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
