Arctic exploration schooner Bowdoin

The Bowdoin was built at East Boothbay Harbour Me., launched in 1921 and designed specifically for Arctic exploration. Over the next two decades the schooner made repeated research trips above the Arctic Circle with Donald MacMillan. 

In 1941 the Bowdoin was bought by the US Navy to assist in the defence of Greenland, one of very few sailing ships the US Navy used in WW2. After the war MacMillan bought the schooner back and continued his Arctic research. Over the next decades several more restorations kept the schooner going and in 1989 Bowdoin was declared a National Historic Landmark. It is now operated by the Maine Marine Academy and can be seen from the coast of Maine to north to the Arctic, in this case off Spruce Head in Penobscot Bay.

More info here

Strader Exhaust

Unique alright, but it never caught on.

TH&B Berkshires

Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo was the only Canadian railway to use steam locomotives of this wheel arrangement and only bought two of them. They were used for freight and passenger service til the end of the steam era.
Both images from the book In the Shadow of Giants, by Norman Helm, definitely the book to get for anyone interested in the TH&B.

Dayton Wright F.P.2

The Dayton Wright F.P. 2 reg. N-CAED was designed expressly for the Canadian Forestry Service for aerial photography and surveying, only one was ever built. Here it is pulled up to the shore at Biscotasing, north of Sudbury. The airplane was wrecked on takeoff from Michipicoten Harbour near Wawa in September of 1922.

http://earlyaviators.com/pimagb20.htm

1932 Maserati V5

Gianni Marin, The Motor Car, London House and Maxwell 1963

4 litres, 16 cylinders. Two banks of 8 set at a 25 degree V, each bank with double overhead cams and with its own supercharger. All this technology resulted in 300 hp and an increase to 5 litres brought an extra 50 hp. Still, despite the power and speed,  the car was not very successful in its racing career.

Silent Minority, 1971

Fairey Battle

Ron Page and William Cumming, Fleet, The Flying Years. Boston Mills Press, 1990

A Fairey Battle in target-towing colours at rest at the Toronto Island Airport. 
Fleet Aircraft of Fort Erie got a contract to repair these airplanes during WW2. The badly damaged aircraft were sent over from England in large crates. The repaired planes must have then been used for training purposes in Canada, as they were obsolete even by the beginning of the war.

We used to build things in this country #236 Keeton Automobiles


Keeton Motors was formed by a group of manufacturers who planned to build a fine foreign car under licence from the Keeton Motor Car Works of Detroit, Michigan. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond its control, the U.S. parent in Detroit ceased production early in 1914. The Brantford operation continued to produce automobiles, stressing that it was not affiliated with any American or foreign firm. 
With its link to the U.S. parent cut and the start of the First World War, Keeton Motors in Brantford carried on for another year. The firm appears to have remained in operation until 1919. 
Early in 1915, overtures were made by Keeton Motors to the Allied Powers to build a truck for war time use. Although there is nothing to indicate that Keeton Motors actually manufactured trucks, a second company was established, known as Motor Trucks Ltd. and was composed of several of the manufacturers and businessmen involved in Keeton Motors and operated in the same facilities as the Keeton firm. Some vehicles were produced for the Canadian Military but it appears that the company only produced trucks for a short period of time. By 1918, Motor Trucks Ltd. was producing munitions for the United States military effort. That also quickly came to a close with the Armistice of November 1918. 

I can't find any record of actual production of the car and despite it being "one of the most popular mid-priced cars" I don't know if there are any still in existence.

More history here.

Sidecar Sunday

photo by Phred

Ariel Square Fours for the Seventies

This 1971 Cycle Guide ad offering Ariel Square fours actually refers to the Healey 1000, a modernized version built on an Egli-type frame in Reddich, England. Only 28 were built between 1971 and 1977.