kang, on board the Kalakala.

A temporary "pirate radio" station broadcasting from the Kalakala is featured in the 2005 documentary film "Pirate Radio."

Meet Otto, (on the left) and Warren, (on the right). Otto is a laid back newer streamlined 4-8-2 Mountain type who is friendly to diesels and quick with a smile. Warren, on the other hand, is a grumpy semi-streamlined 4-8-4 "Daylight", made during World War II. He is not fond of diesels, and has a gruff exterior, but he mentors Otto anyway, though its usually Otto teaching Warren to be a kinder engine.

LDD file for both engines: www.moc-pages.com/user_images/80135/1461343053m.lxf

The Nucleus' engines themselves are based off the 4-6-4 Mercury with "Bathtub shroud" full streamlining of the New York Central Railroad of 1930's Earth, but with only two leading wheels instead of four, and adding another driving wheel, turning it from a "Hudson" type 4-6-4, into a "Berkshire" 2-8-4 type steam locomotive. it features red (left) and green (right) directional lights, and a very powerful headlight.

This locomotive is atomic powered, and under the shroud is basically the same closed system as seen the un-streamlined 4-4-2 engine usually powering the "Moon Mover" freight trains.

Streamlined LMS Princess Coronation Class 8P 4-6-2 Pacific No. 6229 Duchess of Hamilton, together with matching carriage, on display in the South Yard of the National Railway Museum during the LMS Weekend on 24th September 2011.

BB 22333 and a far more streamlined Thalys PBA set stand together at Gare du Nord.

The Times Square Building is a skyscraper designed by Voorhees, Gmelin, and Walker located in Rochester, New York. At 260 feet (79 m), it is the eighth tallest building in Rochester, with 14 floors.

The former Genesee Valley Trust Building is a streamlined twelve-story building supporting four aluminum wings 42 feet (13 m) high, each weighing 12,000 pounds (5,400 kg). These structures among the most distinctive features of the Rochester skyline.

The cornerstone of this bank was laid on October 29, 1929, the day the Stock Market Crashed.

Morris 15cwt streamlined van alongside a Handley Page HP42. airliner.Four HP42 and four HP45s were built and entered service in 1931 the HP45 held less passengers and more luggage for the European flights,the 42s did the longer routes.They had four Bristol Jupiter 9 cylinder radial engines of 490hp each.No incidents involving passengers occurred while the planes were with Imperial.

The lot of them were transferred to the RAF in 1939 as transports with 261 squadron, non survived the war some being wrote of in landing incidents and two blown together in a gale at Bristol and damaged beyond repair.

G.P.O

I streamlined an earlier design for this submission to LEGO CUUSOO. Please consider supporting it at lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/11492

Victoria & Albert Museum.

The streamlined case of the RCA Victor Special conceals what is otherwise an ordinary, if compact, phonograph. Although hardly portable by today's standards, in the late 1930s being able to carry a complete record player in a suitcase-sized case would have been novel and exciting. Driven by a wound spring, the RCA Victor Special could play records inside or outside—wherever the owner chose to present their performance.

Preset Style = Streamlined

Format = 6" (Medium)

Format Margin = Small

Format Border = Sm. Rounded

Drawing = Technical Pen

Drawing Weight = Medium

Drawing Detail = Lower

Paint = Natural

Paint Lightness = Auto

Paint Intensity = Normal

Water = Tap Water

Water Edges = Medium

Water Bleed = Minimal

Brush = Natural Detail

Brush Focus = Everything

Brush Spacing = Wide

Paper = Plain

Paper Texture = Medium

Paper Shading = Light

Options Faces = Enhance Faces

I was working in Harrogate earlier this week and managed to finish early enough on Tuesday to sneak over to the National Railway Museum at York just before it closed (it took an hour and a quarter to drive just 21 miles). Anyway this is the recently re-streamlined Duchess of Hamilton in all her glory.

Gallaher's Cigarettes "Trains of the World" issued in 1937.

#17 Streamlined Steam Train, Paris, Lyons & Mediterranean Railway

"T.V." Tommy Ivo's streamlined Top Fuel dragster

During qualifying, an engine explosion sent Ivo's car barrel rolling across the finish line, virtually destroying it, though Ivo walked away.

"I was running 240 (MPH) upside down, backwards," Ivo told Hemmings Muscle Machines for a Hot Rod Hero profile on him. "I hit the guardrail, and the car came apart like a two-dollar watch. It was worth the price of admission. I thought it was curtains, and when I felt that, I became euphoric - the scare went away. I was mad at myself because I'd closed my eyes and missed the show."

Streamlined body styles were briefly popular with municipal tram and bus operators in the immediate post-war years, as were buses with centre-entrances. This particular Burlingham body style was unique to Blackpool, but it would have looked at home alongside Sunderland's streamlined trams. The traditional red and cream livery gave way to green and cream in 1953 when buses began to replace the trams (19-Nov-12).

All rights reserved. Not to be re-posted anywhere without prior written permission. Please follow the link below for additional information about my Flickr collection and the techniques used:

www.flickr.com/photos/northernblue109/6046035749/in/set-7..

STREAMLINED SPENDOUR

Arguably one of the most beautiful of locomotives, certainly one of the most distinctive, Stanier's “Coronation Class”was born out of the necessity of the London Midland and Scoffish Railway to compete successfully with the London and North Eastern Railway on the lucrative Anglo-Scottish routes. The 1930's was the age of the streamliner and the L.M.S.'s east coast rival had, in Gresley's A4's, a winner. The west coast's response had to be good, and it was. Seen here hauling the up “Coronation Scot”express in 1938 locomotive number 6223 Princess Alice was the fourth of the first batch of five to enter service the previous year. There was eventually to be 38 in the class of which 24 were streamlined. The Coronation Scot meant opulence and glamour in an era of depression. It was perhaps a statement of faith in a better future, a belief cut short by events beyond the control of the L.M.S.

Streamlined casings made maintenance difficult and the rigours of war meant that not only were luxury and glamour out of the question but so were time consuming tasks. Streamlining was sacrificed initially to aid the war effort though it wasn't until 1949, long after hostilities had ceased, before the final locomotive was de-streamlined This was now the age of austerity and although Stanier's now smoke deflectored masterpieces were to continue to grace the west coast main line until the early 1960's they would never again match the brief majesty epitomized by the pre-war “Coronation Scot.”

....National Steel Car Company Gatehouse, Hamilton, Ontario

The streamlined 1930s record breaking locomotive in 1:20 scale. Built for Bright Bricks.

The Shape of Speed

Streamlined Automobiles and Motorcycles, 1930–1942

JUN 16 – SEP 16, 2018

Portland Art Museum

The Portland Art Museum is pleased to announce The Shape of Speed: Streamlined Automobiles and Motorcycles, 1930–1942, a special exhibition debuting at the Museum in Summer 2018. Featuring 19 rare streamlined automobiles and motorcycles, The Shape of Speed opens June 16 and will be on view through September 16, 2018.

The concept of streamlining has fascinated people for generations. Beginning in the 1930s and extending until the outbreak of the World War II, automotive designers embraced the challenge of styling and building truly streamlined cars that were fast and fuel-efficient. They were encouraged by the confluence of aircraft design with the sleek shapes of fast railroad locomotives; new advanced highways such as the Autobahns; and events like the 1939 New York City World’s Fair, which showcased futuristic design.

The Shape of Speed presents a select group of rare automobiles and motorcycles that demonstrate how auto designers translated the concept of aerodynamic efficiency into exciting machines that in many cases, looked as though they were moving while at rest.

The Museum will display 17 cars and two motorcycles—the best of that era’s streamlined offerings—from Europe and the United States. Engineering drawings and period photographs will show some of the aircraft, railroad, ship and yacht designs that influenced the automakers.

Featured designers and engineers include European streamlining pioneer Paul Jaray, along with Richard Buckminster Fuller, Norman Bel Geddes, Raymond Loewy, Harley J. Earl, Hermann Ahrens, Georges Paulin, Joseph Figoni, Dr. Wunibald Kamm, Otto Kuhler, Jean Bugatti, Hans Ledwinka, Gordon Buehrig, and others.

portlandartmuseum.org/exhibitions/shape-of-speed/

Another great Czech streamlined design was the fabulous T600 fastback saloon.

It was based on the revolutionary design of the 1933-1938 T77/T77a and its derivatives by Hans Ledwinka.

To my opinion the T600 is one of the most beautiful but rather underestimated car-designs.

The design team consisted of Josef Chalupa,

Vladimír Popelář, František Kardaus and Hans Ledwinka.

1952 cc 4 cylinder air-cooled boxer engine.

1180 kg.

Production period 1947-1952.

This car was for sale in Ostrava (CZ) since April 11, 2017. The price was on demand.

Found on rajveteranu.cz (April 12, 2017).

Original photographer, place and date unknown.

© 2017-18 Rajveteranu/Sander Toonen Amsterdam | All Rights Reserved

CP 40B rolls south through Morton Grove with a pair of CP's finest F units sandwiching a GP20C-ECO.

Ashford Avenue

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Caribbean

streamlined moderne beauty in the old Woolworth's store in downtown Bakersfield California. It is now an antique mall, but still has an operating luncheonette.

Shows How To Get On And Off Tram

"A section of 'Safety Town' at the City Hall features an exhibit designed to instruct tram patrons in the correct manner of boarding and alighting from trams," said Mr. S. L. Quinn, general manager of the Brisbane City Council Transport Department.

"Uniformed instructors will explain methods of accident prevention, with the help of large illustrated posters showing the dangers of carelessness and too much hurry," he added.

A full-scale model of portion of the latest streamlined tram will enable instructors to demonstrate how safety may be ensured while travelling by tram.

An interesting feature of the exhibit is the display of scale-model trams dating from the earliest days to the latest streamlined models of tram, bus and trolleybus now under the control of the Brisbane City Council's Transport Department.

"Safety Town," which will be opened at the City Hall on Thursday, is sponsored by the Queensland Road Safety Council. Hours of inspection will be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission will be free.

Description source:

Brisbane Telegraph, 13 December 1949

View the original image at Queensland State Archives:

Digital Image ID 16674

The Brisbane tramway network served the city of Brisbane, Australia, between 1885 and 1969. It ran on standard gauge track. The electric system was originally energised to 500 volts, and subsequently increased to 600 volts. All tramcars built in Brisbane up to 1938 had an open design. This proved so popular, especially on hot summer nights, that the trams were used as fundraisers and often chartered right up until the last service by social groups.

Most trams operated with a two-person crew – a driver (or motorman) and a conductor, who moved about the tram collecting fares and issuing tickets. The exceptions to this arrangement were on the Gardens line (Lower Edward Street) where the short duration of the trip meant it was more effective for passengers to simply drop their fare into a fare box as they entered the tram; and the "one man cars" which operated in the early 1930s.

The peak year for patronage was in 1944–45 when almost 160 million passengers were carried. The system route length reached its maximum extent of 109 kilometres (68 mi) in 1952. The total track length was 199 kilometres (124 mi), owing to many routes ending in single, rather than double, track. Single track segments of the track were protected by signalling which operated off the trolley wire. By 1959 more than 140 kilometres (87 mi) of track were laid in concrete, a method of track construction pioneered in Brisbane.

The last track opened was in O'Keefe Street Woolloongabba, in May 1961. However, this track was not used in normal passenger service and was merely used to reduce dead running from Logan Road back to Ipswich Road Depot.

Of the Australian capital cities which closed their networks between the 1950s and 1970s (only Melbourne and Adelaide retained trams, although Adelaide only had one line in operation), Brisbane was the last capital city to close its tram network. Despite the decision to shut down the network, Brisbane's trams were held with great affection by locals, and one commentator described their removal "one of the most appalling urban planning mistakes in the city’s history". There have been ongoing proposals since the early 1990s to reinstate a functional tram network.

Brisbane expanded to become one of the most dispersed cities in the world by the 1870s. In the early years of Brisbane's settlement walking was the most convenient way to get around as most people choose to live close to their workplace. In 1875, the railway line to Ipswich opened up some areas in western and southern districts, however fares were expensive, as was owning a horse.

By 1885 an omnibus service reached almost every part of Brisbane. Omnibuses consisted of a strongly constructed wooden wagon with seating for males on the roof and a back-door entrance to the interior.

On 10 August 1885 the Metropolitan Tramway and Investment Company began official horse-drawn tramway services for the public. The 18 tramcars were built from highly polished cedar and mahogany in the United States by JG Brill Company and John Stephenson Company. Fares were expensive, with the typical patron belonging to the middle class. Some even used the services to go home for lunch. Depression struck in 1893 and combined with 1893 Brisbane floods the horse-drawn tramway services saw large drops in patronage.

The first electric tramway ran along Stanley Street, in South Brisbane on 16 June 1897. Horse-drawn carriages were still being used in 1899.

In 1900 local residents were agitating to have the Kelvin Grove tramway extended along Enoggera Road to the Newmarket Hotel in Newmarket. However, a new bridge over Enoggera Creek would be required.[5] Also there were concerns that the close proximity of the proposed tramway would take revenue away from the railway line. However these concerns were resolved and the tramway extension to the Newmarket Hotel was opened on Monday 27 July 1903.

Up until the end of World War I, Brisbane's trams were the primary method used for travelling within the city.

Between 1923 and 1934 tram services in Brisbane were greatly expanded. Brisbane's tramway system came under the control of the newly merged Brisbane City Council (BCC) in 1925.

After seven years of agitation, Brisbane's tram service was extended to Grange in July 1928. The opening ceremony was attended by the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, William Jolly, and two Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, James Stevingstone Kerr and Charles Taylor. The mayor had threatened not to attend any ceremony for the opening of the tram service because two rival groups were organising separate celebrations; he would only attend if there was a single ceremony.

Until 1934, the trams carried mail between the Brisbane General Post Office and suburban post office branches, and also acted as mobile postboxes

Through the 1940s and 1950s the tram system enjoyed strong political support within the council, which continued to expand the tram network and upgrade its fleet with some of the most advanced trams in Australia. Trolleybuses were introduced in 1951. The last tramway to open was in March 1961. Clem Jones became Lord Mayor of Brisbane the same year, and all new route construction was cancelled.

By 1948 Brisbane's trams failed to return a profit as they could not compete with the more efficient bus services. Urban development, often well away from public transport, the rise of suburban shopping centres and the relative decline in the cost of motorcars meant that as elsewhere, Brisbane's public street transport system increasingly had to compete with the private motor car and patronage slowly declined from a post war peak of 148 million passenger journeys in 1946, to approximately 64 million passenger journeys in 1968.

Political support for the tram system waned in the 1960s, particularly so after the Paddington tram depot fire on 28 September 1962. 67 trams were destroyed, which represented 20% of the entire fleet. Brisbane's Lord Mayor Alderman Clem Jones was pro-freeway and private car. The Kalinga, Toowong, Rainworth and Bulimba ferry routes closed in December 1962.

In common with many other cities, Brisbane converted its remaining tram lines between 1968 and 1969 to all bus operation. The last trolley buses ran on 13 March 1969 and the final trams ran on 13 April 1969. Photographs of this last tram ride, organised by Grahame Garner and other tramways workers are in the University of Queensland Fryer Library collection. The tramway closure was notable for the speed with which it was carried out. Over 300 replacement Leyland Panther buses were purchased, at the time the largest single bus purchase in the world. Most older, wooden trams were stripped of metal parts and then burnt at the City Council's yard at Cribb Street, Milton (adjacent to the tramway workshops). The bodies of later, all-metal cars were sold as sheds and playground equipment.

The Brisbane Tramway Museum Society was formed in 1968 to preserve some of Brisbane's trams. At present the museum has 24 Brisbane trams in its collection, with 6 operational; California type tram 47, Ten Bench tram 65, Baby Dreadnought tram 99, Dropcentre tram 341, Four Motor tram 429, and the last tram built and officially operated in Brisbane, Four Motor Phoenix tram 554. Tramway operations commenced at the museum at Ferny Grove in 1980.

There have been several proposals from both the Brisbane City Council and state government to return a tram or light rail system to Brisbane since the 1990s. The most prominent of these include the ambitious 1997 Brisbane Light Rail Transit proposal. The plans escalated to a Queensland government tender for four company consortia to purchase new trams, construct and operate the system in 1 the project was projected to cost A$235 million but was subsequently vetoed in favour of expanding the existing bus network.

These various proposed options included a line from Roma Street station to Queensland University of Technology’s CBD campus along George Street, CBD to West End and University of Queensland via Victoria Bridge and Melbourne Street and CBD to Fortitude Valley via Wickham Terrace.

In 2007, following several failed road and tunnel projects and based on the recommendations of the Brisbane City Council's 2006 CBD masterplan, Premier Peter Beattie announced $250 million of state government funding for an extensive light rail system to rival Melbourne's and significantly larger than those of Sydney or Adelaide. The plan, at the centre of the government's "Smart City" plan, was to link South Brisbane to New Farm and Bowen Hills with future extensions down the newly created South Eastern and Inner Northern Busways, bridges and pedestrian spines.[14] In the March 2008 Brisbane city elections, the Queensland Greens campaigned on a more comprehensive plan. However, by June 2008 progress had stalled, without an official project announcement, the Brisbane City Council once again distancing itself from the plan due to cost of the investment (estimated at $600 million for the New Farm link) and instead giving consideration of diverting the funds to enhancing the bus and CityCat ferry systems.

Types of trams

Unlike many other systems, Brisbane never adopted an alphabetical or numerical system for classifying its trams (cf Melbourne trams), preferring instead to use official descriptions, such as "standard centre aisle car", or "drop-centre saloon car”.

Horse trams

- single deck saloon

- single deck cross bench

- double deck - open top deck, lower saloon

Electric trams

Converted electric trams

Delivery of early combination cars was delayed and as a result the tramway company decided to convert many of the horse tram to electric operation, as a temporary expedient. Despite this, many of these converted cars remained in passenger service well into the 1930s.

California Combination car

The prototype Brisbane electric tram (No 1) was built at the Melbourne cable tram workshops from the body of a horse tram, and had 5 saloon windows instead of the usual 4 windows on the new-built Combination cars, with one fixed and one tip-over seat on each end platform.

Large Combination cars

These three trams were built in 1904 from three single deck horse trams, similar to the new-built California Combination trams but with 6 saloon windows as opposed to 4 on the new trams, and a single fixed cross-bench seat on each end platform instead of 2 tip-over seats each end. Withdrawn from service 1925 to 1930s.

Saloon cars

Each tram in this class was constructed by joining two single deck saloon horse trams together on a single motorised chassis. Their long, enclosed bodies gave rise to their nickname of "coffin cars". They were built in 1897, when delivery of new electric trams was delayed. 6 cars in this class. They were all withdrawn from service by 1930.

"Summer" cars

The 6 bench horse trams were motorised and later most were lengthened to accommodate 10 cross benches. One car was to remain in service until 1958 as an advertising car.

New-built electric trams

California Combination

Officially referred to as "Standard Combination" trams, but more popularly referred to as "matchboxes". They had a central 4 window saloon with 2 tip-over cross-bench seats on each end platform. There were 62 trams in this class, built between 1897 and 1904, with the last one withdrawn from passenger service in 1952. Two, (nos 14 and 15), were converted into "scrubber" cars (track maintenance cars). Several were used as advertising cars, with 47 and 53 being used as one man cars on the Gardens shuttle route.

Nine Bench Cars

These 4 trams were constructed in 1897 and 1898 by the Brisbane Tramways Company. They were cross bench cars with no centre aisle. Two of the benches (those attached to the end bulkheads) were fixed and the other seven benches were tip-over. They could carry 45 seated passengers, plus standees. Two were withdrawn from service in 1938, the other two were probably withdrawn in 1943.

Brills

These 20 cars were officially "bogie open tip-over cross-bench cars". They were a standard design tram built by JG Brill Company of Philadelphia, although two were built by the Brisbane Tramways Company, presumably under licence from the Brill Company. They each had 4 fixed back-to-back benches and 8 tip-over benches. The first 8 had clerestory roofs, the remainder had plain roofs. The first 8 were also fitted with couplings for trailers, but the trailers were eventually motorised (see "light twelve bench cars" below.) As these trams only had hand brakes, operating a coupled set was physically demanding on drivers. In later years these workhorses were very dilapidated and had diagonal cross bracing on each bulkhead to reduce body sway. One tram was involved in a bad accident in 1944 and was converted to centre aisle design (see Special Dreadnoughts). They were gradually withdrawn from service between 1937 and 1952.

Light Twelve Bench Cars

These eight cars were originally built as trailers between 1901 and 1903, but were motorised in 1912. They had 12 fixed back-to-back benches and could carry 66 passengers. They were all withdrawn from service between 1948 and 1951.

Standard Ten Bench Cars

There were 32 of these sturdy little single truck trams constructed in Brisbane. 28 were built by the Brisbane Tramways Company between 1907 and 1921 and a further 4 were built by the Brisbane Tramways Trust between 1923 and 1925. They had fixed, back-to-back bench seating carrying 50 seated passengers (plus standees). They were commonly called "toastracks" or "jumping jacks". In 1936 4 of these cars were converted to Baby Dreadnoughts (see below); another two were converted to this class in 1944. Apart from one car converted to an advertising car and another retained for historical purposes, they were all withdrawn from service between 1952 and 1955.

Dreadnoughts

Officially referred to as standard centre-aisle trams, 65 trams in this class built between 1908 and 1925. These trams could carry 90 passengers. The last 21, which were built for the Brisbane Tramways Trust between 1924 and 1925, had 12 windows, remainder built with 6 windows. Originally they were built with open end platforms, but these were enclosed in the 1930s. Some received "streamlining" with oval windows and skirting around their bogies. The attached picture illustrates the differences between various members of this class. The tram in the foreground is a 12 window Dreadnought (built by the Tramways Trust), still with seats on its end platforms and no streamlining. The tram ahead of it is an older, 6 window Dreadnought (built by the Tramways Company), but with its end seats removed and streamlining around its windows and skirting below the body of the tram.

"Special" Dreadnoughts

Each of these four cars was unique in their own way. Two were outwardly like the Dreadnoughts. Tram 100 was built in 1903 as the Tramway Company Manager's personal "Palace" car, fitted with carpets, plush seat covers and further interior decorations. Converted to regular passenger use in 1918 and was withdrawn from service in 1958. Tram 110 was built in 1906 as the prototype for the Dreadnoughts, but it had different trucks, which resulted in high steps. It was withdrawn from service in 1952. Tram 101 was built in 1899 originally with no solid roof, just a canvas awning suspended from a lightweight frame. It was withdrawn from service around 1935. Tram 104 was converted in 1943 from a Brill 12 bench car that had been badly damaged in an accident. In its converted form this tram had design features derived from the Four Motor, Dropcentre and Baby Dreadnought tram designs. It was withdrawn from service in 1958.

Stepless Car

Known as "big Lizzie", also sometimes referred to as a "New York type tram", tram 301 was intended to be the first of a fleet of inter-urban trams. It was built by JG Brill Company in 1912 and imported in 1914. It was unusual for a Brill stepless car in that it was partially made of timber, rather than the normal all-metal construction. It was the first fully enclosed tram in Brisbane. Heavy and troubled by poor road clearance, it usually only saw service on the West End – Ascot line and was withdrawn from service in 1935.

"One man" trams

Between 1929 and 1930, 9 Dreadnoughts were converted to "one-man" operation, as a cost-saving measure. These trams were operated with drivers only and without conductors. They were only used on the Rainworth and Red Hill routes. Passengers were required to enter the tram from the front entrance and pay the driver as they entered. For this reason these trams had a distinctive colour scheme which included red and white diamonds on their front aprons. In May 1934 one man operation was abandoned and these trams were repainted in normal colours.

Two combination trams were also converted to one man operation for use on the Gardens route. The first tram was converted in 1925, the second in 1930.

"Baby" Dreadnoughts

Sometimes called "small centre-aisle" or "single truck saloon" cars, the 6 trams in this class were built primarily for the hilly Spring Hill route. They were built in two batches: the first four in 1936 were converted from 10 bench trams, the last two were built in 1943 using the underframes from 10 bench trams, making the last two trams in this class the non-bogie cars built in Australia. These trams were fitted with special sanders allowing sand to be dropped not only in front, but also behind, their wheels, in case the trams slipped backwards on the steep section of the Spring Hill line. They were withdrawn from service in 1958–1959, one car was preserved.

Dropcentres

The most numerous of Brisbane's trams, there were 191 trams of this class built between 1925 and 1938. Officially called "bogie drop centre combination cars", (usually shortened to "dropcentre" or "droppie") these trams' distinctive drop centre compartment was open to the elements, with only canvas blinds to provide protection for passengers in cold or wet weather. Although designed to be operated using airbrakes, most cars in this class were instead built with rheostatic brakes and hand brakes. However, the last 17 cars (Nos 370–386) were built with airbrakes. Subsequently, many of the older cars in this class were retrofitted with airbrakes and had their rheostatic braking systems removed. Early cars were built with open ends (meaning the drivers were unprotected from the elements) but later cars were built with enclosed ends (or "vestibules"). The ends of all the earlier cars of this class were enclosed by 1934. These trams were last used in regular service in December 1968.

Four Motor (FM) trams

Officially referred to as "drop centre saloon cars", or "four motor cars", they were popularly referred to as "400s", "FM's" or "silver bullets". They were the first class of trams built in Brisbane with airbrakes. 155 were constructed by the Brisbane City Council between 1938 and 1964, with a maximum carrying capacity of 110 passengers. Trams 400–472 were built with wide centre doors, 407 was altered to narrow centre doors and renumbered 473 (and the tram to be numbered 473 entered service as 407), trams 474–554 built with narrow centre doors. Through the 28 years during which they were built, many innovations were introduced, such as fluorescent lighting, helical gears, resilient wheels, remote controlled controllers and streamlined construction techniques. Early versions had canvas blinds in the doorways, while later versions had sliding doors. The last 8 trams were built from components salvaged from the Paddington tram depot fire and were painted light blue with phoenix emblems below the motorman's windows, to symbolise that the trams had risen from the ashes of the fire.

Workshops, power houses and administration

Workshops and administration for the electric tram system were initially located in cramped quarters at Countess Street, at the western side of the Roma Street railway yards (now the site of the Roma Street Parkland), but in 1927 were relocated to Milton. Access to the workshops was from Boomerang Street in Milton, off Milton Road. Head Office was accessed from Coronation Drive (then known as River Road).

Power for the electric trams was originally drawn from a power station operated by the tramway company adjacent to its Countess Street depot and workshops. As the tramway company increased both the number of trams and the length of routes, the power supply rapidly became inadequate. Additional power generating units were installed at Light Street depot and a further powerhouse was built on Logan Road, Woolloongabba, adjacent to the Woolloongabba railway line. Inadequate power supply was to remain a problem while the tramways remained in private hands. With the takeover of the system in 1922 by the Brisbane Tramways Trust (and subsequently the City Council) considerable investment was made in many areas including power generation and distribution. A larger powerhouse was built in New Farm which commenced generation in 1928 and was sufficient for both the needs of the tram system and other consumers.

The original Countess Street powerhouse was demolished and material from it was used to construct the new Tramways headquarters.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Brisbane

Streamlined the top portion. I think it looks better in this scale, even if it isn't as accurate.

The gorgeous streamlined London Midland and Scottish (LMS) 'Princess Coronation Class' 4-6-2 pacific steam locomotive number 6229 'Duchess of Hamilton' inside the Great Hall at the National Railway Museum in York (UK).

6229 was designed by Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LMS William Stanier and built at Crewe Works in 1938.

6229 was withdrawn from service as 46229 in February 1964.

www.flickr.com/photos/stuart166axe/tags/6229/

Note Class 31 diesel locomotive, 31018 (D5500) on the left and the trays to catch any leaking oil.

Photograph courtesy of my regular photostream contributor David on his travels and is posted here with very kind permission.

Four model cars from the modern looking streamlined Peugeot 202 series. It are pickup and panel van versions of the 202 Berline. They are on display in classic car museum Visscher Classique, Buren.

The 202 was the smallest Peugeot in the second half of the 1930s. It was officially presented in March 1938. It shared more or less the body style of the streamlined 302. The 202 was distinguishable by just one horizontal ventilation opening at the side of the bonnet, and the one-piece windscreen.

This 202 pickup was based on the 202 berline. It had a special enforced chassis.

In the early 1930s revolutionary aerodynamic theories were applied for the first time to mass produced cars. Avant-garde cars like 1934 Tatra 77 and the 1934 Chrysler Airflow gained a lot of positive attention. The 402 was Peugeot's answer to its direct competitor the streamlined 1934 Citroën TA.

The 02-series was developed by the Département Études Carrosseries, under supervision of Henri Thomas.

The Peugeot 02-series was also called Fuseau-Sochaux.

1133 cc L4 petrol engine.

Performance: 30 bhp.

1100 kg.

Max. payload: 530 kg.

Production Peugeot 202: Jan. 1938-1942/1945-1949.

Seen in car museum Visscher Classique. It's a new car museum originated from a large car collection of director Henk Visscher, mixed with a lot of passion and ambition.

The collection focuses on the French brands that fall under the Stellantis group (formerly PSA).

More info: visscherclassique.nl/museum/

Buren, Visscher Classique Car Museum, Schuilheuvelstraat, Aug. 5, 2023.

© 2023 Sander Toonen Halfweg | All Rights Reserved

www.youtube.com/@frantisekhajdekr

The New York Central Hudson's were a series of 4-6-4 "Hudson" type steam locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company and the Lima Locomotive Works from 1927 to 1938 for the New York Central Railroad. Named after the Hudson River, the 4-6-4 wheel arrangement came to be known as the "Hudson" type in the United States as these locomotives were the first examples built and used in North America. Built for high-speed passenger train work, the Hudson locomotives were famously known for hauling the New York Central's crack passenger trains, such as the 20th Century Limited and the Empire State Express. With the onset of diesel locomotives in the mid 20th Century, all Hudson locomotives were retired and scrapped by the late 1950's. None of the New York Central Hudson's survived into preservation.

With its streamlined styling, low-slung chassis and supercharged engine, the Type 57SC Atalante is one of the most desirable Bugattis. It was personally designed by Jean Bugatti as a two-seater sports coupe and became the rarest of the four different body styles offered by Carrosorie Bugatti. The Atalante body style was an interpretation of the 1935 Aérolithe Coupe, essentially a prototype that reached very limited production in 1936 as the Type 57 Atlantic. This somewhat bizarre car used riveted panels to form a streamlined sports coupe. It’s rumored that Jean Bugatti was influenced by the Mercedes-Benz 500 K Autobahnkurier at the 1934 Frankfurt Auto Show and created the Aérolithe as a response. As majestic and unusual as the Atlantic was, it wasn’t suitable for series production with its high set doors, fussy construction and split front window. The design was revised into the Atalante which included the Aérolithe’s teardrop shape, but with a flat windshield, a separate trunk area with recessed spare-tire and full-size doors that retained the signature kidney-bean windows. On the 57S Atalante, Jean used a two-tone paint scheme that accentuated the use of his French curve on the side of the car. Typically, the car was black with an intense highlight color. On some cars, this accent dash extended around the entire cabin. The basis for this remarkable car was Bugatti's top-of-the-line Type 57S chassis. These were the same type that Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist drove to win the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans. It had a much lower chassis than the preceding Type 57 and also used complex de Ram shock absorbers. In many ways this was the ultimate Bugatti since no logical successor was ever produced. Some cars came with fitted superchargers, while others were retrofitted with them.To maintain exclusivity, no two of the Type 57S Atalantes were the same. In detail, each was distinct and some major differences were introduced. For instance, two were made as Roll-Back Coupes with reclining soft-tops. Some of the first had independent headlights while others were sculpted into the body. Most featured skirted rear arches and wire wheels or polished aluminum hubcaps. Some of the more dramatic cars feature lengthened rear fenders. Essentially, where anyone tries to make a rule there is usually an exception.

Type 57SC Chassis Atalante bodies were manufactured on the complete range of Type 57 chassis. This was Jean Bugatti’s answer to model consolation, replacing the six luxurious and sporting chassis made under his father’s direction. Using the dual-overhead camshaft (DOHC) concept engine from the Type 55 road car, he designed an entirely new chassis. The first of these were the Type 57 and supercharged 57C both were distinguished by their tall radiator and chassis. They were powered by a new engine with 72mm bore and 100mm stroke, producing 135 bhp at 5,000 rpm. Almost as important, they provided the support for Jean Bugatti’s exceptional bodies which were elegant, with balanced proportions and daring colors. Later, the chassis was definitively upgraded into the lower Type 57S or Surbaissé version. The main chassis rails of this model were elegant and complex. Towards the center of car, the chassis rails became wider and taller to provide the necessary rigidity. At the rear, the axle passed through the chassis and was supported by reversed quarter-elliptic leaf springs. This allowed for the lowest possible ride height while retaining suspension compliance. Furthermore, the engine clearance dictated a dry-sump lubrication was needed that used a 20-liter external reservoir. Outwardly, the Type 57S chassis was distinguished by its ovoid radiator that formed a deep vee. Other chassis details included self-adjusting DeRam hydraulic shock absorbers on both the front and rear axles. Furthermore, the engine was not a stressed member of the chassis anymore, instead being mounted with rubber bushings. As the ultimate Atalante, the Type 57SC had both this lower chassis and supercharged engine. It was distinguished by its 4–5 psi supercharger that helped the 3.3-liter engine produce 170 bhp. This Roots unit was mounted at the rear of the engine and driven directly from the camshaft. Versions of this engine went on to win the best races including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With such a capable chassis, the Type 57SC has been described as the world’s first supercar. Combined with an elegant body from Carroserie Bugatti, VanVooren, Gangloff or Figoni et Falaschi and you have a winning combo. Many cars were later retrofitted with superchargers by the factory.Sales & Chassis;With Engine number 26S, this unsupercharged car was first delivered to Bugatti Owners’ Club President and LeMans racer Lord Earl Howe on May 5th 1937. It was painted blue and black with pigskin interior, a split bumper and twin spotlights. However, How fitted fill width bumpers, rear view mirrors and a rear luggage rack not long after. Registered DYK 5 It was displayed this way at the Eastbourne Concours d’Elegance on July 20th, 1937. Before an accident in 1945, it was found parked at various British events alongside Lord Howe's other cars. Following an accident it was replaced in 1945. It swap ownership several times and was fitted with K200 supercharger and modified manifolding until Dr Harold Carr purchased the car and preserved in original condition. It remained out of sight until 2007. After the doctor's death it was sold at Bonhams 2009 Retromobile Auction for €3,417,500 inclusive of buyer's premium. The car was described as having a "continuous and chronicled history; and it has exceptional originality retaining original chassis, engine, drivetrain and body. It even has what appears to be a remarkably low mileage with an odometer reading of just 26,284." First ordered by Robert Eonnet on November 4, 1936, the car was delivered on February 25, 1937 in two-tone Blue with pigskin and beige cloth interior. It was upgraded to Type 57SC specification sometime by the factory in the 1950s. It eventually was owned by US Navy doctor Charles S. Hascall who brought it to America and had it painted a Rolls-Royce color scheme known as smoke and sage. Later it was purchased by Dr. Peter & Susan Williamson for inclusion into one of America’s great Bugatti collections. Upon Peter’s death, the car was offered at Gooding & Company’s 2008 Pebble beach Auction with proceeds benefiting the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. With engine number 30S, this car was completed on July 23, 1937 with an Atalante body finished in black with pigskin upholstery. The body configuration, with its low headlight placement between the radiator and front fenders, was identical to the October 1937 Paris show car. It was delivered by the factory just a week later to its first owner, Jean Lévy of Strasbourg. It went through a number of owners including, in order, Maurice Weber, French artist André Derain, Jean-Louis Fatio, Colin Doane in the U.S. then the famous William Harrah for the Harrah’s Collection. He commisioned a full restoration by O.A. “Bunny” Phillips including colors of Patrol Cream and Lemon Oxide. Afterward it immediately won Best of Show at the 1976 Pebble Beach Concours. Described as "attractive, desirable and best-performing of all Bugatti road cars" RM Auctions offered this car at their 2009 Arizona sale and fetched a nosale bid of 4.4 million. Sources & Further Reading 1. Simon, Bernhard & Julius Kruta. The Bugatti Type 57S.

www.supercars.net/cars/265.html

The Boot Court near the junction of US 66 and US 71 are two Streamlined Moderne style buildings constructed in 1939 and 1946. The 1939 building had carports to protect guest's vehicles from weather.

Shortly after World War II, the C&O Railroad modified several 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotives for use on a new luxury passenger line, creating a streamlined 4-6-4 "Hudson". However, declining passenger revenue forced C&O to change its plans, and the Hudsons were instead used for regular passenger service until 1953. C&O No. 490 was built in 1926 and modified by C&O in 1946.

At the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This light fitting is in the rear (sea-side) staircase of the De La Warr Pavilion on the seafront of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex. This is an International Style building constructed in 1935 and considered by some to be in Art Deco style. Some claim it to be the first major Modernist public building in Britain, although it was actually preceded by some months by the Dutch-influenced Hornsey Town Hall.

It was the result of an architectural competition initiated by Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, after whom the building was named. A committed socialist and Mayor of Bexhill, he persuaded the town council to develop the site as a public building. The competition for the design attracted more than 230 entrants and the winners, Eric Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff, were leading figures in the Modern Movement.

The aesthetics employed in the International Style proved especially suited to the building, tending towards streamlined, industrially-influenced designs, often with expansive metal-framed windows, and eschewing traditional brick and stonework in favour of concrete and steel construction. Construction began in January 1935 and the building was opened on 12 December of the same year by the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth).

During WWII, the Pavilion was used by the military and amongst those who served there was noted comedian Gunner Spike Milligan.

In 1986 the Pavilion was granted Grade I listed Building status and in 1989 the Pavilion Trust was formed to protect and restore the building. In 2005, after an restoration and regeneration programme, the Pavilion reopened as a contemporary arts centre.

Wonderful way to start 2024! I am humbled by the support the community gave The Mercury to win the Global Public Vote in the Brick Train Awards 2023. Big thank you to HA Bricks for the winners brick and TrixBrix for the voucher!

rear wing upper streamlined curve ..

BMW 8i plug-in hybrid sports car

Newlands Corner, Albury //Merrow - Guildford,Surrey -UK

THNSW's streamlined celebrity 3801 cools its heels and simmers under blue skies in the yard at Albury after arriving from Junee on transfer train 6L61. The 38 will team up with 4201 to run a series of shuttles to Gerogery & return over the following 3 days. 2/4/21

Streamlined Canadian National 4-8-4 steam locomotive no. 6404 at Toronto's Spadina roundhouse on the night of July 4, 1958. Photograph by J. Parker Lamb, © 2015, Center for Railroad Photography and Art. Lamb-01-052-12

292-cubic-inch L-head 75° V12, 110-hp

Panasonic Lumix G 20mm 1:1.7 II ASPH 'pancake' lens

P6040435 Anx2 Q90 1200h 0.5k-2k

The avant-garde, streamlined design of the Tatra 87 looks rather like a fish, not least because of the large rear fin.

The three headlights are also typical of the Tatra design. The low drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.36 enabled the car with its air-cooled 3.0-litre V8 engine to attain a speed of 150 km/h. However, at that speed driving the car became dangerous – the heavy rear engine made it hard to handle.

The Austrian engineer Hans Ledwinka joined the Czech company Tatra in 1921 as technical director. He invented the ‘backbone chassis’ and was a pioneer in the area of aerodynamic design. The design of this particular Tatra dates back to the pre-war years. Ledwinka was a close colleague of Ferdinand Porsche, but when the Volkswagen Beetle was introduced, Tatra claimed that Porsche had copied their design. The court case was interrupted by the war, but Volkswagen later admitted Tatra’s influence.

Louwman Museum

Den Haag - The Hague

Nederland - Netherlands

August 2012

1930's Micheline streamlined railcar at the Citi du Train (National Railway Museum) in Mulhouse, France. These cars utilized a set of special flanged rubber tires with aluminum safety rings inside.(seen here). The concept was also trialed in America, see this interesting page on the Classic Streamliners website:https://www.classicstreamliners.com/rpc-budd-michelin.html

A very interesting film from the Micheline archives about their rubber-tired railcars can be found here: www.michelin.com/eng/innovation/fields-of-innovation/tire...