Sightseeing “dome” rail cars were not new in 1952, but to this point these VistaDomes, as they were called, had extended only partially along the length of the car. With the new Pullman super dome car, this “greenhouse” area now extended 73 feet, the entire length (more or less) of the car, accommodating 68 passengers.… Continue reading Super Dome Train Car Cutaway, 1952
Category: 1950s
Cutaways from the 1950s (1950 to 1959).
Two Story Trailer Cutway, 1952
From the magazine, we’re told that this trailer, from Holan Engineering from Elwood, Indiana, has two stories and an attic, a plastic-tiled kitchen and bathroom, and a living room with a picture window. The trailer is 8 feet wide by 40 feet long. What they don’t tell us is that this is a mobile home,… Continue reading Two Story Trailer Cutway, 1952
Idlewild (JFK) Airport Air Traffic Control Tower, 1952
Originally called Idlewild Airport, it was renamed JFK Airport in 1963, after the President’s assassination. This workman-like, competent but hardly spectacular cutaway illustration by Sloane shows the 11-story so-called “supertower” that allowed air traffic controllers in the early Fifties to track and guide up to 1,000 aircraft a day (real capacity was likely much less).… Continue reading Idlewild (JFK) Airport Air Traffic Control Tower, 1952
Mercury Moll: Mrs. Linda Plannette
We’re barely out of the 1940s–1952, to be exact–and this lovely lady is presaging the Sixties already by wearing cut-off jeans shorts, no doubt called “dungarees” at that time. She’s a missus, too: Mrs. Linda Plannette. Looks like a sunny but cool Spring day in Southern California, judging by the long sleeves. My guess is… Continue reading Mercury Moll: Mrs. Linda Plannette
Turtle Personal Tank, 1952
As far as I know, this one-man tank never left the mind of Les G. Scherer. Scherer designed this personal-sized tank to weigh 7,000 pounds, pack two .30 caliber machine guns, and have 650 ports arrayed around the driver with each port containing a shotgun shell that could be electrically fired. Main selling point of… Continue reading Turtle Personal Tank, 1952