Modifications in the pits

High tech mods. Shortening up the pipe will let it rev higher! 

Tariffs in 1919

Breeze carburetor company.

This was apparently another early carburetor manufacturer, starting production in 1904. The motorcycle carburetor pictured here was a regular Breeze with a 3/4" adapter to fit a smaller engine. 
There's not much information on the net about the company but the carbs were used on boat motors, cars and even trucks in the first decade of the 20th Century. Anyone with a better history or more information please contact me. 

Labatts IPA

It would interesting to compare an IPA from 1908 to one of the modern craft brew IPAs. 

Another job you wouldn't want to do, 19th C Sailmaker

A scene from the mid 1800s of a sail loft. Highly skilled and well-respected men designed and hand-sewed sails for everything small craft to clipper ships in large open rooms. Note the hanging woodstove to provide an unobstructed floor.

20th Century Limited

Advertising the New York Central's 20th Century Limited New York-Chicago luxury express train in 1948. Henry Dreyfuss designed every aspect of the trains stunning new look in 1938. He even designed the red carpet (lower right) that passengers walked over to board and leave the train, introducing the phrase "the red carpet treatment". Airlines eventually caused the decline of the train and it was discontinued in 1967.

Who knew?

Vacuum cleaners are the route to happiness?

Northrop XB-35 Flying Wing

Aviation Yearbook February 1942 McGraw-Hill

Oldmobile vs horse

1903 Curved Dash Olds

Messerschmitt 109 on display

Armand van Ishoven, Messerschmitt, Gentry Books 1975

This BF109 was shot down over France in December 1939. Above, members of the French army inspect and guard the machine. To help French morale it was recovered and put on display in a Paris department store. Its life as a trophy was cut short as German soldiers had overrun Paris by the middle of June, 1940. No word on the ultimate disposition of the aircraft. 

(Motorcycle) Life during wartime

Motorcycle magazines had it hard during the war, the issue featured article like "Road Tests remembered". Fantasy articles like "What will the IoM TT be like when the war ends?..."
George Brough ceased motorcycle production of motorcycles in 1940, the company made crankshafts for Merlin engines during the war. The ad below was optimistic, production did not resume after the war.

Ottawa Mail Trolley

(Library and Archives Canada Photo)

Royal Mail #1, Mail trolley, Ottawa Electric Railway Company.  Year unknown.

Planes in formation, Helldivers

Helldivers return from a mission to Guam. Unidentified carrier in the background. 

Buffalo Gasoline Motor Co.

Vintage Machinery

The company was founded in 1899 to build four stroke engines. Though there is little history online, it appears it was a substantial business. More here.  
Wikipedia mentions an automobile chassis and then a complete car were briefly marketed in 1902 and 03 but I can not confirm that, the ads I've found only show marine and utility engines. It appears the company was in business from 1899 to at least the later twenties.

Sidecar Sunday

Northumberland Fusiliers 1941

Chessie streamliner

Another find at the B&O museum, Streamlined steam locomotives are rare these days and this yellow and stainless beauty was one that I had not been aware of. 
The locomotive was built as part of the proposed postwar C&O Chessie passenger train program which was never followed through with. It was used in other passneger service till it was replaced by diesel. We're fortunate it was saved. More here.

Bicycle built for two

Thanks, Glenn!

Post from Glenn, "So, whilst collecting national parks for my first Iron Butt ride, I stopped in at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park in Dayton.  It includes one of the Wright brothers' bicycle shops.  I've attached a picture of a tandem which was mounted on the wall there.  Note that the lady's seat was up front.  How liberated, right?

Then note the cables running from the forks to the handlebar down tube of the rear riding position..."

Yachts Ingomar and Elmina

The Art of the Boat, Photographs from the Rosenfeld Collection, Mystic Seaport Museum 2005

Another incredible sailing photo by Morris Rosenthal and Associates, 1908.
 The 175 foot Ingomar was an extremely successful Herreshoff racing schooner that won many races in both Europe and the east coast of the US. It was wrecked when it went aground in 1931. In recent years, the yacht has been recreated and is for sale in Maine in partially completed condition.
 The 120 ft Elmina was built for FF Brewster in 1901 at Staten Island, there seems to be less info available on its history.

Whirlpool Rapids Bridge

Jim Lotz and Keith MacKenzie, Railways of Canada, Bison Books, 1988

A CN freight train crosses the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge into New York State during the mid eighties. Compare to the previous Suspension bridge of the 1800s.   Amtrak is currently is the only railway user of the bridge while the lower level is for non commercial vehicle traffic.

Canadiana bicycle

On display hanging on a wall at a local brewery, According to the bartender, it has no significance that she knew of, and the Canadiana logo also has no significance, it's a cheap generic department store import. Looked nice though.

Goodyear in Britain, 1948

Scott Sociable

Alfred Angas Scott of the Scott motorcycle company was responsible for this oddball. He started the motorcycle company in 1907 but left in 1915 to form the Scott Autocar company where he designed a machine gun carrier based on the motorcycle/sidecar layout. The armed forces did not adopt his design and so after the war Scott adapted it into this asymmetrical 2 seater intended as cheap practical transportation.  Handling must have been suspect as the right side wheels were in line and the 2 cylinder 2 stroke engine was located on the right side.  
The strange-looking vehicle was not a sales success, apparently only 100-200 were made during 3 years of production. The company folded in 1925.

thanks, Jon!

Engine was a liquid cooled two stroke twin.

Images from The Classic Motor Cycle, Jan 1989

Aug 89 issue, The Classic MotorCycle

An aggressively-ridden Sociable at the Salcombe Hill section of the 1924 London to Exeter run.

Planes in formation, P47 Thunderbolts.

P47-D I believe. The last of the 'Razorback" canopy  arrangement.

Little Ducatis

CVMG Rally 2018

Bellanca Airbus

The P300 Airbus is shown at the Toronto Flying club in December 1936, enroute to its purchaser, Hennessy airlines of Haileybury Ontario. Two years later it was destroyed in a crash about 100 km northeast of Winnipeg. The paint scheme was pale blue and yellow, I wish the picture was in colour!

Unidentified adjustable wrench

Made in Canada, but by who? The small cast-in feature below might be a clue but there's no name on it anywhere. It does resemble this one in an earlier post.

Sidecar Sunday

 CVMG Paris Rally 2018

Chevy van

I put a lot of miles on number of these things in my misspent youth, I can't tell for sure the exact year but it will be a 1962-66 model.. I get nostalgic looking at it but could I really go back to an inline 6 with 3 on the tree, beam front axle, drum brakes and manual steering and brakes...?

B29 spares

Strasbourg Railway

Number 90 Decapod passes the water tower at the Strasbourg railway station in Pennsylvania.

Westman & Baker: Printing Presses and Related Equipment

In a previous post (Vanished Tool Makers: E Westman) it was noted that Elijah Westman of Toronto had started a tool (butcher saws and tools) manufacturing business in the mid to late 19^th century after immigrating to Canada from Ireland. This immigration appears to coincide with the Irish Potato Famine that saw Toronto’s population more than double with an influx of Irish immigrants. He was one of five Westman brothers (Samuel, William, Joseph and James) that made Toronto their home. Their father was Joseph Westman, a third generation Irish whitesmith (or tinsmith) who came to Toronto with his family. James Henry Westman, the youngest of the brothers born in 1848 (after the Westman family had moved to Canada), was also an important early pioneer in the Toronto manufacturing scene.

James H. Westman and George R. Baker, both of whom were born and raised in Toronto, established a manufacturing business (Westman & Baker) for printing equipment in 1874 at 100 Bay Street, Toronto. In 1885, operating from 119 Bay Street, they produced Gordon printing presses (invented by an American, George P. Gordon), Beaver’s cutting machines, Baker’s binding machines, and other printing related implements. Thereafter the business re-located to 76 Wellington Street before finally settling in 1907 at 107 Jarvis Street, Toronto (the only of those buildings still standing today). 

107 Jarvis St., Toronto in 2017

George Baker retired in 1912, and James Westman elected to continue to operate the business on his own but still retaining the Westman & Baker name. James H. Westman died on March 27, 1920 at the age of 71. His wife, Sarah Jane Westman had passed away the month prior on February 23, 1920. The company was purchased in 1922 by Manton Brothers, which was a Toronto based supplier of printing equipment. Manton Brother Ltd. was later acquired by an American paper company, Parsons & Whittemore, in 1980. I have found no evidence to indicate that this company produces any printing equipment currently.

You can see examples of the printing machinery manufactured by Westman & Baker (arguably the finest example of Canadian printing machine manufacturing) at the Howard Iron Works (Oakville, ON) www.howardironworks.org , the Canadian Science & Technology Museum (Ottawa, ON) www.ingeniumcanada.org , Grey Roots Museum (Owen Sound, ON) www.greyroots.com , Mackenzie Printery & Newspaper Museum (Queenston, ON) mackenzieprintery.wordpress.com. A very unique and special Canadian journal dedicated to hardcopy printing is The Devil’s Artisan (www.devilsartisan.ca) and I would like to than their editor, Don MacLeod, for taking the time to scan and share this wonderful old article from 1983 with me (Westman and Baker, Makers). The Howard Iron Works provided the pictures of a Westman & Baker platen press and also a cutter. Please post any additional information you might have about the company, the people, or their equipment on public display.

Mic