Saw a small bit on the lincoln hiway on pbs the other nite. It was the first hiway that crossed the states from nyc to san fran. Most of this road is gone now but you can still drive a route that is very close to the old road (I guess theres a book that has maps to stay as close to the old route a possible) Has any body drove there hot rod on this route? If you have share some stories.
I drive on an existing stretch of it every day. I believe from Columbus, Ne. the Cheyene Wy. most of it is unchanged from its original route. Now called U.S hwy 30. Rod
A lot of the Lincoln Highway is still alive and well in Nevada...Highway 50... Drive it all the time between Fallon (near Reno) and Austin, then on through Eureka, Ely and on to Bonneville. A great road to travel on. Good condition, not a lot of traffic and nice scenery.
We used to live right off of a stretch of it when we lived in Pennsylvania, it was called Rt 30/ Lincoln Highway in that area. I drove on it to work every day. I never knew the history of it until I saw that same PBS show you are talking about. It was really interesting to learn about it and how far it went. Don
I live very close to it. It was still the old 2 lane from Beaverdam, Oh to Mansfield, Oh until a few years back when they built the 4 lane. On the old two lane sections there is stillsome of the old rundown motels and such. I drove the old section more times than I can remember. It was a dangerous road here in Ohio. Tons of truck traffic, cars and farm equip. Lots of deaths on the sections by me. The intersection of 30 and St Rt 235 had a bar on one corner and a gas station on the other. It was out in the country with a traffic light. Local people slowed down or stopped even if your light was green. Lots of crashes at that intersection. Even with that ,the old two lane with some of the oddball motels and such always gave a very " route 66 " feel to it. There was a bar close to Delphos, Oh. that was built to look like a dutch windmill. That building might still be there. I think one place that had the old style roadside cabins is still there all falling apart. Another part of a lost America.
There's a long stretch across the whole state of Ohio. They still have the concrete markers and every summer, they have a yard sale the entire length! We've cruised about 3/4 the length a couple of time along with th many types of car clubs. They have these cute little 1930's-40's motor courts that have been restored and you can spend the night at. Rap
I took a bit of the Lincoln Highway home from work last night. I noticed that some ghetto turds 'tagged' one of the little signs that indicate it's the Lincoln Highway.
I drive "old 30"to work most every day. They did build a new 4 lane, "NEW 30" that bypasses all the towns, but I love the old one. Still quite a bit of the original here in central Iowa. You can still see the old gas stations in the towns that used to pump gas, but have now been reclaimed as something else because of the lack of traffic. Progress.
In 2001 my GF and I went back to Pa and traveled the Lincoln Highway clear into Pennsylvania Dutch country. There was an old landmark called the Ship Hotel that overlooked a bunch of counties and several States but it was in disrepair and closed when we got there. This video tells about it and has some neat old pictures in it. The video says it burned down in 2001, and that must have happened sometime after we saw it in Sept, because it was standing when we were there. Don http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zt0UNxakZQ
I'm pretty sure the original road is pretty complete in Penna. Lots of small towns along the way. York US 30 dragway (Dave Strickler) was on the Lincoln highway. I think there is another US 30 drags strip in the mid west someplace that always perks my attention and it is on the same road. My first hotrodding experience was on the "main line" outside of Philly. All part of the Lincoln highway.
I think the other US 30 dragstrip was in northern Indiana kind of southeast of Gary in one of the suburbs. It has been closed for several years - the neighbors got another one!
I just drove on the lincoln hwy from winder pa to south bend indiana this summer on my way to the road rocket rumble. You miss alot of it by staying on the new 4 lane rt 30 I checked on my gps for the old road and went down when I could seen acouple cool places actually drove passed a shop with a burnt up 50 coupe and the guy cameout when I stop said hey was there for 30 years and his name was dewey, never thought I would meet a guy named dewey in ohio. A couple photos are just off of rt 30 too. Also in the spring on my way to vintage torquefest I stopped with my friends diamond 49 and tiger mark for acouple photos on rt 30 in illinios which was a total suprise to me. here are some pictures of both trips:
I've worked all summer in the town of the National Headquarters of the Lincoln Highway, Franklin Grove, IL. Neat old stone building in the heart of downtown.
The Lincoln went right thru the heart of Delphos, OH where I grew up. It was 5th St in town with traffic lights every couple blocks. The truck traffic was really heavy and I learned all about Detroit Diesels (they were all "Jimmies" back then),Macks, Whites, Binders, and several others just by listening to them running the gears from light to light trying to get thru town. There were some real clutch artists back then who could shift their old 5+3 combos as quickly and smoothly as the modern guys do their Roadrangers. And yes, that was the Dutch Mill just a few miles west of town (it's in one of the pictures posted here.) The Van-Del drive in theater was named for Van Wert and Delphos-it was just half way inbetween.
A couple of miles from my house is a section of the original that is still hand-laid brick and is protected under the National Historic Places Act. Every now and then while out on the motorcycle we'll go and ride on it.
We have hit parts of it for years traveling from home to our grandparents when we were kids. I still hit HWY 30 some but it is just 4 lanes of nothing now!
Just remembered the geography book we used in the 4th grade. The American portion consisted of a virtual trip across the country on the Lincoln Hwy. Sort of a "See the U.S.A. from Route 30" thing.
on our trips to boniville my buddies and i always take a diff route..3yrs ago we flew to vagus rented an car went to the little alien inn in rachel nv. then went to find the lincoln hwy in utah. very schey maps and directions even through the linc. hwy assn. in utah &nev the hwy followed the stage coach rout that followed the poney express rout,WERY rural, on our 325 mile lin.hwy. trip of dirt, washboard, rocks, bolders, ruts we met only ONE truck. don't know how they made it in those cars in 1913, w/bad tires, no gas stations,NOTHING for 100's of miles. i was amazed how great our ford rental car did, no rattles, didnt miss a lick , i called FORD up and told them how good it was. have pix but dont kno how to post them...DON"T do this rout in your hot rod.
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