STREAMLINE
What comes to mind when you hear the word..."Streamline" ???

Perhaps inspired by Art Deco or the evolution of Aircraft, Streamline "took off" in the late 40s and peaked in the mid-60s.

"Engineers often use smoke in air in order to see streaklines, and then use the patterns to guide their design modifications, aiming to reduce the drag. This task is known as streamlining, and the resulting design is referred to as being streamlined.
Streamlined objects and organisms, like steam locomotives, streamliners, cars and dolphins are often aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
The Streamline Moderne style, an 1930s and 1940s offshoot of Art Deco, brought flowing lines to architecture and design of the era.
The canonical example of a streamlined shape is a chicken egg with the blunt end facing forwards. This shows clearly that the curvature of the front surface can be much steeper than the back of the object. "

For me, the classic work is from the design studios and students of Harley Earl, Raymond Loewy, Henry Dreyfuss and Brook Stevens, for starters.

STREAMLINE STEAM
It makes me think the Milwaukee Hiawatha...

The Norfolk & Western 611...

the Pennsylvania T-1...

The New York Central J-3 Mohawks by Henry Dreyfuss...

In fact, all the steam locomotives shrouded in an "Airflow" style.

AIRFLOW
The Desoto & Chrysler Airflow were so far ahead of their time in 1934...

Reminds you of the Beetle, eh ? This one's from 1965...


A nice evolution are the classic lines of the Porsche 356....

RAYMOND LOEWY
Raymond Loewy streamlined the Pennsylvania Railroad
GG-1 electric locomotive...

Look at the design Loewy did on the Pennsylvania Railroad
T-1 Duplex steam locomotive...

Loewy also designed the Studebaker Avanti...

TAILFIN FEVER
The twin booms of the P-38 Fighter....

inspired GM designer Harley Earl to create the rear fins
and tail-lights of the late 40s Cadillacs...

In fact, Harley Earl is credited with having invented the automotive tailfin.

After Earl started, it wasn't too long before Ford & Chrysler got "tailfin fever."

Virgil Exner created the "Forward Look" for Chrysler from '55-61.
Exner had worked for Earl, Loewy, where he's reputed to have co-designed
the Studebaker Starlight there), before joining Chrysler.

Some Fins....

CADILLAC: Earl's 1949 Sedanette (above), 1954 and 1959...

CHRYSLER: Exner's 1957 Imperial, 1959 Plymouth & 1960 New Yorker...

STREAMLINER
The word "Streamline" morphs right into "Streamliner,"
those aluminum-bodied railroad passenger trainsets,
first made by Edward G. Budd Co. ,
in the form of the Pioneer Zephyr for Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad...

and later, the cars of the WP-CB&G-D&RG California Zephyr....

Proponents of railroad streamliners also included Brook Stevens,
who designed the the 2nd & 3rd Hiawatha's for Milwaukee Road.
Here's his Cedar Rapids Skytop Observation Car...

Brook Stevens also introduced us to the streamlined Evinrude outboard motor.

Car-styling flowed into the "Covered Wagon"-style Diesel-Electric locomotive F & E-units from General Motors, also designed by Harley Earl...

Look at this, their AeroTrain experiment, with bus bodies as coaches...

DINERS
The Stainless Diner-era, added that "Streamline" look,
almost a railroad car feel....

TROLLEY
Even the lowely streetcar morfed into the PCC car....

FLYING WING
I'm still amazed at the Northrop Flying Wing experimental aircraft.
The propeller-driven XB-35...

The jet propelled XB-49...


STREAMLINE BUS
The "Sausage"-style buses, like this one modified into a Miller High-Life PR vehicle...

Look at this "double-decker" Greyhound Scenicruiser...

STREAMLINE ARCHITECTURE
Streamline Architecture is also known as Streamline Moderne,
a late version of Art Deco.
I'll gather a few architectural examples to show.

Stay tuned.