No period in human history has seen greater
change in how the average person travelled. Autos were invented at the
close of the 19th century, and were mass produced before the First World
War. But it was during the 1920s that the auto became firmly connected
to the middle class. At the opening of the decade air travel was a risky
novelty. By 1929 commercial airliners were common, and the ubiquitous Ford
Tri-Motor ruled the air.
Automobiles
Henry
Ford Museum & Greenfield Village Online
The Ford Motor company, more than
any other source, made the auto a fixture of American life. This
is the Official Ford Museum.
Diary of a 1921 Road Trip
EDITOR'S CHOICE: The
Beach family, Charles, Doretta, Lela and Claude, set out from Cornwall,
Ontario on October 18, 1921. This is Doretta's diary. An incredible slice
of North American life in the 20s, with extensive reference links.
The figures indicate a pretty consistent 17-18mph average, although actual
driving speeds must have been faster, since this allows for lunch and tourist
stops. Still it gives a good idea of the territory one could easily
cover in a car in one
day.
Route
66
"Get Your Kicks" The song isn't
period, but the highway was already there. Route 66 opened in the 20s,
one of the new highways that provided a way for the family to take "automobile"
vacations on the highway. Family car trips to Yosemite Park were probably
invented in the 20s. This site is a fascinating paen to Route 66, though
of course much of it deals with the highway in its later years.
Classic
Car Source - Museums with Home Pages
Vast array of links to small auto
museums (usually private collections, open for a few dollars admission).
Many photos of classic cars.
Autocar
Anniversary Old Photograph Library
Many photos of old Autocars.
The Autocar make is apparently connected with Volvo. Alas there is only
one image from the 20s, a `26 Autocar.
Staunton
Marketplace: Antique Automobiles
This is a straight-forward sales
site, but it usually has several photos of vehicles from the 20s.
The Automobile in
American Life
A University of Nevada, Reno, Seminar.
Some limited 1920s and historical material.
Trains
Denver
& Rio Grande Western Home Page
An excellent and informative page
on this Railroad, which operated all through the 20's (Denver &
Rio Grande and Western merged in 1924.
Routes
and Trains on the Eve of Amtrak
This is vastly too late for the
period (1971), but it is the only comprehensive source for the routes
of many of the classic trains that operated in the 20s: Broadway Limited,
Empire Builder, Sunset Limited. Just don't assume that the train's
destination in 1971 perfectly matches its historic route, or that all the
trains listed here go back as far as the 20s.
Buffalo Central Terminal
A great source for mid-century
railroading, including a table of the N. Y. Central's "named" trains in
1944. The Terminal was opened in 1929, and is a prime example of
Art-Deco architecture. Many photographs.
Ships
The
Titanic
So many entries exist on this ship,
we made a separate page. The Titanic rightfully belongs to the Gilded
Era, but it is of interest in looking at the 20s.
Cunard
Archives Home Page
Cunard Documents Deposited at the
University of Liverpool. Since Cunard and White Star merged in 1934, this
page has information on both Cunard and White Star Ships "We have photos
of most Cunard and a few White Star ships, details are given on our photos
page. Copies of these are available at £3.00 for a high-definition
photocopy, £6.00 for a black and white print and £15.00 for
a colour print."
Go
directly to the Ship Index - This site has a list of the career of
every Cunard and White Star ship, including route details.
Go
Directly the Mauretania - thie sister ship of the doomed Lusitania,
Mauretania defined oceangoing luxury until the
arrival of the Queens in 1936.
New
Steamship Consultants Museum
William
G Mather Museum Photo Gallery
William G Mather was a typical
Great Lakes Ore Steamer in the 20s, and she operated into the latter half
of the century. She is now a floating museum. There are many photos
of her in action in the 20s and 30s.
Schooners
and Tall Ships
Schooner Pages, including Links
to various Maritime Museums. Sailing ships were enjoying their last
decade of popularity in the 20s. Still widely used as fishing vessels,
they would be largely gone as merchant vessels except in remote coastal
locations by the late 30s. The Cape Horn Grain Ship Race was still
run in the 20s, and died out in the 1930s.
Aircraft
and Zeppelins
TOTAVIA
/ Aviation Image Archives
Mostly Images of WWII fighters,
some of the aircraft (Brewster Buffalo, Goster Gladiator) date back well
into the 30s
Zeppelin
Airships of the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Company. There were very few Zeppelins in the 20s. The Bodensee and
Nordstern were confiscated by the Allied War Commission, and saw little
service. Only LZ 127, Graf Zeppelin, really saw passenger service in the
20s (1928-1940). Still, these magnificent ships are iheavily associated
with the 20s. This site gives interesting information on the Zeppelin Luftschfftecknik
- the modern day Zeppelin company, which has just produced a new Airship
the LZ NT 07.
Aircraft
locator - Manufacturer Index
This is an interesting site. It
lists a vast number of aircraft and manufacturers. The links largely go
to tables with information about the aircraft's specs and no pictures.
In some cases they go to a museum which presumably has that type of aircraft.
Trenches
on the Web - Special: Dirigibles, Airships, Zeppelins and Blimps
Some information on lighter than
air ships in WWI
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