Airstream, the USS Hornet, and NASA , Quite a combination, and not the first time I've posted about NASA's airstream, incredibly enough

Offloading of the Mobile Quarantine Facility from the prime recovery vessel, the U.S.S. Hornet, July 24, 1969.

Via http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a11/ap11-S69-21881HR.jpg from the unusual and NSFW website http://melisaki.tumblr.com/page/91

For more on the NASA airstream: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/04/remember-apollo-astronauts-getting.html

Melisaki.tumbler.com has a cool variety of car and aircraft photos, here's a couple

1910 Fiat S76, the beast of turin, 28.3 liter engine

Cord 810 & Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie 1936

What happened to the high level of restroom cleanliness as the high priority? Former First lady Eleanor Roosevelt once toured the US inspecting them, and that is quite a feat of publicity!

Showing an obsolete public facility, the motordrome. Motordrome racer on an Excelsior motorcycle 1914

1967 Autorama I think, photo by Margery Krevsky

The Overland Train Mark II, Yuma proving ground, Arizona

P51 small scale in aerodynamics research and developement

1944, a Corsair

Boeing 2707-300 1966 full scale mockup

XB 70 Valkyrie

Via: http://melisaki.tumblr.com

Jack Benny and Pres. Harry Truman in the photo, Jack Benny, Mel Blanc and Johnny Carson talking about the Maxwell

Drving a 1908 Maxwell, because as a long running joke Jack Benny was playing a miserly guy who wouldn't waste a cent on anything better than a 1923 Maxwell.

Jack Benny appears onscreen driving a Maxwell in the film It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

An antique 1923 Maxwell automobile owned by Jack Benny, the "Cheapest Man in the World" was used as a running gag on both radio (first appeared in 1937) and later on his TV comedy series THE JACK BENNY SHOW/CBS/1950-64. Jack insisted that he could always get a few more miles out of his beat up jalopy. But for all of his tinkering, the car usually drove for about 15 minutes at which time the radiator boiled over, forcing Jack to wait for the engine to cool down before moving along. Jack bought the car second-hand from a dealer called the Smiling Pilgrim.

Once Jack saw his servant Rochester (Eddie Anderson) daintily sponging down the car. "For Heaven sake, Jack yelled "Why don't you use the garden hose on it?" Rochester answered, "Don't you remember the last time I used the hose on it, Boss? The fender fell off!"
from http://www.tvacres.com/autos_antique_jackbenny.htm


In 1907 Maxwell constructed the largest automobile factory in the world, it was in New Castle Indiana, and about 1910-1914 the Maxwell automobile was considered one of the top 3 auto companies in America

Unless you knew the make, you'd never guess what type of car this is

Toyota Model AB Phaeton, 1936 (via Joel Abroad)

they don't give anyone a Legion of Valor license plate, I've never seen one before

Bad train wreck, great photo

I don't know the source

I'd rather have a motorbike to ride the rails, but if you've got a ten speed, and a bit of time, this oughta work!

via: http://theokie.tumblr.com

Once, helicopters and electromagnets were the standard escape method for bad guys. The good old days

via: http://bendingconcrete.tumblr.com

back tires just starting to smoke, nice!

via: http://tentenths.tumblr.com

Plaster City, 1947... but what the heck is going on with this 8 wheel double front ended railcar

former curator of the Imperial Valley transportation museum Steve wrote in the comments to inform us about this and said...

This was used for years to transport crews by rail over the narrow gauge railroad (last industrial narrow gauge railway in the state, if not the whole country) between the processing mill at Plaster City California, and the gypsum mine in the Fish Mountains 25 miles away.

With two front ends, it wasn't necessary to turn it around for the return trip. After it wore out it was acquired by the owner of the trucking company that hauled the finished sheetrock from the mill. About 12 years ago the vehicle was donated back to the company.

I can't reply by email to thank Steve because this blog set up doesn't require email addresses to comment. But I can thank you sincerely for providing me and all the readers with this incredible information that likely, you are the only person to know. It's astonishing that of all the people who might have known the information on the railcar, one reads my blog, and took the time to help us all know what this railcars history is.

My compliments, and applause! Thanks for sharing!

Wikipedia has a good article on narrow gauge railways, and confirms the part about the Plaster City line being the last "There is one narrow gauge industrial railroad still in commercial operation in the United States, the US Gypsum operation in Plaster City, California" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrow_gauge_railroads_in_the_United_States

For a post about the coolest old 1920's through 1940's railroad cars:
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/11/inspection-cars-for-railroad-inspectors.html