Cars at the National Museum of Transportation, St Louis

A Capsule History: Two Chevrolets, 1917 and 1957

Every big auto museum has interesting cars (which cars aren’t, after all?) but each also has at least a few that seem unique, or a unique way of looking at the changes in cars over time, such as the pair above.

The National Museum of Transportation, in the suburbs of St Louis, has quite a few to make it distinct, ranging from some of the earliest recognizable cars, like the locally-built 1901 St Louis Car runabout to one of the most remarkable show cars ever built, the DiDia 150.

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And some you’ll not likely see anywhere else, such as this 1902 Galloway ‘farm wagon,’ a very early truck and a 1910 12-seat bus built by Buick.

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There’s a Stanley Steamer at the museum, but there’s also this even-more unusual steamer, sold as a kit to be assembled by home craftsmen. It was made and sold by A. L. Dyke Company, a local St Louis firm that also operated what it claimed was the first store in America devoted solely to automobile parts, accessories and materials.

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This handsome ‘opera coupe’ is a Dorris from 1917; Dorris was a successor to the company that built the 1901 runabout. Note the curved glass windows, a rarity until much later in auto history! Others of its era are on hand, too, including the racy 1920 Hupmobile open-body runabout.

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Some more handsome old-timers, including a 1931 Buick and the all-time champ, a Model T Ford sedan.

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Then there are sometimes unheralded classics of a later era, including some from my own childhood years, such as the Raymond Loewy-designed postwar Studebakers and the iconic Nash Metropolitan mini-car, actually built in the UK.

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Along with those, an annual Auto Show favorite of the 50s and 60s that never made it to market: Chrysler spent several years working on and displaying turbine-powered cars. A lucky few got to drive them back then, and the lucky winner of a fund-raising raffle at the museum will win a chance to drive this one… but not very far!

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Below, some special-purpose vehicles, including one with a body built for selling vegetables door-to-door, a Divco milk truck and a grocery delivery van.

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Of course, the museum’s auto exhibits aren’t limited to vehicles; there’s also room for a fair bit of nostalgia, including the inevitable Route 66 themes…

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…as well as small collectibles, including a whole section devoted to tiny taxis. And, a kids’ play area outside with a ‘parking lot’ full of rideables.

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Off to one side, there’s a reminder that the electric car, today’s big news, was one of the most common types in the very early 1900s, and had a real revival of interest in the 1970s when gas shortages began to appear. Below, a 1980 ‘Comuta Car,’ powered by a ‘trunk’ full of wired-together auto batteries, with a limited speed and range.

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And, moving further into the future, an experimental solar-powered car built by students at Principia College. Seen at the museum, and in a photo from its first road test, its biggest challenge might be getting into and out of the very low-slung car whose body is formed from solar panels.

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The National Museum of Transportation (it named itself ‘National’) is in Kirkwood, Missouri, and also has huge exhibits of trains and locomotives, as well as a couple of boats and a DC-3. It started in 1944 primarily as a rail museum, and its 42-acre campus is worth either a full day or multiple visits!

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1 year ago

A great piece! And, yes, people forget that electric cars were very popular in the early 1900s. Henry Ford’s wife Clara apparently drove one.

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