13 replies to this topic

[Bob Riebe]

It has been 46 years since I have been to Greenfield Village and 31 years since I was at the Henry Ford Museaum.

Life is short , I have to fix that. -- (Heck it has been 6 years since I bought cheap beer in Windsor , Canada)

 

https://www.macsmoto...e-motor-muster/

 

[Ray Bell]

It's a good place to go, I have to say...

 

But be prepared for a lot of walking.

 

Edison original This lady records and plays back 'Mary had a Little Lamb' all day long in the Edison workshop, reconstructed in full in the Greenfield Village.

 

Abject failures. And not-so successful things are displayed alongside the successful. The Tucker and Edsel are good examples, elsewhere is the Ford Ferguson tractor, something I didn't really expect to see.

 

From steam machinery through production lines and cars to homes of the famous, it's all there.

[Henri Greuter]

Most shocking thought I had after leaving the place was to realize that I had seen both objects in which the two assassinated US Presidents were sitting in at the time of the attempt on their lives.

 

That museum is anything but a collection of Ford cars.

[nmansellfan]

Agreed, it is an amazing place, Henri. What's quite shocking as well is a Dearborn native I worked with told me once upon a time you could freely sit in Lincoln's assassination chair, before it was locked behind glass - that's the reason for most of the wear and tear on it.

Amazing to see some of the planes, trains and everything else there - the Lotus 38 and GT40 MK4 being a highlight for me though.

[Henri Greuter]

Agreed, it is an amazing place, Henri. What's quite shocking as well is a Dearborn native I worked with told me once upon a time you could freely sit in Lincoln's assassination chair, before it was locked behind glass - that's the reason for most of the wear and tear on it.

Amazing to see some of the planes, trains and everything else there - the Lotus 38 and GT40 MK4 being a highlight for me though.

 

When I knew that I was going to have a look over there I looked up if the 1908 Vandebilt Cup winning Locomoblie was on display and I felt so sad it was said not to be.

But website maintanance was poor at that time I suppose because when I was there a few days later it was on show! That was a winner for me.I love those Edwardian Era cars.

And I was told about a monstrous locomotive on display over there as well. Now the thing is that in the St Louis Transportation Museum I have seen and been up&into a "Big Boy" and once you have seen one of those you're not impressed at first if someone tells you you're gonna see a big Locomotive.

But I was impressed with the Henry Ford Big Locomotive....

 

I've had the fortune to see the Lotus 38 at Indy on two occasions so that was not so much of a thing for me anymore. But seeing the wrecked remains of McLaren M16-3....

There's a lot about bad talks about Salt Walther but that he ever had an indycar career after 1973? That man had guts!

 

I must also admit that I was much taken with the "With liberty and justice for all" Expo, including the Rosa Parks bus. I had definitely not expected any such kind of exposition in a museum carying the name of a person about who we probably not should mention some of his lesser character habits over here as being off topic.

[Ray Bell]

As impressive as the Allegheny locomotive (603 tons) in the display is the little loco next to it...
 
No, I don't mean in the model railway layout on its left...
 

 
...but on its right is a replica of Stephenson's Rocket, and not any replica, a copy made by the makers of the original example:
 

 
And how about these things?
 

[B Squared]

I haven't been to Dearborn at the Henry Ford museum in probably 25 years. Thanks for reminding me that I need to get that status changed this year.

I also recommend the auto barons home tours when available, if architecture is something you enjoy.

[Bob Riebe]

I haven't been to Dearborn at the Henry Ford museum in probably 25 years. Thanks for reminding me that I need to get that status changed this year.

I also recommend the auto barons home tours when available, if architecture is something you enjoy.

The other half would love that!!!

[amerikalei]

For all the terrible things about Henry Ford's character (and I'm reading the Henry Leland biography Master of Precision now, which once again paints an unfortunate picture of Mr Ford), endowing those museums goes a long way towards redemption.  He may have had issues with respecting other human beings, but he certainly respected the machines and inventions he learned from and those which followed.  Perhaps this is due to the curators over the years.  I've also been impressed at how many knowledgeable volunteers are on duty, sort of like walking into a living TNF dream convention...  My son still recalls the connection with the daily build of the Model T, where the vols invite visitors to help assemble a display T with just the right amount of detail to not be overwhelming for youngsters, but sufficient for more detailed discussions with the docents.  The village is great too, from preserving Edison and Wright workshops to employing local kids to run the live steam train.  It also seems notable that it's not just Ford; there was a LeMans GTLM winning Corvette on display when we were there, as well as the more recent Ford GT.  Unlike some museum efforts it seems to transcend cynical advert/marketing. 

 

I know Porsche, Ferrari, Mercedes all have modern museums (all of which I'd love to visit) but this discussion makes me want to start a more broadly open thread on industrial museums (US and elsewhere).  Have the TNF'ers been down that road already?

[Bob Riebe]

The Museum now is far different from what it was 44 years ago, first time I was there.

Back then it more like a well organized hoarders catch.

 

When I returned in the early nineties, they were preparing for what to get rid of in an organized manner, so a LOT of the farm machinery area was taped of with yellow police type yellow tape.

I loved that area, stepped over the tape, and spent a good amount of time wandering around that area and no one came to tell me to not do that.

 

I have to get my lazy  butt back over there to see how it looks now.

[B Squared]

I know Porsche, Ferrari, Mercedes all have modern museums (all of which I'd love to visit) but this discussion makes me want to start a more broadly open thread on industrial museums (US and elsewhere). Have the TNF'ers been down that road already?

I found this old thread:
https://forums.autos...s/?fromsearch=1

[amerikalei]

Thanks B.  I'll have to spend some time with that thread.

 

For those of you visiting the Henry Ford, we also discovered a small automotive museum in Ypsilanti (just west of Detroit) that was interesting.  It's location had functioned as what was the longest operating Hudson service garage (long after Hudson ceased operations) and has a number of cars and artifacts relating to the marque, as well as a number of cars with Ypsilanti heritage.  I had not put together the fact that Ypsilanti is adjacent to Willow Run, the vast facility created in WWII to build B-24 Liberator bombers.  After the war Henry Kaiser located his motorcar operation there.  After Kaiser, the plant was apparently used to manufacture Corvairs, as well as I think Hydromatic automatic transmissions (lots of full scale cutaway transmissions for you enthusiasts).  The museum does a nice job highlighting the local products.  While nothing like the world class HF down the road, it is a great little regional museum of the sort that I wish were more common in our industrial heartland.  Well worth a stop.

 

https://ypsiautoheritage.org/

[Henri Greuter]

Thanks B.  I'll have to spend some time with that thread.

 

For those of you visiting the Henry Ford, we also discovered a small automotive museum in Ypsilanti (just west of Detroit) that was interesting.  It's location had functioned as what was the longest operating Hudson service garage (long after Hudson ceased operations) and has a number of cars and artifacts relating to the marque, as well as a number of cars with Ypsilanti heritage.  I had not put together the fact that Ypsilanti is adjacent to Willow Run, the vast facility created in WWII to build B-24 Liberator bombers.  After the war Henry Kaiser located his motorcar operation there.  After Kaiser, the plant was apparently used to manufacture Corvairs, as well as I think Hydromatic automatic transmissions (lots of full scale cutaway transmissions for you enthusiasts).  The museum does a nice job highlighting the local products.  While nothing like the world class HF down the road, it is a great little regional museum of the sort that I wish were more common in our industrial heartland.  Well worth a stop.

 

https://ypsiautoheritage.org/

 

 

That Ypsilanti museum is indeed a nice litle facility worth devoting time and a few bucks to!

 

 

Another one I had a fantastic time  is the Ford Piquette Plant museum at Detroit, the place where the Ford T was envisioned and designed. Make sure you go along with the Tour if one is organized at a time you're there.

[B Squared]

This thread has reminded me of my second visit to the complex in 1971. My family friend Lee Wilson, who owned some Ferraris and worked with my dad, took my brother and I first to the Henry Ford museum, and then about a half a year later we went to Greenfield Village. The village was neat, but to this 13-year-old I would rather have gone through the Henry Ford again. The walk through the Village was highlighted by walking up to a locked period building that looked like it possibly was maintenance related and in peering through the window sat the 1967 Foyt/Gurney LeMans 24-hour winning Mark IV. We couldn't believe it was stashed away only 4 years after it won. If Lee took pictures, I never saw them and I didn't have a camera with me, regrettably.

Edited by B Squared, 21 June 2024 - 18:15.