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- Stock Certificate, Lexington and Ohio Rail Road Company, 1835 - A number of cities invested in early railroads. Louisville, Kentucky, acquired two thousand shares of the Lexington and Ohio Rail Road Company in 1835. The railroad, authorized in 1830, was to build a line from Lexington, Kentucky, west to the Ohio River. Money was a constant problem however and only a merger in 1858 completed the line.
- December 28, 1835
- Collections - Artifact
Stock Certificate, Lexington and Ohio Rail Road Company, 1835
A number of cities invested in early railroads. Louisville, Kentucky, acquired two thousand shares of the Lexington and Ohio Rail Road Company in 1835. The railroad, authorized in 1830, was to build a line from Lexington, Kentucky, west to the Ohio River. Money was a constant problem however and only a merger in 1858 completed the line.
- Henry Ford's Private Railroad Car "Fair Lane," 1921 - By 1920, Henry and Clara Ford found it increasingly difficult to travel with any degree of privacy. They purchased a private railcar and named it <em>Fair Lane</em>. The car had four private rooms, an observation lounge, a dining room, and a fully equipped kitchen. It could accommodate eight passengers. The couple made over 400 trips using <em>Fair Lane</em> before selling the passenger car in 1942.
- June 23, 1921
- Collections - Artifact
Henry Ford's Private Railroad Car "Fair Lane," 1921
By 1920, Henry and Clara Ford found it increasingly difficult to travel with any degree of privacy. They purchased a private railcar and named it Fair Lane. The car had four private rooms, an observation lounge, a dining room, and a fully equipped kitchen. It could accommodate eight passengers. The couple made over 400 trips using Fair Lane before selling the passenger car in 1942.
- Diesel Locomotive in North Yard, Ford Rouge Plant, September 1937 - Some 100 miles of railroad track covered the grounds of Ford Motor Company's Rouge plant. The automaker maintained its own fleet of locomotives to move incoming railcars loaded with raw materials, and outgoing railcars filled with finished parts and automobiles, around the complex. Additionally, specialized tank cars ferried molten iron from the factory's blast furnaces to its foundry.
- September 20, 1937
- Collections - Artifact
Diesel Locomotive in North Yard, Ford Rouge Plant, September 1937
Some 100 miles of railroad track covered the grounds of Ford Motor Company's Rouge plant. The automaker maintained its own fleet of locomotives to move incoming railcars loaded with raw materials, and outgoing railcars filled with finished parts and automobiles, around the complex. Additionally, specialized tank cars ferried molten iron from the factory's blast furnaces to its foundry.
- Diesel Locomotives at the Ford Rouge Plant, November 1937 - Some 100 miles of railroad track covered the grounds of Ford Motor Company's Rouge plant. The automaker maintained its own fleet of locomotives to move incoming railcars loaded with raw materials, and outgoing railcars filled with finished parts and automobiles, around the complex. Additionally, specialized tank cars ferried molten iron from the factory's blast furnaces to its foundry.
- November 10, 1937
- Collections - Artifact
Diesel Locomotives at the Ford Rouge Plant, November 1937
Some 100 miles of railroad track covered the grounds of Ford Motor Company's Rouge plant. The automaker maintained its own fleet of locomotives to move incoming railcars loaded with raw materials, and outgoing railcars filled with finished parts and automobiles, around the complex. Additionally, specialized tank cars ferried molten iron from the factory's blast furnaces to its foundry.
- Diesel Locomotives at the Ford Rouge Plant, March 1938 - Some 100 miles of railroad track covered the grounds of Ford Motor Company's Rouge plant. The automaker maintained its own fleet of locomotives to move incoming railcars loaded with raw materials, and outgoing railcars filled with finished parts and automobiles, around the complex. Additionally, specialized tank cars ferried molten iron from the factory's blast furnaces to its foundry.
- March 09, 1938
- Collections - Artifact
Diesel Locomotives at the Ford Rouge Plant, March 1938
Some 100 miles of railroad track covered the grounds of Ford Motor Company's Rouge plant. The automaker maintained its own fleet of locomotives to move incoming railcars loaded with raw materials, and outgoing railcars filled with finished parts and automobiles, around the complex. Additionally, specialized tank cars ferried molten iron from the factory's blast furnaces to its foundry.
- American Locomotive Company Steam Locomotive, 1902 - The American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York, built this locomotive in 1902. It is a 4-4-2 Atlantic type, with four leading wheels, four driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. The Atlantic was designed to pull light wooden passenger cars at high speeds. This locomotive operated on the Michigan Central Railroad's Detroit-Chicago line until heavier steel cars made it obsolete.
- 1902
- Collections - Artifact
American Locomotive Company Steam Locomotive, 1902
The American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York, built this locomotive in 1902. It is a 4-4-2 Atlantic type, with four leading wheels, four driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. The Atlantic was designed to pull light wooden passenger cars at high speeds. This locomotive operated on the Michigan Central Railroad's Detroit-Chicago line until heavier steel cars made it obsolete.
- Interior of Interlocking Tower on the D.T. & I. Railroad, Detroit, Michigan, July 1926 - The operator stationed in this Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad building would have kept busy. This interlocking tower protected the crossing of a DT&I branch with the Detroit United Railway's streetcar line on Jefferson Avenue. The tower operator likely was responsible for activating the railroad crossing gates as well.
- July 02, 1926
- Collections - Artifact
Interior of Interlocking Tower on the D.T. & I. Railroad, Detroit, Michigan, July 1926
The operator stationed in this Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad building would have kept busy. This interlocking tower protected the crossing of a DT&I branch with the Detroit United Railway's streetcar line on Jefferson Avenue. The tower operator likely was responsible for activating the railroad crossing gates as well.
- Steel Engraving, Portrait of George Stephenson, "Father of Railways," circa 1855 - This circa 1855 engraving is a portrait of British engineer George Stephenson, known as the "Father of Railways." He built the first public rail line for steam locomotives, and set the world's standard gauge for rails, also called the "Stephenson gauge."
- circa 1855
- Collections - Artifact
Steel Engraving, Portrait of George Stephenson, "Father of Railways," circa 1855
This circa 1855 engraving is a portrait of British engineer George Stephenson, known as the "Father of Railways." He built the first public rail line for steam locomotives, and set the world's standard gauge for rails, also called the "Stephenson gauge."
- Railroad Crossing, Wyandotte, Michigan, Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad, October 1925 - Multiple-track railroad crossings, where a roadway crosses more than one railroad track, are particularly dangerous. A train on or near the crossing on one track can block motorists' view of another train approaching the crossing on a different track. Crossings like this were some of the first to be protected with automated warning devices and gates.
- October 01, 1925
- Collections - Artifact
Railroad Crossing, Wyandotte, Michigan, Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad, October 1925
Multiple-track railroad crossings, where a roadway crosses more than one railroad track, are particularly dangerous. A train on or near the crossing on one track can block motorists' view of another train approaching the crossing on a different track. Crossings like this were some of the first to be protected with automated warning devices and gates.
- Railroad Signal Lights, Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad, February 1927 - The DT&I controlled train movements with an automatic block signaling system. The railroad line was sectioned into blocks. An electrical circuit in the track detected if a train was in a given block, or if the track was clear. The circuit then operated semaphore signals, like this one, that instructed an engineer how to proceed depending on the blade's position.
- February 08, 1927
- Collections - Artifact
Railroad Signal Lights, Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad, February 1927
The DT&I controlled train movements with an automatic block signaling system. The railroad line was sectioned into blocks. An electrical circuit in the track detected if a train was in a given block, or if the track was clear. The circuit then operated semaphore signals, like this one, that instructed an engineer how to proceed depending on the blade's position.