The Baltimore & Ohio long claimed to be the nation’s “first and oldest continuously running common carrier railroad,” and it celebrated its centennial with a grandiose exhibition in 1927. Yet here is the New York Central preemptively claiming its own … Continue reading
This menu says it was for the 20th Century Limited and the Commodore Vanderbilt. The latter was inaugurated as an all-Pullman train in 1938 and left New York/Chicago about 1-3/4 hours before the Century. Since it made a few more … Continue reading
These postcards show New York Central passenger trains pulled by Diesels painted in the “lightning stripes” scheme used in the late 1940s and 1950s. The first has a photo of a train along the Hudson River heading for New York … Continue reading
Here’s a simple letterhead with the New York Central logo, but the words “en route” add a dash of romance. Is someone coming home or going away? Is the travel Many medical articles from countries where acupuncture is widely used, … Continue reading
Ragan painted few trains (other than a few background images in his landscapes) for the New York Central before 1939. But his first famous painting, the iconic image of the streamlined Twentieth-Century Limited locomotive designed by Henry Dreyfus, also became … Continue reading
Leslie Darrell Ragan is probably the best-known railroad poster artist of the twentieth century. His only competition would be Grif Teller, who mainly did calendars but also a few posters for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and Howard Fogg, who mainly did … Continue reading
Railroads apparently had two kinds of luggage tags. Some were numbered to be used as claim checks. This, however, is a “permanent baggage identification tag” with a place to write a name and address. If you are travelling from abroad … Continue reading
This March 10, 1954 menu offers whitefish meuniere, shrimp, capon, veal steak, roast ribs, and charcoal broiled sirloin steak. Prices for complete meals range from $3.90 ($33 in today’s dollars) to $5.85 ($49 today). For those with more modest tastes, … Continue reading
Patrick McGinnis’ second new train for the New Haven was built by Pullman in an obvious imitation of the 1949 ACF Talgo train. Pullman called its design “Train X” and like the 1949 train had just one axle, or two … Continue reading
Only a few railroads took the opportunity to advertise around Christmas. Given limited advertising budgets, most aimed for the summer tourist season instead. But the New York Central, Pennsylvania, Pullman, and Union Pacific all did some creative Christmas-themed ads, and … Continue reading
