All photos and videos, copyright individual owners/organizations. Great depression of 1930s almost managed to completely destroy US railway industry. It later expanded upon this with 1939's FT model for freight service. By 1925 the price had dropped to just $260, making the Model T easily affordable for many. The #103 set embarked on an 11-month, 84,000 mile tour in November, 1939. With an average speed of 78 mph it completed the 1,015-mile trip in just 14 hours, arriving in the Windy City at 7:10 PM. U.S. embraced four time zones only after trains enabled fast travel across the continent. Its form and function could be found in early diesel models like the EA, the M-10000, and the Pioneer Zephyr. What the railroad dubbed simply as, "The Streamliner," was also the work of Pullman-Standard. Railroads In The 1950's, An Industry In Decline The streamliner craze that was so prevalent during the 1930s had slowed down by the late 1940s, although train travel remained a popular mode of transportation for most during the decade. Currently U.S. has less than 170,000 miles of railways, but in 1916 they had over 254 thousand! German high-speed trains of the 1930s Immer schneller! For many a fledgling operator, the introduction into outdoor show business was on a shoestring budget. The 1930's was a decade of mostly tolerance towards the hobo. It was also a three-car articulated design. If you are researching anything EMD related please visit this page first. As Mike Schafer and Joe Welsh note in their book, "Streamliners: History Of A Railroad Icon," Union Pacific conceived a radical new concept during the early 1930's; a high-speed trainset utilizing a 600 horsepower distillate engine provided by the Winton Engine Company. The "Golden Age" Comes To A Close, 1900-1920 Railroads In World War II, The 1940s The Industry In Decline, The 1950s Mergers And Bankruptcies, The 1960s And 1970s Railroads Of Today, The 1980s Onward. In 1930 average new house cost $7,145.00 and by 1939 was $3,800.00 More In 1930 the average income per year was $1,970.00 and by 1939 was $1,730.00 In 1930 a gallon of gas was 10 cents and by 1939 was 10 cents In 1930 the average cost of new car was $640.00 and by 1939 was $700.00 More However, most are big, expensive, and associated with rich kids. Diesel Train Facts From the 1930s, diesel locomotives started to replace steam engines. At the time, this new form of motive power was largely confined to switcher and secondary assignments. Early pioneers of train development were James Watt, Oliver Evans, Matthew Murray. These fast, colorful trainsets were an instant sensation and the entire industry took notice. miles long. Getty Images. In 1916 the industry handled roughly 1 billion travelers. For traditional railroads, so accustomed to handling most of the country's freight and passengers, they were unwilling to so easily throw in the towel. The Zephyr held less seating, just 72 paying customers. Many were pulled up in the 1970's and 1980's although others were removed long before that. In terms of rail travel's "Golden Age," streamliners were a relatively late concept. Those trains go over 40 thousand bridges and tunnels. Largest modern manufacturers of trains are General Electric and EMD (Electro-Motive Diesel). This freight train from Australia was 7.3 kilometers long and had the weight of 27 thousand fully The industry was facing a terrible dilemma as both freight tonnage and the passenger market were down significantly. They saw many successful years of a service. G.W. The winds were also shifting in other ways. At the height of the Great Depression, more than a quarter million teenagers were living on the road in America, many criss-crossing the country by illegally hopping freight trains. Shortly thereafter the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy unveiled its Zephyr 9900 (later renamed the Pioneer Zephyr) at Philadelphia's Broad Street Station on April 18, 1934. During the 1930s, the motion picture industry experienced revolutions in sound and color production. Trains are one of the most eco-friendly ways you can travel. Railroading's losses in the passenger market were staggering and immediate. You can see more of these pictures at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsowhome.html Today 40% of world’s freight cargo is transported via trains, and that number continues to grow with each year. Guy Dunscomb photo. In the 1930s the Reichsbahn together with German industry developed the so-called Fliegende Züge, including the Flying Hamburger. You can see the newsreel of the wreckage here. Such deep in-roads were already well understood by the dying interurban industry. Streamlined rail motorcars would appear again in the early 1930s after the internal combustion-electric propulsion technology developed by General Electric and promoted by the Electro-Motive Company became the accepted technology for rail motorcars in the 1920s. WW1 and WW2 could not become so big and long lasting without the help of railway networks and heavy industrial trains. Cowen designed his first train, the Electric Express, not as a toy, but as an eye-catching display for toy stores. A highly recommended database! The longest train station in England is little over 600 meters long. According to the book, "The American Diesel Locomotive" by Brian Solomon, EMC's first main line models were three 1,800 horsepower boxcabs (utilizing two Winton 201-A, V-12 prime movers) unveiled in 1935. This time railroads were prepared for the onslaught of traffic and no government oversight was needed. 1930s City of San Francisco Streamliner: Colorized by Imbued with Hues. The term has also been used to include new technological applications such as roller-bearings, mechanical stokers, and outside valve gear. by Justin Franz July 1, 2019 For 40 Years, Crashing Trains Was One of America’s Favorite Pastimes By the early 1930s, with the nation mired in the Great Depression, many During the 1920's, diesel locomotive usage was growing. managed to stop. Built in 1926, No. Great depression of 1930s almost managed to completely destroy US railway industry. Historian John Stover notes in his book, "The Routledge Historical Atlas Of The American Railroads," in 1895 a grand total of four automobiles were manufactured in the United States. Believers in Electro-Motive (and ultimately long-time buyers of its locomotives), the B&O and Santa Fe both tested and purchased the FT.  Other notables included Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Great Northern; Southern Railway; Boston & Maine; Chicago & North Western; and Missouri Pacific. In his book, "Vintage Diesel Locomotives," author Mike Schafer notes General Electric earned distinction as helping design America's first commercial diesel locomotive, Jay Street Connecting #4, manufactured in October, 1918. One of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy's new "Zephyr" trainsets is seen here stopped at La Crosse, Wisconsin during the summer of 1939. The streamliner era is, of course, the decade's best remembered moment, even in the midst of the Great Depression. Air conditioning on trains did not become a practical reality until the 1930s, so summer travel could be hot, humid, and dusty all at once. The work of the Budd Company (a Pullman competitor), its prime mover was the Winton eight-cylinder 201-A diesel engine capable of 660 horsepower. They were cheaper and faster. Despite the nation's relatively poor road conditions the automobile was nevertheless convenient and immensely popular. The first orphan train left Boston in 1850 and carried 30 homeless waifs to New Hampshire and Vermont. To begin, trains of the 1930’s was the decade where the steam liner era was beginning and the diesel electric locomotive was created.According to “American-rails website, the diesel-electric locomotive was a great invention (DieselLocomotive 123). April 2015. re tours. grown elephants. In 1998 a gentleman by the name of Andre Kristopans put together a web page highlighting virtually every unit every out-shopped by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. But then, Henry Ford introduced the assembly line and, coupled with the internal combustion engine's introduction some years earlier, his Model T debuted on October 1, 1908. He reached the speed of 584km per hour and then braked for 16 kilometers before it While these early designs were somewhat successful it was not until the development of Electro-Motive's FT for main line freight service was the industry convinced of the diesel's true capabilities. The 1930’s was a period of great innovation in rail technology. Its primary upgrade was the utilization of a new engine, General Motors' model 567, which made its debut in late 1938. Just two years after these two pioneering streamliners were introduced the Electro-Motive Corporation unveiled its first stand-alone diesel locomotives. By 1927, some 15 million had been manufactured and vehicle registrations jumped from 3 million in 1916 to 23 million by 1929. Currently England has over 15 thousand kilometers of working railways, with 14353 used for passenger trains. By the early 1930's the industry was no longer recognized in its original form. British Pathé. The "Super Power" concept was also in full swing. Trains have played an important role in Italian history since the first half of the 19th century, when the country started laying down its first railways – State property to this day, although since 2000 private company trains have started running on them. Total area of contact between train wheels and rail is little larger than one silver dollar. Just like the original passenger "E" series models, the FT was gracefully streamlined. Many were pulled up in the 1970's and 1980's although others were removed long before that. First high-speed trains ware Japan’s electric “bullet trains” running between Tokyo and Osaka in 1964. It also earned the greatest fanfare during its historic initial run on May 26, 1934. Not only did railroads see record freight traffic during this time but also a passenger renaissance. By 1840, United States had 60 different railroads in 26 states, with combined length of 4500 km. Seaboard Air Line E4A #3005 with the "Orange Blossom Special" at St. Petersburg, Florida, circa 1939. 's demonstration of modern freight transport. The A-B-B-A set encompassed four, individual locomotives which could produce a combined 5,400 horsepower. It is 478 kilometers long. Just type in a town or city and click on the timeline of maps at the bottom of the page! Those trains go over 40 thousand bridges and In the late 1920s, the Pennsylvania and Santa Fe railroads set up a rail-air-rail relay that whisked passengers from New York to Los Angeles in 48 hours. Maglev trains can reach speeds of over 550 km/h, but by the year 2020 they will most probably come close to 800 km/h. Alas, in 2013 the site closed by thankfully Don Strack rescued the data and transferred it over to his UtahRails.net site (another fine resource). The railroad had first acquired these locomotives for its new "Silver Meteor" streamliner which also debuted that year. Railroads entered the 1930s with great uncertainty following 1929's stock market crash which caused a nationwide economic collapse. The longest route for one train can be made between Moscow and Vladivostok on Trans-Siberian Express railway line that is 9,297 kilometers long! It is an excellent resource with thousands of historic maps on file throughout the country. The information includes original numbers, serials, and order numbers. It was the first to feel these effects. It resulted in major systems like The “Gilly” show was entirely different in operation than the flatcar circus and carnival. Western Maryland 2-8-0 #835 (Class H-9) leads the assault up legendary Black Fork Grade near Hendricks, West Virginia on November 13, 1952. "Talkies" were being introduced at the beginning of the decade, and most 1930s films were black-and-white. 1930s: Accurate model trains in O scale and later HO scale, more realistic in proportion and detail than "toy" trains, come into existence. It was the South's first and proved immensely successful. It describes late era variants, beginning with the 2-8-4, which featured larger fireboxes and super-heaters. Prior to its debut trains had largely been viewed as mundane machines used for transportation between two points. World's Largest Railway Wagon (1930) A Garratt type locomotive pulls the world's largest railway wagon (220 feet) at L.N.E.R. As Dr. George Hilton and John Due's point out in their authoritative book, "The Electric Interurban Railways In America," had Ford's Model T been unveiled just a few decades sooner, this unique aspect of American transportation would likely have never existed. The movement also received a boost from the unique Art Deco era, which took off during the 1920's. Two car railroad shows began around the 1890s. It’s hard to believe those games are that old! While initially skeptical most railroads which tested the demonstrator set were left completely mesmerized. Grand Central station in New York has 44 passenger platforms. Often the only way they could get there was by hopping on freight trains, illegally. These shows came to be known as “Two Car Shows”since that is exactly what most of them h… Only the strongest managed to avoid bankruptcy. They are primarily kits built by adult craftsmen. During Lionel's early days, Americans were captivated by the railroads and awed by electricity, still a rarity in many homes. It resulted in major systems like the Rock Island (1933), Milwaukee Road (1935), Erie (1938), Chicago & North Western (1935), and New York, New Haven & Hartford (1935) all entering receivership. Freight paid the bills and one by one, FT demonstrator set #103 made believers out of skeptics. British writer Tim Parks has recently published a beautiful book about his […] With new technologies rapidly evolving, America entered World War II on December 7, 1941. As Mike Schafer notes in his book, "Vintage Diesel Locomotives," at the zenith of Electro-Motive's dominance the builder controlled a staggering 90% of the diesel locomotive market, worldwide. Today’s “high-speed” Acela service on … Amtrak’s Empire Builder 1958: Services from Seattle/Portland to … Today, there are tens of thousands of miles scattered throughout the country. Current speed record for trains is held by French TGV bullet train. EMC also manufactured two demonstrator units, #511 and #512. Even by 1929 railroads realized the future of rail travel was bleak; that year they handled 34 billion passenger miles compared to the automobiles' 175 billion. Pullman and American Passenger Trains – Social History – Photos – 1940s and 1950s – The Golden Age of American Passenger Trains… New York Central’s streamlined Mercury One of New York Central’s two class K-5a Pacifics (Nos. It's not certain if these were acts of charity or an attempt to stop hobos from breaking into sealed cars. They achieved a top speed of 160 km/h and brought German cities closer together. Today, Japan's Bullet Train can make the trip from Tokyo to Osaka in just two and a half hours, and Amtrak is working on high-speed trains to launch in 2021. In the last year of the decade, however, two Technicolor masterpieces, "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone with the Wind," were released. Variants of this engine remained in production through the mid-1960's. Train pictures from the FSA-OWI collection. The website contains everything from historic (fallen flags) to contemporary (Class I's, regionals, short lines, and even some museums/tourist lines) rosters, locomotive production information, technical data, all notable models cataloged by the five major builders (American Locomotive, Electro-Motive, General Electric, Fairbanks-Morse, and Baldwin), and much more. Few could afford the initial outlay of money that was required to get a show of any decent size on the road. Bill Price photo. This proved quite true as Electro-Motive dominated the diesel market for the next six decades. East and West coast of North America was linked with railway network on May 10, 1866 by uniting Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads. 70% of all train journeys in England either start or finish in London. It was also the most successful. The diesel was refined and improved until a fairly robust switcher market, largely controlled by American Locomotive, General Electric, and Electro-Motive, had been established by the 1930's. You will be hard pressed at finding a better online resource regarding diesel locomotives than Craig Rutherford's TheDieselShop.us. That’s as large as 6 football fields. The machine's initial price tag of $850 put it within reach for some Americans. The days of steam were numbered... During the 1920's, railroads remained the dominant mode of transportation. Wes Barris's SteamLocomotive.com is simply the best web resource in the study of steam locomotives. However, it was Ford's continued drive to reduce costs which forever changed America. Joseph Barry, the Children’s Mission’s first agent, found a 13-year-old girl … A flagship locomotive of “the Southern,” the 1401 rolled on the Charlotte Division, between Greenville, South Carolina, and Salisbury, North Carolina. The 1930's were a fascinating time in locomotive development; steam power was reaching its technological apex with magnificent designs like the 4-8-4, 4-6-6-4, and "Duplex Drive" all in development at that time. During that time it operated on 20 Class I railroads and visited 35 states. Then the Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) took things a step further. Streamlined train. Unfortunately, their dependence on the most fickle [and unprofitable] of traffic (commuters), general poor construction, insignificant rate of return, and an extremely high operating ratio (as of 1924, it averaged 85%) resulted in their steep decline by World War I. The public now had the freedom to travel when and where they pleased at little cost. As EMC stated in 1925, "We're selling a standard car engineered by us, and bearing a standard price tag." It’s hard to grasp now how much the introduction of railroads and railway services during the late 18th century and early 19th century forever changed the way we commute, travel, and transport our stock and goods. For example some railroads would attach empty box cars to freight trains to accommodate the large numbers of hobos. A popular pastime for many is studying and/or exploring abandoned rights-of-way. Futuristic Photos of Streamlined Art Deco Trains from the 1930s. Some countries in the world had to deal with it until the onset of the Second World War. The Children’s Mission to the Children of the Destitute sent them.A Protestant charity, it sent agents to search the streets, docks, theaters and railway stations for ‘street arabs’ and guttersnipes – in other words, children in need of supervision. If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Historical Topographic Map Explorer. Jun 20, 2018 Alex .A. In the 1930s the London & North Eastern Railway ran its ‘Quicker By Rail’ campaign to remind people that the speediest way of getting to their favourite resorts was by train. It is difficult to truly articulate just how much material can be found at this website. Pettengill photo/Warren Calloway collection/Tom Alderman colorization. This service sadly suffered the first fatal crash of a streamliner in the history of railroading in 1939. © Copyright 2007-2021 American-Rails.com. These electrified, rapid transit railroads sprang up in the 1890's and culminated into a 15,000-mile network by 1916. Railroads entered the 1930s with great uncertainty following 1929's stock market crash which caused a nationwide economic collapse. However, the CB&Q arguably boasted the much more reliable train since its diesel engine had fewer mechanical issues. Then, in 1935, Electro-Motive unveiled a main line variant for passenger service. Traveling by train was pretty swanky from the 1930s to the 1960s, and it hasn't gone out of style. The modern age of trains begun in early 1800s after the initial patent of James Watt for stationary steam engine expired. That day the trainset left Denver at 5:05 AM in anticipation of reaching Chicago later that evening. © 2021 - Train History | Privacy Policy | Contact. Two years later, their nearly identical streamlined cousins were acquired by the Baltimore & Ohio (listed as model EA) and, again, Santa Fe (E1). Capable of reaching 110 mph it was an immediate success that wowed and stunned the public. It was also employed liberally by interior car designers. This small network of tunnels had problems with steam engine smoke, but its popularity never wavered. The steam locomotive, having dominated overland transport for almost a century, was for the first time challenged by alternative modes, most significantly in the form of the automobile, and the diesel locomotive. But it was not uncommon for the Zephyr or other trains to hit speeds of more than 100 mph in the 1930s. First underground railway was also made in London. It is a must visit! Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. By the 1940's, many of the largest railroads were jumping on board, forever changing rail travel. 1920s: Toy electric trains blossom in popularity in what today is known as the "Golden Age." They featured a B-B wheel arrangement and weighed 240,000 pounds; two went to the Santa Fe (famously nicknamed "Amos & Andy" they were used on the "Chief" and operated as a pair, "Diesel Locomotive #1") and one, #50, to the Baltimore & Ohio. A popular pastime for many is studying and/or exploring abandoned rights-of-way. In an attempt to reignite interest, Union Pacific and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy devised the streamliner concept. If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the, You will be hard pressed at finding a better online resource regarding diesel locomotives than Craig Rutherford's, In 1998 a gentleman by the name of Andre Kristopans put together a web page highlighting virtually every unit every out-shopped by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. The amount of information found there is quite staggering; historical backgrounds of wheel arrangements, types used by virtually every railroad, preserved and operational examples, and even those used in other countries (North America and beyond). More than two million men and perhaps 8,000 women became hoboes. As 1940 dawned, diesels and streamliners were the order of day. Arthur Rothstein photo. The 197-foot train featured a simple, yet elegant, sloped nose to enhance its streamlining features with accommodations including the combined power car/Railway Post Office/mail-storage area, a baggage/coach, and a coach-parlor-observation. Longest stretch of perfectly straight railway track is located in Australia. This number had declined to just 700 million by 1930 and would be further reduced by another 35.7% during the next decade. Buses were a particular threat; they already controlled 15% of the commercial passenger market by 1929, a number which jumped to 38% by 1950. The girls had all different kinds of dolls and doll houses to choose from. The Robot Rail-Layer (1930) A big robotic machine picks up old railway track and lays new sections, it can do half a mile a day. The "Zephyr's" were a radical departure from anything the public had previously seen. The traveling public was abandoning trains for two primary reasons; the economy and the automobile's affordability. In 1957, the high-speed diesel Trans-Europe Express linked the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, France and Germany. Heaviest train ever recorded weighted 95,000 tonnes! Facts about Life in America in the 1930s 3: recovering the Great Depression. Today, there are tens of thousands of miles scattered throughout the country. Most which did survive to World War II did so as short line freight railroads. First commercial steam train (Stephenson’s “Rocket”) managed to reach the speed of 96 kilometers per hour in 1830. However, their monopoly was in jeopardy. Without the railroads, victory in World War II would not have been possible. Alas, in 2013 the site closed by thankfully Don Strack rescued the data and transferred it over to his, The "Golden Age" Comes To A Close, 1900-1920, Mergers And Bankruptcies, The 1960s And 1970s. East Coast by rail Poster produced for London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1933 to … tunnels. Western Pacific FT's, wearing the road's original livery, rest between assignments at Keddie, California during August of 1949. It seems that the recovery took a very long period. It's livery featured what Union Pacific called "Canary Yellow" and "Golden Brown," (the former chosen specifically for safety reasons) while accommodations were relatively modest featuring just a 60-seat coach and buffet-kitchen-observation. 1401 is one of 64 locomotives of its class that ran on the Southern Railway from the mid-1920s until the early 1950s. Air travel was also catching on, even though by 1939 this new industry was still in its infancy and transported only 2% of commercial passenger traffic. Currently England has over 15 thousand kilometers of working railways, with 14353 used for passenger trains. By the mid-1930, the economists tried hard to recover the effect of Great Depression. All content copyright American-Rails.com (unless otherwise noted). Some legendary board games did come out in the 1930s, like Monopoly, Scrabble and Sorry! From 1896 until the 1930s, showmen would travel the country staging wrecks at state fairs. At least 6,500 hoboes were killed in one year either in accidents or by railroad "bulls," brutal guards hired by the railroads to make sure the trains carried only paying customers. The rich kids had Erector sets, toy trains and air rifles. This 3000 The 1930s brought hard times, and the records set by the Castles and Kings were surpassed by other companies, but the company remained in relatively good financial health despite the Depression.