Saturday, April 04, 2009

PROUD BEAUTIES FROM YESTERYEAR

Pennsylvania Railroad's "AMERICAN":



Chicago & North Westerns "400":



Southern Pacific's "Daylight":



Southern Pacific's "Sunbeam":



The Milwaukee Road's "Hiawatha":



Seaboard Railway streamliner:



A Union Pacific "Limited Train":


Next: Some of the Diesel streamliners.
COMPANY POSTCARDS

I have quite a few postcards that were distributed by the railroad companies themselves, and will show a few from time to time.

Below is a typical example from the Burlington Northern.

(left click to enlarge)
Unanticipated bonus: Listed is the typical consist of both passenger trains, plus, it's a souvenir of a World's Fair. Which Fair? No idea. This particular card (it says) one was handed out from the Burlington's Postal Car at the World's Fair. However, most of the cards I have that were passed out from an RPO(Rural Post Office) were also dated and cancelled.

Friday, April 03, 2009

SCENIC EXCURSION, EARLY VERSION

(left click to enlarge)

As the card says, it's an Observation Train, somewhere around Harbor Springs, Michigan. The railroad, according to Wikipedia,was The Harbor Springs Railway, a 30 in. gauge built from Harbor Springs, Michigan on Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan.

It was nicknamed the Hemlock Central because of the great numbers of hemlock trees growing in the area. The railway was chartered by Ephraim Shay, the inventor of the Shay locomotive.

30" gauge, 16-pound rail, and stub switches. Didn't get much smaller than that.

This card may be a photo of one of Ephraim Shay's earliest locomotives, possibly his first. It may also be hand-colored, indicated by the tan coloring on the bottom that goes below the details of the photograph - and washes over the darker rails.