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Approximately $3,000,000 was spent on construction of the building and assembling the exhibits.

The whole enterprise mounted by the Eastern Presidents Conference was viewed by the main fair's organisers as "a miniature World's Fair ... a self-contained educational institution where the lessons the great railroad history has to teach will be offered to the public in an interesting manner, spiced with dignified and elaborate entertainment features."

Above, a postcard view of the
main entrance to the Railroads Building. Designed by the architectural firm Eggers &
Higgins with exterior Art Deco murals by Griffith Baily Coale and 150,000 square feet of floorspace,
it was the largest building at the fair.

Below, another postcard view of the main entrance to the Railroads Building.

Above, a model of the railroad display from the May 1939 edition of the Baltimore & Ohio Magazine, but without the western semi-circular exhibition spaces 3, 4 and 5, which must have been agreed as a late addition to the structure.

Below, the Yard provided a full-size reproduction of an old-time passenger station and its surroundings, in which were displayed engines, such as the "Jupiter", the "Thatcher Perkins", the "Ross Winans"and New York Central #999 when not participating in the "Railroads on Parade" pageant.

The two main entrances each took forms reminiscent of a railroad roundhouse.

Above, the S-shaped building was nearly a mile and a quarter long.

Inside, as well as the "Railroads in Action" and "Building the Railroads" dioramas, were hundreds of individual displays explaining how the railroads worked and what their service meant to the nation. There were also
railroad supplier exhibits and displays of the products of other firms associated with supplying the railroad industry. Outside, 3,600 feet of railroad track had been
laid to accommodate static engines, passenger cars,
other motive power and rolling stock intended to demonstrate the most up to date developments in railroad engineering. These included the 608,000 lb the Pennsylvania Railroad S-1 6-4-6 #6100 operating under its own power on a roller-bed.

The "General" and Minnetonka are in the immediate foreground of the view above.

Three dispatchers controlled the layout and 300,000 feet of wire was needed for the 24 volt DC control system.

Seventy thousand wood ties ballasted with loose crushed blue stone were used, and there were five hundred individual red, amber and green lights for the signalling system, one hundred
and twenty-five switches, ten double slips and two rigid
crossovers. The foreground equipment was 'O' gauge but, to produce the effect of distance, 'OO' models of the same trains reappeared far back in the layout. Sixty locomotives were used, mainly Northern (4-8-4), Hudson (4-6-4), Pacific (4-6-2) and Mikado (2-8-2), but also oil-electric, overhead electric and multiple unit
cars.

An auditorium with seating for 1,000 featured a diorama 160-feet wide and 40-feet deep contained miniature railroads with more than 500 pieces of rolling stock. The trains traveled through model cities, towns, and villages, across bridges, through tunnels and past farms and factories. The display consisted of more than 3,800 feet of track, 1,000 miniature buildings and 6,000 trees.

Fifty contractors worked on the exhibit, which was designed by the railroad engineer Paul Penhune. Each thirty-five minute
long performance began under a starlit, early morning sky.
Dawn breaks and activity intensifies throughout the day. The finale comes with dusk, with lights coming on gradually in
cities and towns and on the trains, while the coal loaded steamship heads out to sea, its course pointed by lighted beacons.

Above, the freight yards, textile plant and stock yards.

On a spiral ramp encircling the diorama, visitors followed in detail the various steps in railroad construction from the clearing of a right-of-way to the finished system and rolling stock, and a modern city terminal.

The landscape featured forests, quarries,
mines, smelters, steel mills, factories and
farms. Various activities were portrayed by working models of railroad shops, while miniature trains engaged in marshalling, and hauling freight, high-speed passenger and suburban service.

Above, an open iron ore mine, coal mine and a steel and allied products plant.

Above, in the left background, a lumber camp where timber is cut, and a woodworking plant. In the center background is a brickyard. At the extreme right is a cement plant whose product has been used in building the concrete dam and structures for the hydroelectric power plant in the foreground.

Within the mountain, motion pictures of different manufacturing processes were shown and finished products displayed. When the visitor reached the interior of the model, there was a series of supplementary exhibits, including operating models of equipment as well as further motion pictures showing details of railroad supply and equipment activities.

Left, the program cover. "Railroads on Parade" enacted a narrative of railroads in American life.

The script was written by Edward Hungerford, who had scripted and directed the Fair of the Iron Horse pageant in Halethorpe, MD, in 1927, and the “Wings of a Century” pageant at the Chicago World’s Fair 1933-34. The music and chorus was composed by Kurt Weill, set design and costumes by Harry Horner with the assistance of Howard Ketcham and A. Sheldon Pennoyer, Gibbs & Hill were the engineers, dances were choreographed by Bill Matons and the narration was provided by Ellen Love and John O’Shaugnessy.

Above, like Hungerford's two earlier pageants, "Railroads on Parade" started with the earliest forms of transport.

Left, it included an enactment of striking the golden spike at Promontory, UT, in 1869 and, below, In the grand finale or epilogue, “The Railroad Triumphant", two early locomotives and rotating pairs of modern locomotives enter slowly from the wings and end up pilot-to-pilot, while the entire cast comes on stage and the chorus sings Kurt Weill’s “Mile after Mile”.

On a stage 250 feet wide and 100 feet deep, three railroad tracks ran across the foreground of the area, with a two level raised stage behind. Beyond that, a shallow section allowed "flats" representing ships and locomotives to cross the background. Fifteen different steam locomotives and various historic pieces of rolling stock were employed in the staging.

Two hundred and fifty actors lip-synched to voices piped in from a special sound room below the stage, where the orchestra was also located. The amphitheatre seated over 4,000. The show was presented four times daily, at 2:15 and 4:15 each afternoon, and 7:15 and 9:15 each evening and was one of the most popular attractions at the fair: in 1939, nearly one and a quarter million paid to see it.

Above, Pennsylvania Railroad #3768 and Delaware, Lackawanna & Western #1151.

This engine, the "Atlantic" is actually the "Andrew Jackson" #7, built in 1836 and adapted in 1892 to resemble "Atlantic" #2 for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, IL. The original "Atlantic" was built in 1832 by Phineas Davis and Israel Gartner of York, PA, but it had been scrapped in 1835.

With its vertical driving rods, the "Atlantic" is an example of what was known as a "grasshopper" type locomotive and it was
the first commercially successful and
practical American built locomotive. Andrew Jackson, the first sitting president to use a railroad, rode behind the original "Atlantic" in 1833.

The rebuilt "Atlantic" weighs 13½ tons with 36" drivers and 12½" x 22" cylinders. A coal burner operating at a boiler pressure of 75 psi, it produced 6,915 lbs tractive effort. This version of the “Atlantic” was also displayed at the 1927 Fair of the Iron Horse, the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair and the 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair.

The “Atlantic” has been preserved and you can see photos and find out more about it on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum Roundhouse page of this website.

Above, this 0-4-0 type locomotive on display in the hall of the Railroads Exhibit Building started life as the "John Hancock". Built by George Gillingham and Ross Winans in 1836, it was numbered #8 in 1851 when the B&O stopped naming locomotives and then, in 1884, #3, as the third oldest B&O locomotive in existence. The sharply angled upright walking beams earned this design the designation of "grasshoppers"

The locomotive worked at Mt. Clare until 1892 when it was retired and rebuilt for display at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, IL. At that time, it was incorrectly named the "Thomas Jefferson", which had been the railroad’s first #3 "Grasshopper" locomotive.

The engine also appeared as the "Thomas Jefferson" at the 1927 Fair of the Iron Horse, the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair and the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, as did the so-called "Bride's Coach" to which it is coupled above. By the time it was displayed at the 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair, it had returned to its original name of "John Hancock". You can find out more about it on theBaltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum Roundhouse page of this website.

This replica of the 4-2-0 "Lafayette" was built at the
B&O's Mt. Clare workshops in 1927 for the Fair of the Iron Horse and displayed as the "William Galloway". Built by William Norris in 1837, the original "Lafayette" was the first horizontal boilered locomotive built for the B&O, more powerful and fuel efficient than its vertical boilered ones. It was also the first commercially produced with a swivelling four wheel pilot truck and may have been the first standardised production model.

The engine was also displayed at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair, the 1939-40 New York World's Fair and the 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair. You can find out more about the "Lafayette" on the B&O Railroad Museum Roundhouse page of this website.

This American type (4-4-0) wood burning
locomotive was built by the Mason Machine
Works in Taunton, MA, in 1856 as #25. Renumbered #55 in 1882, it returned to #25 in 1892 and was
named "William Mason" in 1927 in honour of its builder when it appeared at the Fair of the Iron Horse.

With an engine wheelbase of 20' 9" and driver wheelbase of 7', #25 weighs 56,000 lbs, 40,500 lbs
on its 60" drivers. It has Stephenson valve gear,
16" x 22" cylinders, a 15 sq ft grate, 86.5 sq ft firebox and a total heating surface of 784 sq ft. Operating at a boiler pressure of 100 psi it delivers 6,225 lbs tractive effort.

#25 was also displayed at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair and the 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair. It is the oldest operating steam locomotive in the US and has had a long career, appearing in many movies, including The Swan (1956) with Grace Kelley and Alec Guinness, as the "General" in Walt Disney's The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) and in the Civil War drama Raintree County (1957), in Tuck Everlasting (2002) and Gods and Generals (2003).

The “William Mason” has been preserved and you can see photos and find out more about it on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum Roundhouse page of this website.

Above, Baltimore & Ohio #147, the "Thatcher Perkins", a Ten Wheeler (4-6-0) type locomotive built at the B&O's Mt. Clare shops in 1863. It was one of eleven Ten Wheelers designed by B&O Master of Machinery, Thatcher Perkins. It was renumbered #282 in 1884 and was preserved by the railroad in 1892, when it was renumbered to represent another Ten Wheeler built in 1863, #117. The railroad gave the locomotive  the name "Thatcher Perkins" for the 1927 Fair of the Iron Horse.

#147 was also displayed at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair and the 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair. The "Thatcher Perkins" has been preserved. You can see photos and find out more about it on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum Roundhouse page of this website.

The "Ross Winans" was built in 1869 at the B&O's Mt. Clare shops as #305 and was renumbered #187 in 1884. It was retired in 1892 and began a career as an historic public relations locomotive, starting on display at the 1893 World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, IL, as #129 and then being renumbered as #217 in 1927 for the Fair of the Iron Horse.

This 4-6-0 (Ten Wheeler) type locomotive is a camel, with its cab mounted on top of the boiler, rather than straddling it. It was also displayed at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair and the 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair.

The "Ross Winans" has been preserved, and you can find out more about #305 on the B&O Railroad Museum Roundhouse page of this website.

A Mogul type (2-6-0), this locomotive was built in 1875 as #600 at the Baltimore & Ohio's Mount Clare works under the supervision of then Master of Machinery, John C. Davis. Built to haul mail and passenger express trains
over B&O's Keyser to Grafton, WV, division, it was the first Mogul type passenger locomotive on the B&O system.

#600 won first place at the US Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, PA, in 1876, where it was displayed as the then heaviest locomotive in the world. In 1884, it was renumbered #918 but, in 1893, returned to its original number. Retired in 1926, it appeared at the Fair of the Iron Horse the following year where it was named the "J. C. Davis".

You can see photos and find out more about the “J. C. Davis” on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum Roundhouse page of this website.

#600 was one of the more seriously damaged
locomotives in the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum's roundhouse roof collapse in February 2003. The cab was flattened. Only the front wall was left, but most of the cab appliances and controls appeared to be salvageable. Damage to the boiler top fittings included denting of the bell. The bell stand and yoke were also broken into pieces, and the whistle body and stem were bent. A number of gouges, dents and scrapes were sustained by the boiler jacket.

Above right, #5600's rear set of
18” x 26½” cylinders was placed beside the firebox, but here it was hot and dirty, which caused premature cylinder wear. It also limited the size of the firebox: 677 sq ft compared to #5510’s 877 sq ft, and required exceptionally long steam pipes.

The locomotive's grate was 80 sq ft and the total heating surface was 6,209 sq ft, including 1,312 sq ft superheating. Operating at a boiler pressure of 350 psi, it delivered 67,219 lbs tractive effort.

Clad in boiler jacketing that covered the usual array of external piping, the engine looked somewhat like a British built locomotive. It was named "George H. Emerson".

Intended for use on fast passenger services, the complexity of the design inevitably caused maintenance problems, however, and #5600 only served on light service. It was retired in 1943 and scrapped in 1950.

I haven't seen any evidence to bear this out (for example, photographs or other references) but, above, the "Book of the Pageant, Railroads on Parade" suggests that the Baltimore & Ohio "Royal Blue" may have been one of the various locomotives that participated at some stage in the closing grand finale or epilogue, “The Railroad Triumphant”.

Above, the Royal Blue behind B&O P7d #4304 on the B&O line's Thomas Viaduct with the London, Midland & Scottish "Coronation Scot" on its way to the New York World's Fair in 1939.

Twenty P7 Class Pacific type (4-6-2) locomotives were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA, in 1927 and known as the "President" Class. They were the last mass purchased passenger steam locomotives to operate on the Baltimore & Ohio.

The locomotives initially hauled the "Royal Blue" trains between Washington DC and Jersey City, NJ. They were originally liveried in olive green with gold and red detail although, over the years, their names and livery were sometimes changed. They also underwent numerous modifications, including four different firebox designs. #5301-#5304 were streamlined to a design by Otto Kuhler for the service in 1937 and reclassed as P7d. They had new frames and all axles were fitted with roller bearings. Although the streamlining was removed in 1940, it was reinstated in 1946 when the four locomotives were assigned to the shortlived "Cincinnatian" running from Baltimore, MD, to Cincinnati, OH (in 1950, the route was cut back to Detroit, MI, to Cincinnati, OH).

The locomotive weighs 326,000 lbs, 205,000 lbs on its drivers. The total engine wheelbase is 37' 8" and the driver wheelbase is 14'. The grate is 70.8 sq ft and the firebox has 81 sq ft of thermic syphons and 14 sq ft of arch tubes. With a total heating surface of 3,846 sq ft, including 932 sq ft superheating, #5300 operated at boiler pressure of 230 psi and delivered 49,882 lbs tractive effort. The tender weighs 218,000 lbs light, making a total weight of 544,000 lbs. The tender has a capacity of 11,000 gallons of water and 17½ tons of coal.

Unfortunately, none of the streamlined P7ds have survived. #5300, the first of the P7s, was named "President Washington" and was unveiled at the Fair of the Iron Horse in 1927. It is the only survivor of the class and you can see photos and find out more about it on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum Yard and Car Shop page of this website.

With Walschaert valve gear, 26” x 30” cylinders, total heating surface was 4,977 sq ft, including 1,123 sq ft superheating. Operating at a boiler pressure of 245 psi, they delivered 52,791 lbs tractive effort.

The tender weighed 313,100 lbs light and had a capacity of 15,800 gallons of water and 26 tons of coal.

Above, M-1 Class Hudson type (4-6-4) locomotive #1151 appeared at the fair in 1939 as semi-streamlined #1939. It regularly participated in the grand finale, “The Railroad Triumphant”.

Five of the class were built at Alco’s Schenectady, NY, works in 1937 (#1151-#1155) for express passenger service on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western.

With a 40’ 7” engine wheelbase and 14’ driver wheelbase, they weighed 377,000 lbs, 198,000 lbs on their 80” drivers. The grate was 81.5 sq ft and the 477 sq ft firebox heating surface included 100 sq ft of syphons, two in the firebox and one in the combustion chamber, and 27 sq ft of arch tubes.

Above, in the second year of the fair #1511 was renumbered #1940. DLW M-1 #1154 may also have participated at some stage in the closing grand finale or epilogue, “The Railroad Triumphant”, although not in a semi-streamlined condition.

The M-1s had a relatively short operating life. Ten years after delivery, as the DL&W completed dieselisation of its mainline passenger services, they were demoted to
lesser assignments, such as commuter trains and began to be seen on the eastern end of the railroad, although they did not survive much longer: all five were retired between 1951 and 1953 and were subsequently
scrapped.

Right and below, the Electro Motive Corporation built this E4 unit at its La Grange, IL, works in 1939.

The unit was numbered #1939, the first year of the fair, and stood outside the General Motors pavilion.

Below, this E6 demonstrator model was built by the Electro Motive Corporation in 1940. They were the last units designed by EMC before it became the Electro Motive Division, part of General Motors. Ninety-one A units were outshopped between 1939 and 1942.

Twenty-six cabless A6B units were also built from 1940 to 1942. Weighing 315,000 lbs (290,000 lbs for the B unit) the E6 was 71’ 1½” long. Two Winton 567 prime movers powered two GM D4 generators to drive two GM D7 traction motors each. With starting tractive effort of 56,500 lbs at 25% and 31,000 lbs at 11mph they had a top speed of 116 mph.

Like the E3, the E4 produced 2,000 hp from two 1,000 hp 12 cylinder 567A prime movers each powering a GM D4 generator to drive four GM D7 traction motors.

The E3s could reach a top speed of 116 mph.

All the E4s were built beetween 1938 and 1939 for the Seaboard Airline’s Silver Meteor and Orange Blossom Special services, thirteen A units and four cabless B units. After the fair, #1939 was renumbered #3013. #1939B was renumbered #1940 and then #3104 when it, too, went to the Seaboard.

No E4 units have survived, although the E4 was identical to the E3, except for having a pneumatically-operated nose door for crew movement between units. Only one E3 unit has survived. You can it, ACL #501, on the North Carolina Transportation Museum page of this website.

The streamlined locomotives were specially developed for the service, which was designed to compete with the rival services on the East Coast Main Line and were amongst the most powerful steam locomotives to operate on British Railways.

The first five locomotives, #6220–6224, were built in 1937 at Crewe. They were streamlined and painted Caledonian Railway blue with silver horizontal lines to match the Coronation Scot train they were built to haul. The second five locomotives, #6225–6229, were also streamlined, but were painted in the more traditional crimson lake, with gilt horizontal lining. This was to match the standard LMS stock and a planned brand new Coronation train made up of articulated coaches.

In January 1939, London, Midland & Scottish Railway #6229 above, built as the "Duchess of Hamilton" swapped identities with #6220 "Coronation" and was shipped to the US. It landed in Baltimore, MD, and then made a 3,121 mile publicity tour through the continental US arriving in New York on the 14th April.

The "Coronation Scot" was an LM&S passenger train inaugurated in 1937 for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Although a prototype of the train was built and exhibited in the US, it never went into service in the UK.

The service ran from 1937 until 1939 between London's Euston and Glasgow's Central Station.

#6229 was built in 1938 at a cost of £9732 for the engine and £1570 for the tender. The locomotive was 73’ 10¼ long and weighed 242,144 lbs, 150,304 lbs on its 81" drivers. With a 50 sq ft grate and 230 sq ft firebox, total heating surface was 2,577 sq ft including 822 sq ft superheating. It had four 16½” x 28” cylinders with Walschaert valve gear on the outside and rocking shafts on the inside cylinders. Operating at a boiler pressure of 250 psi , it delivered 40,000 lbs tractive effort. The tender weighed 126,224 lbs with a capacity of 10 tons of coal and 4,800 gallons of water.

#6229 was stranded in the US during the war and was stored until 1942 when it was shipped back to the UK. The carriages stayed until 1946 and were used as an Officers Mess in Jeffersonville, IN.

Above, #1400 is one of ten Class I-5 Hudson type (4-6-4) locomotives built for the New Haven by Baldwin in 1937 (#1400-#1409).

Weighing 365,300 lbs, 193,000 lbs on their 80” drivers, the I-5s had an engine wheelbase of 40’ 1” and driver
wheelbase of 14’. They were fitted with Walschaert valve gear and an integral cast frame with 22” x 30” cylinders, roller bearings on the drivers (Timken bearings on #1401-#1404, SKF bearings on the remainder) and ASF roller bearings on the trucks.

With a 77.1 sq ft grate, the 480 sq ft firebox heating surface included 139 sq ft of syphons and an 81 sq ft
combustion chamber. The total heating surface was 4,857 sq ft, including 1,042 superheating. Operating at a boiler pressure of 285 psi, they delivered 43,968 lbs tractive effort. The tender weighed 332,000 lbs light and had a capacity of 18,000 gallons of water and 16 tons of coal.

None of the I-5 locomotives has
survived.

The J-3as were built to haul the 20th Century Limited, the New York Central’s crack overnight passenger service between New York, NY, and Chicago, IL.

The locomotives weighed 365,500 lbs, 201,800 lbs on their 79" drivers pierced with holes and painted aluminum.The engine wheelbase was 40’ 4” and driver wheelbase 14’. The cylinders were 22½” x 29”. The grate was 82 sq ft and the firebox 360 sq ft. With a total heating surface of 5,932 sq ft, including 1,745 sq ft superheating, the engines operated at a boiler pressure of 265 psi.

Above, #5451 was one of at least six New York Central J-3a Hudsons that attended the fair.

Above, J-3a #5452. All had boosters on the rear axle of the trailing truck, which added roughly 10,000 lbs to the engine's 41,860 lbs tractive effort.

The streamliners carried much larger tenders than the other NYC Hudsons, weighing 420,000 lbs light over 316,000 lbs. Water capacity was 18,000 gallons over 13,600 and coal 46 tons over 28 tons. Water was replenished from track troughs, and re-coaling occurred just once on the 15½-16 hour trip between New York and Chicago. With the exception of #5450, which suffered a boiler explosion in September 1943, they retained their streamlining through WWII. The casings were removed from March 1946 to December 1947 and they operated into the 1950s, although none has survived.

This diesel-electric was built in 1940 by the Electro Motive Corporation as NYC #590 but was numbered #660 for the fair, reflecting the unit’s 660 hp 539 6L prime mover.

Five hundred and forty of these S-1 switchers were produced by Alco between 1940 and 1950 for a wide range of US railroads as well as for Brazil and the United Kingdom.

#1206 is a four-cylinder, A class, simple articulated locomotive with a
2-6-6-4 wheel arrangement.

It was one of thirty-five of this Class built at Norfolk & Western's Roanoke, VA, shops between 1936 and 1950.

#1206 was one of eight of the class built in 1936-1937 (#1202-#1209). The A weighs 573,000 lbs, 433,350 lbs on its 70" drivers. The engine wheelbase is 69' 5" and each driver wheelbase is 12' 4". The overall wheelbase (engine and tender) is a whopping 108' 3".

Operating at a boiler pressure of 275 psi, it delivered 125,897 lbs tractive effort.

Northern Pacific #1, the "Minnetonka", was built by Smith & Porter of Pittsburgh, PA, in 1870 for $6,000, and was the Northern Pacific's first locomotive.

The "Minnetonka" helped build the east end of the Northern Pacific system from Carlton to Brainerd, MN, then transferred to the west end from Kaloma to Tacoma, WA.

Above, the replica "John Stevens" steam carriage was built at PRR's Altoona workshops in 1939 for the fair. The original was built in 1825 by the New Jersey lawyer, engineer and inventor John Stevens. You can see
photos and find out more about this replica on the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum Train Shed page of this website.

Below, a replica of the 1831 "John Bull" built at the Altoona Workshops in 1939 for the fair. The original was built by Robert Stephenson & Co., of Newcastle in the UK and then shipped in parts to Philadelphia to work on the Camden & Amboy Railroad.

You can find out more about it on the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum Train Shed page of this website.

Above, #1187 was one of eight hundred and ninety Consolidation type (2-8-0) Class R locomotives built at the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Altoona, PA, shops
between 1885 and 1897. The engine was outshopped in 1888 at a cost of $8,644. Later designated class H3,
these were the Pennsy's primary freight hauling locomotive at the time and the first to introduce the Belpaire firebox. This square topped firebox became standard on most Pennsy steam locomotives
thereafter. It was restored to its 1888 appearance for display at the fair as the Pennsy’s oldest surviving locomotive.

#1187 has been preserved and you can see photos and find out more about it on the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum Train Shed page of this website.

Above and below, Pennsylvania Railroad's K4 was one of the most successful passenger steam locomotives ever built and, at four hundred and twenty-five, outnumbered any others of its type in the US. The Pennsy turned to industrial designer Raymond Loewy to design a shroud for #3768, which was soon dubbed “The Torpedo” by staff. It was painted in bronze but was repainted dark green by the time it went on display at the fair.

The streamlining was removed long before the Ks ceased operating, #3768’s in 1948. It was retired in 1953. Only two K4 locomotives have survived.

#6100 was displayed at the New York World's Fair in both 1939 and 1940. To reach the fair grounds, the locomotive took a circuitous route over the Long Island Rail Road. Many obstacles had to be temporarily removed and others were passed at a crawl to reach the fairgrounds. At the site, #6100's drivers were supported by rollers which allowed the drivers to turn under steam so that fair goers could watch. During the fair, the tender was lettered "AMERICAN RAILROADS".

Below, a Life magazine photo of #6100 being installed at the fair.

You can see K4 #3750 on the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum Yard page of this website.

Above, in 1939 the Pennsy built its first duplex-drive locomotive at a cost of $669,780 at the company’s Altoona, PA, shops designed in collaboration with Baldwin, Lima and Alco. The cast steel locomotive bed plate made by General Steel Castings was the largest single-piece casting ever made for a locomotive.

Operating at a boiler pressure of 300 psi with Walschaert valve gear and four 22" x 26" cylinders, it delivered 71,900 lbs tractive effort. At over 140’ in length, the 6-4-4-6 was, at the time, the largest steam locomotive in the world and remains the largest rigid frame locomotive ever built. The shrouding was designed by Raymond Loewy.

Only one S-1 was built. It was retired in 1945 after only five years of service and was scrapped in 1949.

Below, #21 was built by Baldwin in 1875 and originally named after the Virginia & Truckee's Master Mechanic, J. W. Bowker but, when the railroad decided not to name the locomotives after employees or shareholders any longer, it was renamed “Mexico”. It passed through a couple of owners after being sold in 1896 until, in 1937, it was presented to the Railway & Locomotive Historic Society for preservation. Two years later, it appeared in the Paramount Pictures movie Union Pacific before moving to the fair.

#21 has been preserved. You can see photos and find out more about on the California State Railroad Museum page of this website.

Virginia & Truckee #12, the “Genoa”, An American type (4-4-0) locomotive, was liveried as Union Pacific “Jupiter” to appear in the "Railroads on Parade" pageant re-enacting the 1869 driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory, UT.

#12 was built by Baldwin for the Virginia & Truckee in 1872 at a cost of $14,000. It was retired by the railroad in 1908, but not scrapped. In 1938, it was sold to the Eastern Presidents Conference for display at the fair. It also appeared at the 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair.

#12 has been preserved and you can see photos and find out more about it on the California State Railroad Museum page of this website.

Left, unfortunately, #4's 190,000 lb weight proved to heavy for Hammermill's tracks and, in 1941, it was sold to the Pennsylvania Power & Light Company and renumbered #4094-D. It switched coal hopper cars at the company's Hauto, PA, plant until 1969.

#4094-D has 48" drivers and 30" x 28" cylinders. At a maximum boiler pressure of 350 psi, it could deliver 31,500 lbs tractive effort. The engine has been preserved. You can find out more about it on the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum Train Shed page of this website.

The 0-8-0F (Fireless) locomotive above was built by the Heisler Locomotive Works in Erie, PA, for display at the fair in 1940. It is one of twenty-eight geared fireless locomotives built by Heisler from 1934 to 1941, and the largest fireless locomotive ever produce After the fair, it was sold to the Hammermill Paper Company in Erie, PA, as #4.

Below, the 1887 Ansonia, Derby & Birmingham Electrical Line "Derby" is the oldest surviving US electric locomotive and the only preserved motor built by the Van Depoele Electric Manufacturing Company in Chicago, IL.

Above, the 1866 Dudgeon steam wagon was also displayed at the fair. It is one of the earliest self-propelled road vehicles built in the US. It had seats for a driver and eight passengers.

Richard Dudgeon designed and built the steam wagon because he wished to end the abuse and mistreatment of horses. He drove it on the streets of New York City and at his farm on Long Island. The steam wagon burned coal and ran at a top speed of 25-30 miles per hour.

The "Derby" is preserved at the Shore Line Trolley Museum in Branford, CT.

Above, Long Island Railroad Rotary Snow Plow #193 was built by the Cooke Locomotive and Machine Works, later part of Alco, in 1898. It
was retired in 1965 and bought by private owners in 1968. In 1988, it was sold to the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, PA.

#193 weighs 67½ tons and has a blade
assembly with a radius of 9' 8". It is the only surviving steam rotary snow plow that was
used on a railroad east of the Mississippi. #193 has survived. You can see photos and find out more about it on the Steamtown page of this website.

Above, a replica of Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad #1, the first railroad car in which US Mail was sorted in transit. The original was a refurbished passenger car.