Historical primary record
Historical Transite forms
Company historical material describing sheet, corrugated and tubular product milestones.
Historical product family
Transite: sheets, corrugated materials and pipe
Transite is a historical product name associated with multiple forms. The shape, setting and decade are often more useful starting points than the name alone.
Three forms people may remember
Flat sheets and panels
Rigid sheet material may be remembered by its size, thickness, cut edges, fastening or the building and industrial setting in which it was handled.
Corrugated sheets
Ribbed or corrugated panels may be remembered from exterior structures, roofs, walls or industrial enclosures.
Tubular products
Pipe and conduit can be remembered by diameter, joints, fittings, cutting tools, trench work or plant systems. The exact product and year matter.
Historical development and work
A 1958 Johns-Manville historical press record describes flat Transite sheets dating to 1904, corrugated forms in 1921 and tubular forms in 1929.
The 1958 industrial-board manual describes dry and wet cutting of Transite and other rigid materials. It discusses abrasive wheels, bench and portable saws, dust removal, slurry collection and drilling.
Historical primary record
Fabricating Transite and other boards
Company fabrication manual covering cutting, drilling and dust-control instructions.
Memory questions that can narrow the investigation
Was it a pipe, panel or corrugated sheet?
Try to remember its shape, dimensions, whether it was installed new or removed, and what it connected to.
What tools were used?
Abrasive saw, drill, chain cutter, hand tools or machinery can suggest which historical technical records to examine.
Who was nearby?
Installers, maintenance crews, electricians, pipefitters, laborers and cleanup workers may remember different parts of the same job.
Explore the pipe and duct families
The company’s 1975 product listing includes water pipe, sewer pipe, telephone duct, conduit, industrial vent pipe, storm drain and additional Transite variants. See the detailed pipe and duct history →
Continue the investigation
Johns-Manville research → New York Exposure Atlas → Start with what you remember →
Related historical research
Johns-Manville historical research
Continue the collection
Return to the Johns-Manville Historical Product Library → View all historical research collections →