This 44-page book dating from 1892 has woodcuts of prominent buildings and scenery on almost every page to accompany the text describing the route of this Chicago-New York train. The logo of Rand McNally, which printed the booklet, also adorns … Continue reading
Category Archives: New York Central
Now here’s a holiday menu; the Northern Pacific should have taken note. “Season’s Greetings” emblazoned on the cover with a beautiful winter scene of a Hudson Valley house that happens to have been the home of Washington Irving puts diners … Continue reading
The Pacemaker was New York Central’s premiere all-coach train serving the New York-Chicago corridor, competing directly with Pennsy’s Trail Blazer. Like the Trail Blazer, the Pacemaker was introduced in 1939 with heavyweight equipment modified in 1941 to look streamlined, then … Continue reading
The Detroit-Cleveland Mercury was New York Central’s first streamlined train, though it was actually a heavyweight with shrouds over the steam locomotive and passenger cars to make them look streamlined. Originally introduced in 1936 and designed by Henry Dreyfuss, the … Continue reading
This timetable, scans for which were contributed by a Streamliner Memories reader, went into effect just 40 days after New York Central inaugurated the Henry Dreyfus-designed streamlined 20th Century Limited. Wikipedia says this “was probably the most famous American passenger … Continue reading
In September, 1948, New York Central invited General Dwight Eisenhower to inaugurate the postwar 20th Century Limited, which consisted of all-new passenger cars pulled by nearly new Diesel locomotives. The railroad printed up this “First Trip” envelope to be hand … Continue reading
The Empire State Express began operating on September 14, 1891, and this otherwise undated brochure says it celebrates the train’s golden jubilee. That dates it to 1941. Specifically, on December 7, 1941, the New York Central inaugurated streamlined, Budd-built trains … Continue reading
This menu is undated, but someone had handwritten “June 12 1959” on it (which I photoshopped out). The front, as shown, shows an E or F locomotive with an engineer and two children. The back has a stainless steel observation … Continue reading
Jointly issued by nine different railroads in 1948, this brochure unfolds into the equivalent of a 12-page 8″-by-9″ booklet. About a quarter of the brochure describes the “East’s luxurious modern trains,” while most of the rest features potential destinations. The … Continue reading
By 1951, New York Central had its post-war fleet of trains going at full strength, and due to declining ridership it probably did not place many orders for new passenger cars other than the ultra-lightweights of 1956. Instead of new … Continue reading