Transport, National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia

The collection of automobiles, trucks, engines, aircraft, motorbikes and bicycles on display at the mNACTEC plots a course through the history of transport from the earliest days up to the present time.

The key exhibits on show include among others the Locomobile steam-powered automobile, dating from 1899, the 1957 SEAT 600, the 1955 Biscuter, and the Fairchild aeroplane dating from 1932. The transport section is supplemented by the “Viva Montesa” motorbike exhibition, the “Model Railway” exhibition space, and the “Transport Workshop”.

Highlights

Aymerich Fábrica de Automóviles (AFA) automobile
Prototype convertible two-seater with two hinged doors, a front-mounted four-cylinder, four-stroke 527 cc engine developing 13 hp at 3500 rpm, with four gears. Diameter 52.0; Travel 62.0, and cylinder head valves. All the components were produced domestically. It could attain a maximum speed of 85 km/h and consumed around 5.82 litres per 100 km.

Montesa Sprint motorcycle
Montesa Sprint motorcycle; red with a black chassis and windshield with golden edging. This is a single-seater competition motorcycle with a single cylinder two-stroke engine mounted on the chassis (beneath the fuel tank). It has 6 gears, with a foot-operated gear change lever on the right-hand side. The starter pedal is on the right, and it has suspension on both wheels, tele-hydraulic at the front, and spring-adjustable friction dampers at the rear. The windshield, which also covers a part of the rider’s arms, is mounted on the handlebars, and there are three round, white spaces (to indicate the race number): 2 on the side to 1 at the front. The seat is black and elongated.

It competed in international Grands Prix, such as the Isle of Man race in 1956.

Model ship
Model steamship, painted red and black, with a rotating gold propeller. Marking: Garay & Gisbert. The ship is cross-sectioned; only the stern section can be seen. At the bow end there is a large coal boiler with a smokestack. In the middle is the steam combustion engine with vertical pistons to power the ship. A system of axles, gears, wheels, valves and pistons transmitted the steam throughout,driving the pistons and operating the propeller shaft.It operates at 125 V. The structure is made from walnut-coloured wood. In the form of a fronted board.

Before arriving at the Museum, this model was displayed in the shop window of maritime supplier on Passeig de Colom in Barcelona. It was, though, originally made for the Universal Exposition staged in Barcelona in 1929, where it was displayed.

Despertaferro solar-powered car
The first solar electric vehicle built in Spain in accordance with the Australian regulations for solar vehicle competitions. Most of the upper surface is occupied by eight square metres of solar panels, allowing it to generate 2300 W from sunlight. It has three wheels: two steered at the front, with superimposed trapezium suspension, and a wheel supported on a swingarm at the rear. The chassis and bodywork are made from carbon fibre and nomex honeycomb, while the mechanical parts are aluminium. The tyres are low drag.

Model T Touring Ford automobile
This T Touring model (with a convertible roof) dates from 1923. It has a 2,890 cc frontal engine, with four in-line cylinders and side valves producing 20.2 HP (15 Kw) at 1.800 rpm and reaching a speed of up to 70 km/h.

In this 1923 model the wheels are painted wood and it already has an electric starter system.

Hispano Suiza 16HP T30 Automobile
This is a 16HP automobile with licence plate B3668. It has an armoured type Birkigt engine and a 6-seater Torpedo bodywork.

The type 30 engine has one of the main features of Hispano Suiza engines: the so-called “direct command”, which places the overhead camshaft to directly operate the valves and was responsible for the success of the brand models in the 1920s and 1930s.

Schneider SG 38 “Schulgleiter” Glider
Single-seat glider made up of two large wings attached to a central wooden body where the pilot’s seat and control pedals are located. The landing gear is located below the pilot’s seat and the rudder is behind. The entire machine is made of wood and held together with metal braces. The wings are a wooden frame covered in white fabric.

National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia
The National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia (mNACTEC) is one of the three recognized by the Parliament of Catalonia national museums. Its mission is to permanently show the implementation and development of scientific and technical progress in Catalonia, industrial application and especially their involvement and social impact.

The National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia is the product of the rich and lengthy heritage of scientific and technical innovation and knowledge, and the industrial application of this, as developed in this country over the centuries. Although the plans for a museum dedicated to the dissemination of scientific and technical knowledge, vocational development in these two fields and the preservation of the most substantial material records of the technical creativity of humanity, and the most significant objects invented or manufactured in this country, originally dates back to the early 20th century, it was not until 1984 that they were to take shape in the form of this cultural and social landmark museum.

The mNACTEC and its Territorial Structure, closely linked to Catalan industrial society, as an element of national identity and focus, decentralised, innovative, regionally implemented and with the utmost social return and impact, has over the course of 35 years successfully positioned itself as an international flagship and model presenting the uniqueness, specificity and social impact of scientific, technical and industrial culture in Catalonia. Despite the economic difficulties the country finds itself in, the mNACTEC maintains, consolidates and underpins the growth and expansion of this important museum, heritage, cultural and social project with new aims, greater expectations and an even greater dose of renewed enthusiast and interest.

We are in a moment of social change which is forcing us to focus all our efforts in the consolidation of the existing spaces, updating the Museum’s programming, planning new initiatives, ensuring access to a suitable structure, updating and expanding the museumological discourse of the Territorial System when applicable, and encouraging new projects providing incentives which further allow us to become a national museum of note in the new museumology of the 21st century. It should be a modern dynamic museum which must necessarily have major direct involvement in our contemporary society without forgetting its important role in the recovery, conservation and valorization of the scientific, technical and industrial heritage and culture of Catalonia without forgetting the power and drive of our people who, by making this heritage their own, transform the mNACTEC into a living project serving and promoting “the soul” of this society, reminds us where we came from, what we are and where we want to go.