20th Century Limited

For other uses, see Twentieth century (disambiguation). on June 15, 1938, when it got streamlined equipment, it
The 20th Century Limited was an express passenger ran the 958 miles in 16 hours, departing New York City at
6:00 P.M. Eastern Time and arriving at Chicagos LaSalle
Street Station the following morning at 9:00 A.M. Cen-
tral Time, averaging 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).[3] For a
few years after World War II, the eastward schedule was
shortened to 15 hours.
Its style was described as spectacularly understated ...
suggesting exclusivity and sophistication.[4]:4849 Passen-
gers walked to the train on a crimson carpet which was
rolled out in New York and Chicago and was designed
for the 20th Century Limited. Getting the red carpet
treatment passed into the language from this memorable
practice.[5] Transportation historians, said the writers
of The Art of the Streamliner, consistently rate the 1938
edition of the Century to be the worlds ultimate passen-
ger conveyanceat least on the ground.[4]:46

Pre-1920 version of the 20th Century Limited

1 History
Inaugurated on June 17, 1902, by patent medicine sales-
man turned passenger agent George Henry Daniels, the
train oered a barbershop and secretarial services.[6] The
train arrived in Chicago three minutes ahead of schedule;
the schedule was twenty hours, four hours less than be-
fore. The New York Times report laid great stress on
the routine nature of the trip, with no special procedures
being followed and no extra eorts being made to break
records. It stated that there "...was no excitement along
the way, and quoted a railroad ocials claim "...it is a
perfectly practical run and will be continued, and engi-
neer William Gates maintaining This schedule can be
made without any diculty. I can do it every time, bar-
ring accidents.[6]
The streamlined 20th Century Limited departing Chicago, 1938
The schedule dropped to 18 hours in June 1905, the same
train on the New York Central Railroad (NYC) from month that the train was wrecked (June 21, 1905) on the
1902 to 1967, advertised as The Most Famous Train in Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway line at Mentor,
the World.[1] In the year of its last run, The New York Ohio. It reverted to 20 hours in 1912 and was unchanged
Times said that it "...was known to railroad bus for 65 until 1932. In 1935 it dropped to 16 hours, 30 minutes,
years as the worlds greatest train.[2] The train traveled then to 16 hours on June 15, 1938, when lightweight cars
between Grand Central Terminal (GCT) in New York took over.
City and LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, Illinois, along Regular passengers included Theodore Roosevelt,
the railroads Water Level Route. William Jennings Bryan, Lillian Russell, Diamond Jim
The NYC inaugurated this train as competition to the Brady, J. P. Morgan, Enrico Caruso, and Nellie Melba.
Pennsylvania Railroad, aimed at upper class and busi- In the 1920s the New York-Chicago fare was $32.70 plus
ness travelers. It made few station stops along the way the extra fare of $9.60, plus the Pullman charge (e.g. $9
and used track pans to take water at speed. Beginning for a lower berth), for a total of $51.30. For that one got a

1
2 1
The Most Famous Train In The World (1912 NYC ad)
20th Century Limited pulled by Commodore Vanderbilt departing
Chicagos LaSalle Street station, 1935
bed closed o from the aisle by curtains; a compartment
to oneself would cost more. In 1928, the peak year, the
train earned revenue of $10 million and was believed to
be the most protable train in the world.[7]
Shortly after the announcement of the uorescent lamp,
the cars of the 20th Century Limited were lit with this new
type of lamp.[8]
HISTORY
Cover carried in the RPO of the rst streamlined New York-
Chicago run, June 15, 1938
A section of one of the famous red carpets, next to the observation
car Hickory Creek. The 20th Century Limited originally de-
parted New York City from the right-hand side of this platform.
In 1938 industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss was com-
missioned by the New York Central to design stream-
lined train sets in Art Deco style, with the locomotive
and passenger cars rendered in blues and grays (the col-
ors of NYC). The streamlined sets were inaugurated on
June 15, 1938. His design was probably the most famous
American passenger train.[6] Like many express passen-
ger trains through the mid-1960s, the 20th Century Lim-
ited carried an East Division (E.D.) Railway Post Oce
(R.P.O.) car operated by the Railway Mail Service (RMS)
of the United States Post Oce Department which was
staed by USPOD clerks as a fast mail on each of its
daily runs.[9] The mails received by, postmarked, pro-
cessed, sorted, and dispatched from the 20th Century
Limited 's RPOs were either canceled or backstamped (as
appropriate) during the trip by hand applied circular date
1.2 Sample consists
In Grand Central Terminal
stamps (CDS) reading N.Y. & CHI. R.P.O. E.D. 20TH
CEN.LTD. and the trains number: 25 (NY-CHI) or
26 (CHI-NY).
In 1945 EMD diesel-electrics replaced steam, and a
new diesel-electric-powered trainset was commissioned.
The replacement was inaugurated by General Dwight D.
Eisenhower in September 1948. This set was featured in
postwar lms such as North by Northwest and The Band
Wagon.
For much of its history before 1957, the all-Pullman
train made station stops only at GCT and Harmon for
New Yorkarea passengers and LaSalle Street Station
and Englewood for Chicago-area passengers. These trav-
eled in as many as seven sections, of which the rst was
named the Advance 20th Century Limited.[6] By the
late 1950s the train was in decline. On December 2, 1.2 Sample consists
1967, at 6:00 P.M., the half-full train left GCT, track
34 for the last time.[2] As always, carnations were given Eastbound train #38Advance 20th Century Limited, on
to men and perfume and owers to women boarding the February 7, 1930; Sampled at Chicago, Illinois.
train.[2] The next day, it arrived at LaSalle Street Station
in Chicago 9 hours 50 minutes late due to a freight de-
railment near Conneaut, Ohio.
Amtrak now operates the Lake Shore Limited between
New Yorks Penn Station and Union Station in Chicago.
Otherwise it follows a route similar to the 20th Cen-
turys, except west of Whiting, Indiana (near Chicago),
where it switches to the former Pennsylvania Railroad's
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway.
1.1 Timeline
June 15, 1902: The 20th Century Limited is inaugu-
rated.
1913: The line is electried south of Croton-
Harmon, and the engine change point is moved
there.
3
1937: Recipe for the 20th Century cocktail is pub-
lished in the Cafe Royal Bar Book.
June 15, 1938: The Dreyfuss Hudson is introduced
to pull the new, streamlined 20th Century Limited.
September 15, 1948: General Dwight D. Eisen-
hower inaugurates the new postwar edition of the
20th Century Limited pulled by diesel-electric en-
gines.
1957: The 20th Century Limited is combined with
the Commodore Vanderbilt, adding more station
stops to the original four (two terminals and two sub-
urban stops).
July 1959: The 20th Century Limited is prominently
featured in the MGM lm North by Northwest star-
ring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Ma-
son.
December 3, 1967: The 20th Century Limited is dis-
continued just before the merger of the New York
Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad that formed
the Penn Central.
August 26, 1999: The United States Postal Service
issues 33-cent All Aboard! 20th Century American
Trains commemorative stamps featuring ve cele-
brated American passenger trains from the 1930s
and 1940s. One of the ve stamps features an image
of a streamlined J-3a steam locomotive leading the
20th Century Limited out of the Chicago railyards
on its way to New York, with the Board of Trade
Building in the background.
[10]
Locomotive: J-1 Class (4-6-4 Hudson) steam loco-
motive; NYC #5270;
Class CS Baggage-club car: NYC EAGLE
HEIGHTS;
Class PS Sleeper (14-section): STAR VIEW;
Class PS Sleeper (8-section 1-drawing room 2-
compartment): SPRING GAP;
Class PS Sleeper (6-compartment 3-drawing room):
GLEN ALICE;
Class DA Dining car: NYC 387;
Class PS Sleeper (14-section): STAR SPUR;
Class PS Sleeper (10-section 2-double bedrooms):
GANNETT PEAK;
4 1
Class PS Sleeper (8-section 1-drawing room 2-
compartments): GLOVER GAP;
Class PSO Sleeper-Buet-Lounge-Observation (1-
drawing room 1-single bedroom): MOHAWK VAL-
LEY.
Westbound train #2520th Century Limited, on March
17, 1938; Sampled at New York, New York[11]
Locomotive: Class T3A Electric Locomotive;
Class MP Postal car: NYC #4857;
Class CS Baggage-club car: NYC VAN TWILLER;
Class PS Sleeper (8-section 1-drawing room 2-
compartment): CENTACORRA;
Class PS Sleepers (6-section 6-double bedroom):
POPLAR PARK;
Class PS Sleepers (6-section 6-double bedroom):
POPLAR HIGHLANDS;
Class PS Sleeper (6-compartment 3-drawing room):
GLEN ANNA;
Class DA Dining cars: NYC 654;
Class DA Dining cars: NYC 655;
Class PS Sleeper (6-section 6-double bedroom):
POPLAR GROVE;
Class PS Sleepers (13-double bedroom): MACOMB
HOUSE;
Class PS Sleepers (13-double bedroom): PRINGLE
HOUSE;
Class PSO Sleeper-Buet-Lounge-Observation (1-
drawing room 1-single bedroom): ELKHART VAL-
LEY.
Westbound train #2520th Century Limited, on March
30, 1965, sampled at Cleveland, Ohio[14]
One of the NYC Hudsons tted with the streamlined casing de-
signed by Henry Dreyfuss
Eastbound train #2620th Century Limited, on Septem-
ber 6, 1943; departing Chicago, Illinois.[12][13]
HISTORY
Class J-3a (4-6-4 Husdon) steam locomotive: NYC
5450;
Class MB Baggage-mail car: NYC #5017;
Class DDL Dormitory-buet-lounge car: CEN-
TURY CLUB;
Class PS Sleeper (10-roomettes 5-double bedroom):
CASCADE WONDER;
Class PS Sleeper (17-roomette): CITY OF CLEVE-
LAND;
Class PS Sleeper (17-roomette): CITY OF DAY-
TON;
Class PS Sleeper (10-roomette 5-double bedroom):
CASCADE GLORY;
Class PS Sleeper (10-roomette 5-double bedroom):
CASCADE WHIRL;
Class PS Sleeper (4-Double Bedroom 4-
compartment 2-drawing room): IMPERIAL
FOUNTAIN;
Class DA Dining car: NYC 680;
Class DA Dining car: NYC 684;
Class PS Sleeper (4-double bedroom 4 compart-
ment 2-drawing room); IMPERIAL CITY;
Class PS Sleeper (4-double bedroom 4 compart-
ment 2-drawing room); IMPERIAL DOME;
Class PS Sleeper (13-double bedroom):
ONONDAGA COUNTY;
Class PS Sleeper (13-double bedroom): HAMPDEN
COUNTY;
Class PS Sleeper (13-double bedroom): MONT-
GOMERY COUNTY;
Class PS Sleeper (13-double bedroom): ASHTAB-
ULA COUNTY;
Class PSO Sleeper-Buet-Lounge-Observation
(2-double bedrooms; 1-compartment; 1-drawing
room): MAUMEE RIVER.
E7A diesel locomotive: NYC 4025;
E8A diesel locomotive: NYC 4080;
E7A diesel locomotive: NYC 4007;
Class MB Baggage-mail car: NYC 5018;
Class CSB Baggage-dormitory car: NYC 8979;

20th Century at LaSalle Street Station, Chicago 1963
Class PB Coach: NYC 2942;
Class DG Grill-diner: NYC 450;
Class PAS Sleepercoach (16-Single Room 10-
Double Room): NYC 10811;
Class PAS Sleepercoach (16-Single Room 10-
Double Room): NYC 10817;
Class PS Sleeper (22-roomette): NYC 10355
BOSTON HARBOR;
Class DKP Kitchen-Lounge Car: NYC 477;
Class DE Dining Room Car: NYC 406;
Class PS Sleeper (10-roomette 6-double bedroom):
NYC 10171 CURRENT RIVER;
Class PS Sleeper (12-double bedroom):
10511 PORT OF DETROIT;
Class PS Sleeper (12-double bedroom):
10501 PORT BYRON;
Class PSO Sleeper-Buet-Lounge-Observation (5-
double bedroom): NYC 10633 HICKORY CREEK.
2 In ction
The 20th Century Limited was the setting for a Broadway
musical composed by Cy Coleman and written by Betty
Comden and Adolph Green entitled On the Twentieth
Century, about the romantic complications of a beauti-
ful actress and an egocentric producer/director. Madeline
Kahn and John Cullum starred in the award-winning
production (ve Tony Awards out of nine nominations),
whose spectacular production design featured both the
5
lavish Art Deco details of the time period as well innova-
tive staging to open up what could be cramped quarters
inside a train car. The musical was based on the 1932 Ben
Hecht-Charles MacArthur stage play of the same subject,
which in 1934 they adapted as a lm entitled Twentieth
Century, directed by Howard Hawks, with Carole Lom-
bard and John Barrymore in the lead roles. The train
also gured prominently as a setting for major scenes in
both Alfred Hitchcocks North by Northwest and George
Roy Hills The Sting (which incorrectly had the train ar-
rive Chicago at night, not in the morning as it did in real-
ity). While doing research for her novel Atlas Shrugged,
Ayn Rand learned the operation of the train and sub-
sequently devised a ctional company - the Twentieth
Century Motor Company - which would be important
to the novels plot.
3 See also
Empire State Express
Super Chief
Ohio State Limited
Dreyfuss Hudson
Lake Shore Limited
Broadway Limited A competing train from New
York to Chicago via Philadelphia and Harrisburg by
Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).
Lake Cities A competing train from New York to
Chicago by Erie Railroad (ERIE) and later the Erie
Lackawanna Railway (EL). Its route bypassed all
major cities.
Capitol Limited A competing train from New York
to Chicago via Washington, D. C. and Pittsburgh by
NYC
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (BO).
NYC
4 References
General
Beebe, Lucius (1962). The Twentieth Century Lim-
ited. Berkeley, California: Howell-North Publish-
ing.
Cook, Sr., Richard J. (1993). The Twentieth Century
Limited. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing.
Zimmermann, Karl R. (2002). 20th Century Lim-
ited. Saint Paul, MN: MBI. ISBN 0760314225.
OCLC 55042088.
McGonigal, Robert S. (2016). Great Trains East.
Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing.
6 5 EXTERNAL LINKS

Specic Hickory Creek observation car - still in service as a

[1] King, A. Rowden (September 1912). Making A Train
World Famous: How the 20th Century Limited has Be-
come a Business Necessity and its Name an English Idiom
by Advertising. Advertising & Selling. New York: The
Advertising & Selling Co. 22 (4): 1216.
[2] Browne, Malcolm W. (December 3, 1967). The 20th
Century Makes Final Run (PDF). The New York Times.
Retrieved February 6, 2009.
private rail car for charters: one of only two remain-
ing Amtrak-certied cars that were used on the New
York Centrals 20th Century Limited. The other is
the former Sandy Creek, now owned by billionaire
Philip Anschutz and named New York. Both were
built by Pullman-Standard as large-windowed obser-
vation cars for the September 1948 re-equipping of
the train.

[3] Ocial Guide of the Railways. New York: National Rail-

way Publication Co. February 1956. pp. 214216.

[4] Johnston, Bob; Joe Welsh; Mike Schafer (2001). The Art
of the Streamliner. New York: Metro Books. ISBN 1-
58663-146-2. OCLC 47274004.

[5] Claiborne, Robert (1988). Loose Cannons and Red Her-

rings. A Book of Lost Metaphors. New York.: Norton. p.
193. ISBN 0-393-02578-0.

[6] Jackson, Kenneth T. (1995). The Encyclopedia of New

York City. The New York Historical Society, Yale Uni-
versity Press. p. 1207.

[7] New York Times, December 3, 1967, p. 31.

[8] Little, W.F.; Salter, E.H. (May 1959). Lighting for the
Past 25 Years and the Future. Electrical Engineering.
IEEE. 78 (5). doi:10.1109/EE.1959.6432563. Retrieved
June 15, 2014.

[9] Riding the Fast Mail. Popular Mechanics: 56 et seq.

February 1943.

[10] Wayner, Robert J. Passenger Train Consists; 19231973.

Wayner Publications. p. 14.

[11] Wayner, Robert J. Passenger Train Consists; 19231973.

Wayner Publications. p. 18.

[12] Wayner, Robert J. Passenger Train Consists; 19231973.

Wayner Publications. p. 27.

[13] Passenger Train Consists of the 1940s. New York, NY:

Wayner Publications. p. 17.

[14] Wayner, Robert J. Passenger Train Consists; 19231973.

Wayner Publications. p. 86.

5 External links
20th Century Limited

Greatest Highway in the World Gutenberg.org e-

book version of The Greatest Highway in the World:
Historical, Industrial and Descriptive Information of
the Towns, Cities and Country passed through be-
tween New York and Chicago via The New York Cen-
tral Lines (c. 1921)
 7

6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Alco83, Simple Bob, Tom.Reding, Trappist the monk, Train2104, Shortfatlad, RjwilmsiBot, John of Reading, Eekerz, Gfoley4, Tim
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