Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more. Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
Ben Branch -
Operation Question Mark
In 1929 some of the first attempts at refuelling planes in flight were being undertaken. This famous photograph of Operation Question Mark shows a 10,000lb Fokker C-2A being refueled in flight by a modified Douglas C-1 transport aircraft.
Varsity V-Neck by Dehen
The Dehen company history is a story of 2 brothers, the prohibition, illegal liquor runs from Canada, time in prison and finally, the founding of Dehen Garment Company. This Varsity V-Neck is the identical model sold in the 50’s and 60’s and can be seen in vintage photographs, usually on the sidelines of college football fields.
On Any Sunday – Flat Track Racing
On Any Sunday is one of those films that you just have to have seen, and seen more than once, if you’re a motorcyclist. This is the 7:20 segment of the film that deals with AMA Flat-Track racers, some of the ballsiest humans this side of the NASA Gemini program…
Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga
Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga was written by Hunter S. Thompson in the mid 1960s, it was his first published work and is widely recognised as the book that launched his career.
Some Bikes Challenge Egos
This marketing poster from Triumph circa 1977 is a great example of how to turn your weakness into a product feature. Most if to all of the Japanese bikes of the era had electric starts, the Bonneville still used a kicker and this was the marketing departments play at selling it to the masses.
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring
Considered by many to be the ultimate iteration of the 911, the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring is without question, one of the most extreme super cars of the early 1970s.
Norton CS1
The Norton CS1 is a veritable beast, this is the 1928 model, ’28 was the first year that Norton used the overhead cam 500cc engine that went on to become quite famous in it’s own right.
German Silodrome
The original Silodromes, or “Walls of Death”, were just made from rudimentary wooden planks, a few nails and some duct tape. This fantastically advanced German version is made from steel and is suspended in mid-air with a series of wires, pulleys and poles.
R100 Tracker by Fuel Bespoke Motorcycles
I have a deep love and long standing respect for BMW motorcycles. I’ve never actually owned one, but I’ll get around to picking one up someday. In the meantime, I’ll make do with ogling other people’s Beemers.
Zero Messenger Bag by Rickshaw
Rickshaw is a small San Francisco based company that produces unique bags, by hand, and ships them to die hard fans around the world. Each bag is made to order and if you’re so inclined, you can use their customiser here to create a bag to your own personal specifications.
Yvonne Craig as Batgirl
Yvonne Craig was introduced as Batgirl in the final 1967-1968 season of the Batman TV Series, posters of her in full costume adorned the walls of countless millions of boys around the world.
Brütsch Mopetta
The Brütsch Mopetta is an interesting historical curiosity, only 14 of the microcars were ever made and even though there were some negations with Opel, nothing came of the talks and the car, sadly, never saw a production run.