As I continue to dig through my memory for details and wrap up the writing of a personal story which transpired more that 60 year ago, I’ll re-share with you this rail history-related story first posted here a few years back on 09/27/2018.
As the message read under that headline on this set of five U. S. postage stamps issued on August 26th, 1999 …
“… those magical words reverberated through spacious high-ceilinged train stations to summon travelers to the gleaming, streamlined railway passenger cars of the 1930’s and 1940’s.”
As you see, 33 cents was the price for mailing a first-class letter in 1999 … when the U.S. Postal Service paid tribute to American industry and design, specifically the heritage of the American railroads, with these stamps of five celebrated passenger trains from the 1930s and 1940s. Note, though, these are not photographs … rather each stamp is a reproduction of a watercolor painting of one of the five trains, with a landscape representative of its route in the background.
These five trains were designed in the Art Deco style that was in vogue at the time, both on the exterior and interior, by famous industrial designers. The style, comfort, and efficiency of these luxury passenger trains were at the forefront of the railroads’ battle to compete with the growing love of automobiles and airplanes.
In 1935 the Milwaukee Road introduced the Hiawatha, which operated between Chicago and the Twin Cities via Milwaukee. It officially began service on May 29, 1935, one of the first streamlined trains ever to be introduced in the U.S. The Hiawatha was an instant success and became known as the “Fastest Train in America,” regularly traveling at more than 100 miles an hour, making the twice-daily run between the cities in seven hours. In 1938, designer Otto Kuhler would streamline the appearance of the Milwaukee’s F-7 steam locomotives including this multiple color paint scheme.
One of the two truly long-distance trains of the five featured here was the New York Central’s 20th Century Limited, which offered a super fast schedule of making the trip between New York City and Chicago in 16 hours, departing each evening at six. Being called a “National Institution” and the “Most Famous Train in the World,” it was the train of tycoons and stars. For its launch in 1938, designer Henry Dreyfuss gave the New York Central’s J-3a steam locomotives and Pullman cars a new streamlined design. Ever wonder about the term, “red carpet?” According to this article in the New York Social Diary, writer Michael Grace states, “From 1938 until the last run in 1968, passengers walked down a crimson carpet to their waiting cars” (but in New York only).
The Pennsylvania Railroad’s Congressional, their premier train between the New York Metropolitan area and Washington, D. C., had its beginnings in 1885, when it was called the Congressional Limited Express. From those early days, and for most of its first 50 years, it was pulled by steam locomotives. And, for the first 25 years, the end of the line was Jersey City, New Jersey, as the rail tunnel under the Hudson River did not open until 1910. The modern era for the Congressional began on February 1, 1935, when the New York to Washington route took on the slogan “Every Mile Electrified” and the Pennsy’s new GG-1 electric locomotives — with its looks greatly enhanced by industrial designer Raymond Loewy, who also restyled the passenger cars’ interiors — became the power for most of the trains traveling the route, which included stops in Newark, New Brunswick, Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore.
The Super Chief was the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway’s (known generally as the “Santa Fe”) and was the first diesel-powered all-Pullman sleeping car train in America, claiming to be “The Train of the Stars” because of the many celebrities it carried between Chicago and Los Angeles. It began scheduled service in May of 1937 using the Electro-Motive Corporation’s new E-1 type of diesel locomotive pulling luxurious stainless steel cars. From the beginning the engines were dressed in Santa Fe’s distinctive red-and-silver “warbonnet” paint scheme. Initially, the Super Chief only made one round-trip per week … daily service would not begin until after World War Two ended. Also to be noted, while most historical information — including the back of the stamp — about the Super Chief reference the EMD E-1 as being the train’s power, this stamp displays the artist’s conception of an ALCO (American Locomotive Company) Model PA, which began pulling the Super Chief in 1948. The New York Social Diary website has a fascinating article about this luxurious train as well.
The Daylight … running between San Francisco and Los Angeles … was the Southern Pacific Railroad’s contribution to luxury train travel. The Daylight Limited was first introduced in April 1922, with the trip taking thirteen hours. For the first couple of years, it ran only on Fridays and Saturdays, but by 1924 was operating daily and had reduced travel time to 12 hours. The streamlined Daylight began in March of 1937, being pulled by a Lima Locomotive Works Model GS-2 steam locomotive with running time reduced to less than 10 hours depot to depot. The next upgrade came in 1941 when new GS-4 locomotives took over and the entire train was decked out in a bright red-and-orange paint scheme — a magnificent sight as it traveled along the California coast between the two cities, leading the Daylight to be dubbed the “Most Beautiful Train in the World.” It continued to be powered by a steam locomotive until January of 1955 … just about the last long-distance passenger train to finally switch to diesel power.
If you’d like to learn more about and see images of the thousands of stamps – including 70 related to trains and railroads – which have been issued over the history of the U. S. Postal Service, I invite you to visit the U. S. Stamp Gallery website.
Marlin, Somewhere I have a set of those RR postal stamps
Good post, Marlin.
The SF Warbonnet is a key element of our HO model railroad that we are lucky to have here at Stoneridge Creek Retirement.
During the Winter holidays, we run 3-rail in the lobby for the old-timers that remember their 1950s trains.
The Lionel 1950s 3-rail model was fashioned after the F3, so it's still my favorite.
Thank you, Ron, for checking in from northern California! I grew up with those Lionel O-27 three-rail models, although during my son’s growing-up years, we together built a fairly large HO layout.
I have both the American Flyer S guage Superchief set, which includes Alco Pa’s along with the 1991 Lionel issue of their Superchief, with the additional F3b dummies and cars which were sold. Although I have run the Lionel ATSF F units. I never ran the cars. Eventually, a new layout will be built, so that both Lionel and American Flyer may run on separate loops, as the tracks used vary. The Sante Fe RR made a promotional film in 1948, advertising the SC, in which the footage was used in other promo films and TV shows.