Automobile Crossing Tracks Behind a Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway Freight Car, April 1927

THF286580 / Automobile Crossing Tracks Behind a Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway Freight Car, April 1927
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Artifact Overview

The driver of a Ford Model T waits for a loaded hopper car to clear a railroad crossing in this 1927 photograph. The brakeman, riding on the hopper, is blowing a whistle to warn the motorist. Lightly used spur tracks like this often lacked railroad crossing signs, lights or gates. Railroad crews and drivers both had to be cautious.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Date Made

08 April 1927

Subject Date

08 April 1927

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

64.167.548.P.833.48894

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)
Linen (Material)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 7.875 in (book)
Width: 11.25 in (book)

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    For as long as trains and automobiles have coexisted, some motorists have felt the need to "race" a train to the crossing. Some early magazine advertisements encouraged the practice, showing daring drivers outrunning speeding express trains. Few habits are so dangerous. A speeding train can take more than a mile to stop. Even in a tie, the motorist loses.