We’ve previously seen a 1955 timetable that included an article on the Pony Express, which it described as one of a series of “historic landmarks in the MoPac empire.” Today’s edition begins moving in that direction with a four-color article on the Iron Mountain Railroad, a part of the MP system that celebrated a centennial in 1953.
Click image to download a 24.6-MB PDF of this 48-page timetable.
Like the landmarks page from 1955, the collage of illustrations on this page is signed “Keil.” I wasn’t certain before but now I am that this refers to John Mullan Keil (1922-2017), a New York advertising executive and artist.
Keil was born in Rochester, NY and served as a bombardier during World War II. He then earned a degree in economics from the University of Rochester, tried to start an acting career, and when that failed he became a writer and artist for a series of advertising agencies. During the 1950s, he was working for Needham & Grohmann, and it is quite possible that this agency was the reason why MP timetables of that decade were so entertaining. Keil’s Mad Men career was noteworthy enough to deserve an obituary in the New York Times.
Of the eight full-color pages in the timetable, the other one most relevant to passengers is the inside front cover, which advertises the reclining seats in Eagles coaches. The picture doesn’t show that the seats had leg rests. Though comfortable, they would have been disappointing compared with coach seats on other western overnight trains.
