1959 Powered Railcar with Dome

Powered Railcar Has Dome for Sightseers

Self-powered, a new railcar built for the French National Railroad by Renault has a glass and plastic dome in the middle that gives its passengers an unobstructed view of the countryside.  The 58-ton car holds 88 passengers.  It has an 800-horsepower diesel engine that operates a generator, providing power for motors.

This appeared in the August 1959 edition of Popular Mechanics magazine 

1959 Should you buy a foreign car?

Have you considered buying a foreign car?  If  you are typical of millions of Americans, you have probably thought about it. And you are probably trying to decide whether it would be a wise choice.

At present about 10 percent of all the new cars sold are imported. Not very long ago, it was generally believed that imported cars would never go over 5 percent of the total sales.

What has caused this spectacular jump in sales? Is it a fad? Are the people who own imported cars happy with them?  

The imported economy car attracts a larger percentage of professional and highly trained people than domestic cars, but this may be due more to an interest in unusual engineering design than to snobbishness or any status-making reason.

This is a portion of the article that appeared in the August 1959 edition of Popular Mechanics magazine.

1959 Coin Operated Gas Pumps

Coin Operates Pump At Self-Service Gas Station

What next?  In Sweden, a new idea is a coin-operated fuel pump.  Such self-service pumps have been installed at many service stations and are made especially for motor scooters and other small vehicles.  The driver simply pulls his scooter alongside the pump, deposits one or more coins and helps himself to as large a quantity of petrol-and-oil mixture as he needs.

This was in the August 1959 edition of Popular Mechanics magazine

1960 Glass-Fiber Frame Bike

Bomard Industries, Inc., Grand Haven, Mich.

One manufacturer is peddling bicycles distinguished by their colorful glass-fiber frames.  Designed by an industrial designer, the new bicycle combines a streamlined effect with the protective enclosure of mechanical parts, such as gears and chains.  Accessories such as horn and light are concealed in the sweep of the frame.  The color is designed into the glass fiber.

Click Here to see coffee cup with this image!

This article appeared in the November 1960 edition of Popular Mechanics magazine

1958 Hybrid Car Body

Hybrid Car Body
Attracting a lot of attention around Wethersfield, England, is a "custom" car body synthesized by a U.S. Air Force officer. Beginning with a Ford Anglia chassis, Lt. Col. Edward Risher added a cut-down Chevrolet hood, the rear windshield from an American Ford and Austin Bantom wheels.  As a final touch, Col. Risher used two wing tanks from a T-33 jet trainer.


From December 1958 Popular Mechanics magazine

1960 skidmaster

I can almost guarantee I've seen one of these at an estate sale and had no idea what it was!

There are so many things that could go wrong with this set-up. 

advertisement in Dec 1960 Popular Mechanics magazine

1960 Cot for Babies & Toddlers

Pint-Sized Cot Keeps Baby Happy
From November 1960 Popular Mechanics


Built to provide baby with a safe, comfortable and familiar bunk anywhere the family goes, the new British "Autocot" fits snugly between the front seat and the rear deck in any car; won't slip during turns or sudden stops.  The canvas hammock is slung from an aluminum frame which expands from 40 to 48 inches in two-inch steps to adjust to cars of any length.  Outside the car, aluminum legs fold down to make a bed or seat for the yard, beach, or hotel rooms.  The whole cot weighs only four pounds, and collapses for carrying and storage into a flat 24-inch package.  Thus a bed familiar to the baby can be carried anywhere.

Mashup of Ads from the 1950s & 1960s.

Just Because.

As I was scanning selections from the 1950s & 1960s, these are some that I wanted to share for one reason or another.

Just an illustration of what was important, what companies spent advertising money on.

I love the mix of black & white and color to draw attention to the logo.

 

Did you know that View-Master made cameras???  I didn't.

 

Dan River Textiles.....close to where I live. So sad that so many of the textile jobs left our country. Hopefully, we can get some of them back!

Love the 1970s fashions & hair. Nothing to compare.

 

I have collected vintage costume jewelry for a long time....and this is still a favorite among collectors. Sarah Coventry.

 

What ever happened to colored Toilet Paper?   I loved it!  You just can't find anything but white now. And this one is wonderful for the upcoming Easter holiday.

 

I can live without the effort that went into hairstyles.

A Harley Scooter.  Kind of opposite of the way they are envisioned today.

 And I included this one just because I liked the color and "Carolina". 

 

Soda has always been advertised heavily.

And in a day when men and women go to the local store in pajama pants, it is refreshing to see an age when people actually cared what they looked like when they walked out their front door.

Has Traffic Improved Since 1953?

We have all experienced it....traffic jams. 


If you live in a metropolitan area anywhere in the country, I'm sure you've experienced the 'rush hour' traffic problem. 


In North Carolina, there are many.  Add to the mix an accident and you could be sitting in an Interstate Parking Lot for hours.


Well, obviously, this has been an issue since the mass production of automobiles.  I have noticed during the late 1800s through the 1950s, a great many of the magazine ads were for automobiles.  Many of these companies didn't stand the test of time; but it sure is fun to see the autos that were available in those time periods.


I found a 'test your knowledge' article from a 1950s magazine that stopped publication in the 1950s.

I'm sure road rage wasn't as common back then as it is today.  Most people during those days were more level-headed and polite.  Compound the fact that we have mobile devices that distract drivers today and I can say with certainty that, although our roads and interstates have improved, our problems are far greater today than they were in the 1950s.

Another big difference is speed and composition of the autos.  Cars back then were made of metal. Real metal.  If you have a minor fender bender today, insurance companies will quickly 'total' the car. The cost of a bumper is often more than it would cost to replace a whole car.  Experience a little fender bender today with one of these magnificent cars and a modern day car would be toast.  The damage to these older cars would be minimal.

Makes you want one of these in your driveway.  Imagine how much better you would feel if your teen was driving one of these indestructible machines! 

And this image says a lot about how much our travel lives have changed....and how much has stayed the same since 1953.