Invisible Themepark

Category: 1950s

Cutaways from the 1950s (1950 to 1959).

  • Jim Creek Naval Radio Station Illustration 1950

    Jim Creek Naval Radio Station Illustration 1950

    Artist unknown, as this was a tossed-off illustration in the middle of a Popular Science, but what interested me:

    1. This is one helluva massive radio station.
    2. It’s still around.

    It’s called the Jim Creek Naval Radio Station, and the Center for Land Use Interpretation tells us:

    One of the world’s most powerful transmitters, this million watt Navy radio facility communicates with submarines at sea using very low frequency radio waves. Built in 1953 in the foothills of the northern Cascades, ten massive antenna cables, all more than a mile long, span the Jim Creek valley, suspended by twenty 200 foot tall towers.

    Click to Enlarge to 927 x 757 px:

    Jim Creek Naval Transmitting Station 1950
    Jim Creek Naval Transmitting Station 1950
  • Ship-Based Anti Submarine Defense Cutaway, 1950

    Ship-Based Anti Submarine Defense Cutaway, 1950

    Illustration by Ray Quigley shows an anti-sub device from 1950 termed “the hedgehog.”

    It lobbed multiple depth charges all at once at the presumed submarine location.  Charges were slightly angled so that they would land in a spreadout, scattershot pattern, covering a wider range.

     Click to Enlarge to 695 x 768 px:

    Ship-Based Anti Submarine Defense Cutaway, 1950
    Ship-Based Anti Submarine Defense Cutaway, 1950

    Source:  Popular Science March 1950

  • Railroad Boxcar Sweeper Arm Cutaway, 1950

    Railroad Boxcar Sweeper Arm Cutaway, 1950

    This unusual device, made by Stephens-Adamson Co. of Los Angeles, CA, reached deep into boxcars that had loose contents and swept the contents out of the open door.

    As it turns out, Stephens-Adamson Co. is still around today.

    Click to Enlarge to 1350 x 517 px:

    Railroad Boxcar Sweeper Arm Cutaway 1950
    Railroad Boxcar Sweeper Arm Cutaway 1950

    Source:  Popular Science March 1950

  • Photo-Realistic Transparent Movie Set Backdrop, 1950

    Photo-Realistic Transparent Movie Set Backdrop, 1950

    For most of movie history, set backdrops had been opaque (non-transparent) sheets of fabric stitched together to form larger, set-sized sheets.

    In 1950, photographer M.B. Paul was profiled creating transparent set backdrops from actual photographs.  Because they were transparent, they could be lit from the back as well as the front.

    Click to Enlarge to 956 x 721 px:

    Transparent Manhattan Movie Backdrop 1950
    Transparent Manhattan Movie Backdrop 1950

    The backdrop below may be from a movie called “Beloved Over All,” later retitled, “Our Very Own.”

    Backyard Movie Set Transparency Backdrop 1950
    Backyard Movie Set Transparency Backdrop 1950

     

     

    Source:  Popular Mechanics January 1950

  • Arctic Wanigan Cutaway, 1950

    Arctic Wanigan Cutaway, 1950

    The “wanigan” was an 8 x 24 foot mobile caboose that was attached to the back of Arctic explorers’ tracked wagon trains.

    The wanigan had four bunks, refrigerator, coal stove, table, sink, and latrine.

    Click to Enlarge to 594 x 478 px:

    Arctic Wanigan Cutaway 1950
    Arctic Wanigan Cutaway 1950

    Source:  Popular Mechanics May 1950