1949 Chicago Railroad Fair - Big Boy Locomotive

Description: 1949 Chicago Railroad Fair - Big Boy Locomotive: The Chicago Railroad Fair was an event organized to celebrate and commemorate 100 years of railroad history west of Chicago, Illinois. It was held in Chicago in 1948 and 1949 along the shore of Lake Michigan and is often referred to as "the last great railroad fair" with 39 railroad companies participating. The board of directors for the show was a veritable "Who's Who" of railroad company executives. The origin of the fair traces back to the Chicago and North Western Railway (CNW), which at the time was the successor of the first railroad to operate out of Chicago, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad. CNW was seeking a way to commemorate 100 years of railroading in Chicago, especially as it was done on the CNW itself. Public Relations Manager F.V. Koval is credited with developing the idea behind the fair. The CNW advertising and public relation staff went to work to promote the show in the early months of 1948, beginning with a series of photographs made by company photographer Don Lidikay of people in 19th century costumes posing with the locomotive Pioneer, which had pulled the first train out of Chicago in 1848. The card's face informs with a description of the shown locomotive: "Big Boy, a giant 4-8-8-4 Mallet type engine, is 133 feet long, nearly one-half the length of a city block, weighs 1,208,750 pounds, and has a fuel capacity of 28 tons. This monster of the rails is hinged in the center to permit it to take curves it otherwise could not accomplish. One Big Boy does the work which formerly required two locomotives, and when under full steam consumes 100,000 pounds of water and 22,000 pounds of coal per hour. It sets a world standard for size and power. Union Pacific Railroad has a large fleet of these giants in service." This Photochromatic postcard for the 1949 fair Advertises the Union Pacific Railroad on the card's reverse. "Travelers think of Union Pacific when they plan trips to or from the Scenic West - Denver - Salt Lake City - Los Angeles - San Francisco - Portland. Fine streamliners and other comfortable passenger trains daily via Union Pacific." This Photochromatic postcard is in good condition. Union Pacific Railroad Company. Omaha, Nebraska.

Price: 9 USD

Location: Brooklyn, New York

End Time: 2024-11-23T04:05:29.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD

Product Images

Item Specifics

Restocking Fee: No

Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer

All returns accepted: Returns Accepted

Item must be returned within: 14 Days

Refund will be given as: Money Back

Unit of Sale: Single Unit

Size: Standard (5.5x3.5 in)

Material: Paper

Year Manufactured: 1949

City: Chicago

Original/Licensed Reprint: Original

Brand/Publisher: Union Pacific Railroad Company

Subject: 1949 Chicago Railroad Fair

Continent: North America

Type: Printed (Lithograph)

Era: Photochrome (1939-Now)

Country: United States

Region: Illinois

Theme: Advertising, Architecture, Cities & Towns, Events, Exposition, Transportation, Big Boy Locomotive, Trains, Chicago and North Western Railway (CNW)

Features: Panoramic

Time Period Manufactured: 1940-1949

Country/Region of Manufacture: United States

Postage Condition: Posted