#railroad train

[arinewman7]

Railroad Train

Edward Hopper

1908

[newyorkthegoldenage]

The Twentieth Century, Grand Central Station, 1954.

The Twentieth Century Limited, advertised as "The Most Famous Train in the World," was an express passenger train on the New York Central Railroad from 1902 to 1967. For those privileged to stride down its legendary red carpet, there was all-Pullman service, plus valets, maids, stenographic help, and a barbershop.

In its prime, the Twentieth Century made the Chicago-to-New York run in 15 hours 40 minutes and paid passengers $1 for each hour it was late. John W. Gates, the American Gilded Age industrialist who was on the first trip in 1902, told reporters waiting at Grand Central that the train made "Chicago a suburb of New York."

In bygone days, it was a celebrity's train and its passengers included Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, Lillian Russell, "Diamond Jim" Brady, J.P. Morgan and Enrico Caruso. In 1928, a peak year, revenue from its operations was nearly $10 million.

But World War II brought the beginning of the end of the luxury train service in the United States. When the Twentieth Century pulled out of Grand Central Terminal on December 3, 1967, for the last time, The Times wrote that it "was known to railroad buffs for 65 years as the world's greatest train."

Photo & text: NY Times Photo Archives

[mickmathersartblog]

“Night Train II”

digital collage & digital painting by Mick Mather

(click image to view full size)

[mickmathersartblog]

“Fast Mail Charging Downgrade”

digitally manipulated ‘found’ image by Mick Mather

(click image to view full size)

[hariesautomoto]

Train headed west. by HariesAutoMoto

[mandafique]

[triviaproofing]

#981: “To establish how fast a railroad train moves, count the number of clicks heard in twenty seconds. This figure is roughly equal to the number of miles per hour the train is moving.”

Times have changed.

A long time ago, railroads didn’t weld their tracks together. This accounts for the clicking sound heard.

This link explains other ways to measure a train’s speed, including counting cars on older trains and more complicated methods for modern freight trains.

[artishardgr]

Edward Hopper - Railroad Train, 1908