In all my traipsing through pictures at “Missouri’s Historic Highways” I found this really delicious yet plain 1957 Ford wagon. It does rather pale next to the Mercury wagon and the Pontiac.
I also found this picture with another 1957 Ford wagon. Then I looked at the license plates – it’s the same car from the same angle but vastly different location! The sticker on the deck lid says “Missouri Highway Dept.”. This makes sense as many of the pictures at “Missouri’s Scenic Highways” likely originated from there.
This is likely the only documentation this neat old Ford ever existed.
Incidentally, I’m guessing it to have a three-on-the-tree. When enlarging this picture, it appears the gear selector is in second, thus located too high to be an automatic in “Drive”.
I’ll bet somebody got yelled at when that crease behind the door on the Oldsmobile got discovered.
You think someone cut a corner too sharp?
Not just any Oldsmobile — a 1955 98 Holiday …. 2-dr. hardtop.
The spinners on the wheelcovers were almost as hot as some of today’s outlandish rims. …. and cost about 10 optional $$.
I’ve never seen a double stacked stop sign before. One sign usually works just fine.
Odds are there are two to capture attention as the single one was being ignored.
To the left of the Ford Wagon is another Stop sign for a school zone.
Not the place to get a ticket for disregarding a Stop sign. Fine could be significant. Not sure if they were keeping track of point in the late 50’s.
Nowadays they might put a solar-powered stop sign with flashing lights around it, or a stop light.
I just saw two of those stop signs with the blinking lights around the border for the first time in my life recently. They are installed near PDX.
I’ve seen them a few times in the last ten years or so. They work great in locations where people frequently hit the sign.
They are all over my neighborhood in Redondo Beach. Still, people are running stop signs more than ever.
Those stop signs would’ve been pretty new when this pic was taken. The red sign with white legend and border came in for 1954 or ’55; previous stop signs were yellow with a black legend, and were mounted lower. I am guessing the lower of these two signs was a direct replacement for an older low/yellow sign.
Any information on the location of the second Photo? Looks like a bridge being built in the distance.
According to a comment on the photo at the Missouri’s Historic Highways Facebook page, the bridge is located on State Highway 86 between Blue Eye and Ridgedale, near the Arkansas border. I took a Google maps screen capture. And the Google maps location from the other side of the bridge.
https://www.google.ca/maps/@36.5278368,-93.2993086,3a,75y,237.71h,80.6t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGd_oiFb0y3pkMcDsO7eUGw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
Having lived in Missouri for much of my life, I’ve never seen a stop sign with tandem signs before.
And no doubt it was only a Country Sedan (schmancy!) because Ford didn’t build a Fordor Ranch Wagon in 1957.
As a child my neighbor had a 2 tone black and white ’57 Ranch Wagon. They were 2 door only. There is a blue and white example at the Classic Car Brochure website.
Bob
Excellent photo selections. The second ‘STOP’ sign may have been an ad hoc attempt to address cars not stopping at the intersection. Even though there is also the overhead flashing red light to alert cars to stop. Looks like a nice early spring day with the abundance of dandelions visible in the lower right.
While many freeways were built, along with major road upgrades conducted throughout North America during the 50s and 60s, I appreciated that I was still young enough as a kid to enjoy seeing a further wave of highway engineering safety upgrades and improvements to existing major roads by the 70s and 80s. The winding approaches to this bridge appear dated. As broad curves, more open sight lines, and less steep grades became more common on many highways.
I just looked again at the Google maps west side view of the current bridge, and you can see where the former highway alignment to the bridge appears to have existed coming down the hill. That raised unpaved highway bed to the left. I never went into road engineering, but I love reviewing how experts work(ed) to improve road safety bringing roads designed decades ago up to modern high speed standards.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but my dad bought a new 57 Ranch Wagon, with it’s ONLY option, a heater/defroster.
Sleek looking car, but a POS. Overheated in summer so that my father automatically opened the front-hinged hood to the safety latch and drove it around all day. Guess it helped the airflow.
In 58, he traded it in on a Plymouth 4dr sedan. Wasn’t much better.
A few years later he bought a 57 Chevy wagon and kept it for many trouble free years.
So there!
1957 Mercury got a roll down rear station wagon window, while Ford still had the clamshell, along with all GM wagons. Plymouth also was roll down for ’57. 1956 Rambler may have been the first.
Great shots. Always liked the 57 Ford better than the Chevy.
I wonder what bridge that is in the background? I’ve never seen a gully that deep in Missouri 🙂
As one who has been to 113 of the 114 counties of the state, this location has got to be in the southwest part of the state. Daniel M above says it’s near Blue Eye which is about 14 inches north of the Arkansas line west-southwest of Branson. This isn’t the deepest holler I’ve seen in the state, either, as it’s more of a middling one!
Something tells me this old wagon probably has a straight-six under the hood.
A plain model of the plain wagon I’ve had since back in the day…
Love the ’57 Ford wagon. Betty Draper drove a stylish 2-tone version in Mad Men.
https://www.historicvehicle.org/the-cars-of-mad-men/