LSR Streamliner Model Collection near Bonneville Speedway
Sept 26, 2021 15:48:45 GMT -5
41chevy likes this
Post by jbwelda on Sept 26, 2021 15:48:45 GMT -5
I recently attended the World of Speed event at Bonneville Speedway and while there I took the opportunity to search out the oft-rumored collection of model Land Speed Record streamliners at a faded casino/hotel in nearby Bendover, NV. I asked at the front desk and the woman knew exactly what I was talking about and led me forthwith to a small, dimly lit lobby to the Convention Center meeting room in the hotel and pointed to a display case on the wall, said here it is and left me with it.
In addition to the lobby itself being poorly lit, the display case was made of quarter inch plexiglass, glued and screwed together including a front panel, which meant not only would I have to open the aperture on my point-and-shoot Nikon Coolpix camera, limiting depth of field significantly, but I would also have to hand hold slow exposure shots, on the order of half second exposures and shoot through a reflective surface. Not only that but the case itself was backed by a full width mirror, which tends to further confuse the camera about what exactly it is being aimed at and further confuses any image that may be taken under these conditions. This was not looking good.
At one point a gentleman from the hotel came by and I asked him if we could get more light in there and his only suggestion was that he could hold his cell phone light on the models while I shot them, but of course that just caused more reflections off the plexi case. So I thanked him and he went on his way, leaving me to my own devices as it were.
I decided to just do what I could with what I had so the photos shown here reflect (npi) that: some are out of focus, some the mirror image looks more in focus than the actual car, some have reflections off the plexi outer cover for the display case along with other problems. Regardless, some came out ok and all are interesting from a historical perspective.
Speaking of historical perspective, I could find no one at the hotel who could tell me anything about who built the models, when, how they came to be displayed here, or any other curation aspects of the collection. They are simply there and hardly anyone knows about them. In fact, at least two people I thought for sure would know, at the raceway itself, told me definitively they were no longer in the area and had been thrown away a long time ago. For sure. Turns out probably not and in fact the USFRA holds their post-event banquet in the adjacent Convention Center room and walk right past them on the way into the banquet room. I told some of the hotel staff about the historical value of the collection and that they should make it more well known, and at least one person agreed, this was the same 30ish gentleman who told me he first saw the display when he was about five years old and that they seemed "older than dirt" to him back then.
Maybe I will attempt to contact "corporate" (that's how they referred to their parent company) and see if I can dig up some historical background and possibly get permission to have one of their maintenance staff take the case apart so I could photograph them out of the case and on a photo booth I would bring along with a more worthy camera. Someone should, that's for sure.
Here is a photo of the display case just to give you an idea what I am talking about:
The red streamliner reflecting in the mirror is also on display in the lobby and I will get to that eventually. For now let me say the typical scale here appears to be about 1/18 or so, and all models are what we would call "slammers", that is, no chassis, engine or interior detail, basically a shape with paint, graphics, wheels and tires. Most if not all the bodies appear to be carved out of wood or similar substance, and I did not recognize any visible parts as being from a kit I recognized, so I am assuming everything is either scratch built or repurposed from another segment of the hobby. There are a few obvious decals but most graphics appear to be hand-rendered.
So lets get into the photos: I will present my best one or two shots for each car, starting upper left and ending lower right of the case as shown above. As I mentioned, some are less than optimal, most are barely acceptable and a couple turned out pretty good (surprisingly), so try to look beyond the flaws and see what can be gleaned despite them.
Upper left and working to the right on the top shelf:
Shadoff Special #111 (top in second photo):
The first of three MG experimental specials in the collection, an MG Ex 135:
The Thunderbolt streamliner (top in first photo):
MG Ex 179, second of the MG group:
The Shooting Star streamliner:
Left to right on second shelf:
Wynn's Streamliner, #777:
Tornado Special:
Tornado Special closeup to show hand painted graphics:
Malcolm Campbell's famous Blue Bird streamliner:
So Cal Special #5:
Post Special #157:
Left to right on third shelf:
Cal Custom streamliner, #115d:
Streamliner #671:
Mormon Meteor Special:
Swain Herman Walker streamliner #333:
Challenger I streamliner:
Left to right on bottom shelf:
MG Ex 181, third and final of the MG group in the collection:
Attempt 1, #999 (lower in second photo):
Railton Mobil Special:
City of Burbank streamliner:
Vesco streamliner, #444:
That completes the display case, here are some miscellaneous shots that may show some of these cars in a better light so to speak:
There were also several museum quality archival photographs mounted on the walls of the lobby, here are a couple I managed to get a quick bootleg copy of, feel free to share as you will, I am sure there is a copyright involved somewhere but this is the internet not a courtroom:
Tom Green:
Malcolm Campbell:
John Cobb:
George Eyston:
Finally there was the remains of the Eelco Pee Wee something or other, #1001h, streamliner I mentioned earlier. This was obviously a well used car, as can be seen from the damage to the top panels as well as the disarray in the interior compartment. But still it made for a pretty impressive conversation piece of a display.
I always love to visit the western desert areas, I was actually enroute further east, where I indulge one of my other hobbies. Here is a shot of my colleague checking out a new discovery, this one in central Wyoming a few days later. Its healing to be in the presence of the spirits and honor their existence, you can feel their power at a place like this.
jb
In addition to the lobby itself being poorly lit, the display case was made of quarter inch plexiglass, glued and screwed together including a front panel, which meant not only would I have to open the aperture on my point-and-shoot Nikon Coolpix camera, limiting depth of field significantly, but I would also have to hand hold slow exposure shots, on the order of half second exposures and shoot through a reflective surface. Not only that but the case itself was backed by a full width mirror, which tends to further confuse the camera about what exactly it is being aimed at and further confuses any image that may be taken under these conditions. This was not looking good.
At one point a gentleman from the hotel came by and I asked him if we could get more light in there and his only suggestion was that he could hold his cell phone light on the models while I shot them, but of course that just caused more reflections off the plexi case. So I thanked him and he went on his way, leaving me to my own devices as it were.
I decided to just do what I could with what I had so the photos shown here reflect (npi) that: some are out of focus, some the mirror image looks more in focus than the actual car, some have reflections off the plexi outer cover for the display case along with other problems. Regardless, some came out ok and all are interesting from a historical perspective.
Speaking of historical perspective, I could find no one at the hotel who could tell me anything about who built the models, when, how they came to be displayed here, or any other curation aspects of the collection. They are simply there and hardly anyone knows about them. In fact, at least two people I thought for sure would know, at the raceway itself, told me definitively they were no longer in the area and had been thrown away a long time ago. For sure. Turns out probably not and in fact the USFRA holds their post-event banquet in the adjacent Convention Center room and walk right past them on the way into the banquet room. I told some of the hotel staff about the historical value of the collection and that they should make it more well known, and at least one person agreed, this was the same 30ish gentleman who told me he first saw the display when he was about five years old and that they seemed "older than dirt" to him back then.
Maybe I will attempt to contact "corporate" (that's how they referred to their parent company) and see if I can dig up some historical background and possibly get permission to have one of their maintenance staff take the case apart so I could photograph them out of the case and on a photo booth I would bring along with a more worthy camera. Someone should, that's for sure.
Here is a photo of the display case just to give you an idea what I am talking about:
The red streamliner reflecting in the mirror is also on display in the lobby and I will get to that eventually. For now let me say the typical scale here appears to be about 1/18 or so, and all models are what we would call "slammers", that is, no chassis, engine or interior detail, basically a shape with paint, graphics, wheels and tires. Most if not all the bodies appear to be carved out of wood or similar substance, and I did not recognize any visible parts as being from a kit I recognized, so I am assuming everything is either scratch built or repurposed from another segment of the hobby. There are a few obvious decals but most graphics appear to be hand-rendered.
So lets get into the photos: I will present my best one or two shots for each car, starting upper left and ending lower right of the case as shown above. As I mentioned, some are less than optimal, most are barely acceptable and a couple turned out pretty good (surprisingly), so try to look beyond the flaws and see what can be gleaned despite them.
Upper left and working to the right on the top shelf:
Shadoff Special #111 (top in second photo):
The first of three MG experimental specials in the collection, an MG Ex 135:
The Thunderbolt streamliner (top in first photo):
MG Ex 179, second of the MG group:
The Shooting Star streamliner:
Left to right on second shelf:
Wynn's Streamliner, #777:
Tornado Special:
Tornado Special closeup to show hand painted graphics:
Malcolm Campbell's famous Blue Bird streamliner:
So Cal Special #5:
Post Special #157:
Left to right on third shelf:
Cal Custom streamliner, #115d:
Streamliner #671:
Mormon Meteor Special:
Swain Herman Walker streamliner #333:
Challenger I streamliner:
Left to right on bottom shelf:
MG Ex 181, third and final of the MG group in the collection:
Attempt 1, #999 (lower in second photo):
Railton Mobil Special:
City of Burbank streamliner:
Vesco streamliner, #444:
That completes the display case, here are some miscellaneous shots that may show some of these cars in a better light so to speak:
There were also several museum quality archival photographs mounted on the walls of the lobby, here are a couple I managed to get a quick bootleg copy of, feel free to share as you will, I am sure there is a copyright involved somewhere but this is the internet not a courtroom:
Tom Green:
Malcolm Campbell:
John Cobb:
George Eyston:
Finally there was the remains of the Eelco Pee Wee something or other, #1001h, streamliner I mentioned earlier. This was obviously a well used car, as can be seen from the damage to the top panels as well as the disarray in the interior compartment. But still it made for a pretty impressive conversation piece of a display.
I always love to visit the western desert areas, I was actually enroute further east, where I indulge one of my other hobbies. Here is a shot of my colleague checking out a new discovery, this one in central Wyoming a few days later. Its healing to be in the presence of the spirits and honor their existence, you can feel their power at a place like this.
jb
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