Vintage vehicle teaching materials
Unlike most of my posts here, this is not a photo. But it is interesting; a single piece of vintage teaching materials that show three different types of “modern” vehicles.
This is a cardboard “plate” about 8 1/2 x 11 in size. It was the only one I found, but it’d be interesting to see the rest of the collection. The most interesting thing to me was the double decker bus in the middle. I doubt this was every actually made, but it is an interesting idea. Note the “Porter” is shaded black, subtle racism by todays standard.
1.) A Modern Racing Car. This is the “Golden Arrow,” the racing car with which Major H. O. D. Seagrave established a world record of 231.362 miles per hour at Daytona Beach, Fla(Florida). A 900-horsepower engine furnished the motive power. So great a speed required the use of a telescopic sight for steering. Notice the careful streamlining of the car. Magor Segrave is at the wheel. His record was later broken by Sir Malcom Campbell in a car with a longer “vertical fin” at the rear and a rounded front.
2.) A Night Touring Bus. The sleeper busses of the Greyhound Line operate from the Middle West to the West Coast. They can accommodate 25 passenger. There are five compartments, each containing one large double berth and three single berths. In each compartment are a wash basin with hot and cold running water, mirror, radio, and a portable card table for buffet service. At the rear of the coach are lavatories and lounges for men and women. The power plant of the coach has been placed in the rear to eliminate noise and exhaust fumes, while the space in the front, formerly occupied by the motor, has become the main baggage compartment. A safety measure is the elevated driver’s compartment, which gives a clear view of the highway. Microphone pick-ups enables the driver to hear how his motor is operating. A porter prepares and serves light lunches to passengers, and makes up the berths at night. Highways and vehicles using them have gone far since Conestoga wagon crept over the same country to the Far West.
3.) A Heavy Truck and Trailer. Twenty two tones of freight can be loaded in this truck with its trailer. It has a Diesel six-cylinder engine, and can be driven 40 miles an hour with safety when loaded. Notice that it has balloon tires. Contrast it with the Conestoga freight wagon, picture 3, Plate VI, which used the public highways in the early days of our republic.
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