Art Deco's Impact on Railroads

the 1920s and 30s are well known for one art style art deco through the use of streamlined symmetrical designs evoking a sense of style wealth and pride it affected everything from architecture fonts fashion automobiles and then the point of this video railroads [Music] prior to the 1920s railroads still often had design routes to the victorian era with ornate infrastructure and equipment however things had been dialed back a bit to a more efficient easier to build and maintained style in other words no longer were there tunnel portals or bridges that looked like castles not to say railroads ditched impressive architecture take michigan central station in detroit michigan usa for example which opened in 1914. using a bozar classical architectural style it was the tallest rail station in the world for its time also during this time many railroads were beginning to find a solidified building style for the locomotives and create the look for a typical modern steam locomotive for example american locomotives no longer had balloon stacks for the most part it lacked any color and instead were overall getting larger and more powerful from 1917 during world war 1 to 1920 the united states railroad administration was formed to help standardize railroad practices and locomotive design further on the other hand british locomotives no longer looked like their invented ancestors and instead looked cleaner colorful and achieve faster speeds moving further into the 1920s a new trend of art deco originating out of france was beginning to go mainstream although it wasn't known as art deco at the time it wasn't until 1968 by art critic beves hillier that the term art deco came to be regardless railroads would soon be quick to jump on this new trend seeing it as a way to look new modern and prestigious one early change would be the way advertising and promotional material was drawn previously most companies were using a fairly realistic art style utilizing toned-down less vibrant colors sometimes colors were limited or didn't exist at all given printing capabilities changes in style for the railroads occurred as early as the mid to late 1910s the london underground would be an early adopter of the art deco style advertising and promotional material began using a less realistic but more stylized and simplistic appearance it was an early minimalist approach where less was better and it could showcase what it had to without needing to be incredibly realistic colors were very vibrant and eye-catching and design elements were efficient and use more simplistic geometric shapes artists like adolf jean-marie maroon spread art deco material across france and europe with very stylistic and unique designs his posters made heavy use of geometric shapes with interesting color schemes in terms of early art deco train appearances early examples actually date back to around through 1917 with the mckeen motor car company they built early motor rail cars using porthole windows and a wind splitter pointed front end for aerodynamics they were rather unusual and unique for the time these were initially used by the union pacific southern pacific and a few other american railroads they also soon made their way over to victorian railways and the queensland railway of australia as the 1920s progressed into the latter part of the decade art deco was in full swing the fat had reached japan africa australia and spread all across the world essentially in the soviet union art deca was incorporated into propaganda and railway posters alike using the typical soviet red and yellow color scheme while all done by various artists the art style for all of them share a commonality in terms of their overall abstractness and limited color palette fonts remained elongated and relatively spaced out allowing for the actual art to take the viewer's focus shading was often done through means of either solid color cell shading or gradients locomotives using art deco stylizations to progress further in germany in 1929 with the sheen in zeppelin or rail zeppelin using a propeller as a propulsion device it was a one-of-a-kind experimental locomotive that didn't really gain any traction despite its obvious safety hazards it had a streamlined zeppelin-like appearance compared to other locomotives it was definitely unique but did look futuristic railroad infrastructure would receive art deco treatment 2 with the likenesses of helsinki central station into helsinki finland in 1919 buffalo central terminal in buffalo new york usa in 1929 union station in omaha nebraska usa in 1931 and union station in chicago illinois usa acquired a mix of bozar with art deco over the construction of the chicago maine post office in 1932. these structures are notably characterized by their arches symmetrical geometric patterns of shapes and lines along with their overall smooth finish as the 1920s came to an end with the start of the great depression the 1930s as a result of the hard times would cause a change in art deco art or streamline modern would grow throughout the 30s as a new less ornamental version of classic art deco its styling was more focused on streamlining instead of looking to be ambitious and wealthy less expensive materials would be used in designs and cost cutting measures often went into place for ease of production despite this though the 1930s would be the decade of the railroad streamliner kicking off the 30s was the german drg class svt877 affectionately known as the flying hamburger built in 1932 it had a rounded out shape with skirting around the wheels it was a smooth curved and clean look the train was touted as the fastest regular railway connection in the world for its time running between berlin and hamburg averaging 77 miles per hour back in the united states the country's first streamlined passenger train would be the union pacific's m10 000 diesel train set in early 1934. it was built by electromotive corporation later known as electromotive division and its design was inspired by the rail plane created by george benny in 1929 scotland evolved versions of the m10000 would come in the form of the m1001 through 6 3 through 6 using a new bulldog style nose posters that advertised the train had reduced color schemes instead drawing attention to the new yellow and brown livery for the up the original m10000 would be displayed at the chicago's world fair the century of progress in 1934. it was however a bit overshadowed by the sleek chicago burlington and quincy's zephyr train set which was built around the same time the zephyr had set a speed record between denver colorado and chicago illinois on may 26 1934 it made the 1015.4 mile non-stop trip in 13 hours and 15 minutes averaging 78 miles per hour it even briefly reached 112.5 miles per hour on the topic of the world's fair railroad advertisements about the event spoke of quick and convenient service right up to the entrance gates vibrant color schemes made a statement of interest and futurism with the many buildings and displays in these illustrations a steam locomotive at speed often accompanied these ads honing in on the fast efficient service to the fairgrounds other posters of the early to mid 30s were looking quite colorful and found a good balance of classic art deco with more contemporary streamlined modern anyway not long after the world's fair there would be america's first art deco streamlined individual locomotive it was built for the new york central known as the commodore vanderbilt nicknamed upside down bathtubs a shovel knows shroud was added to a 464 j1e hudson and first debuted in december 1934 it then went on tour before being put into service in february 1935 the rounded out style concealing the engine for beneath was created by carl f cantola this streamlight style would be copied onto the 1936 rexel drug company showroom train as well other streamliners the new york central had were the mercury in 1936 and the dreyfus hudson in 1937. these were designed by french industrial designer raymond loewy lowey had previously done work for the pennsylvania railroad with the electric gg1 in 1934 and the streamlined variant of the k4 pacific in 1936 while these engines were modern for their time retrospectively they are distinctly nostalgic of the art deco era with their many curves lining and the aerodynamic design compare a stock k4 with a streamlined version the latter looks much faster and a fair bit more modern a design like this would be perfect for high-end trains like the broadway limited over the pacific ocean in japan another type of pacific was getting an art deco streamlining treatment this was the japanese government railways c-53 graphic designer munizake sotomi made posters such as these for jgr in 1937. this one depicts the view from a speeding train as the scenic countryside rolls by peter irwin brown of the netherlands additionally made posters for japanese government railways showcasing scenic locations in japan moving over to europe in the united kingdom there was the a4 pacific in 1935 the silver jubilee of which was the first train to use an a4 its related ad revered the service as britain's first streamlined train the blue and silver color additionally evoke a feeling of high-end reliable service the london midland and scottish's coronation scott in 1937 had an iconic bullet shaped shroud and their stripes and advertising were all about speed by this point in the mid to late 30s though standard art deco was beginning to be phased out in favor of streamlined modern engines like the mercury coronation scott and dreyfus hudson fell under this category other developments like the china railways sl7 and dutch railways de-3 in 1934 plm class 221b atlantic and drg class 05 in 1935 japanese government railway c-55 in 1936 new haven railroad i5 chicago and northwestern e4 and emc ta and ea in 1937 soviet railways is class in grand trunk western u4b in 1938 along with the pennsylvania railroad s1 in 1939 are just some examples of trains developed in this streamlined style even inner urban street cars like the jg brill company bullets starting in 1931 and pcc streetcars in 1935 had aerodynamics in mind printed materials of the late 1930s proved to be changing too moving towards a slightly more detailed less abstract style instead evoking a stronger sense of minimalism and modernism fonts also became bolder and shorter in height this southern pacific poster depicts the locomotive without all of its external parts and only showcases the basic shape of the engine it's not as loud as an appearance and not nearly as abstract looking as classic art deco one simple yet impressive poster was by german graphic designer illustrator sasha moorer he created this 1938 one for the new haven railroad featuring their i5 locomotive after visiting the baldwin locomotive works he was very impressed by their size and power and conveyed this by drawing the locomotive so it took up most of the canvas and from an angle where the viewer is looking up at the engine text is minimal so as to not draw attention away from the magnitude of the locomotive another 1938 poster he made for the new haven featured an i5 locomotive silhouette created by a beach scene symbolism is shown in the sense that the train can take you to the pristine beach you're looking at to round out the 30s mora's 1939 poster for the pennsylvania railroad depicts the 1939 new york world's fair it's a bit more surreal looking with the city layout and fairground structures but reflects the futurism instilled by the world's fair to cap off the decade before the 1930s were over though railroad stations weren't left out as they saw a number of additional art deco treatments for example park station in montreal quebec canada in 1931 30th street station in philadelphia pennsylvania usa in 1933 cincinnati union terminal in cincinnati ohio usa in 1933 and serviton railway station in serbit in england in 1937 but in the end the 1930s while notable for its streamlined trains in art deco stations was also noted for the overall decline of the art deco style as world war ii set in and art deco's popularity began to quickly wane a new series of posters had been developing in america these were created by the works progress administration between 1936 and 1943. the wpa was developed as part of president franklin d roosevelt's new deal to get millions of americans back to work in doing this hundreds upon hundreds of designs were drawn up a few railroad ones were created and took influence from art deco with a rather minimalist and modernist approach aside from wpa posters railroad advertising and promotional material of the 1940s continued to take on a more realistic style while elements of art deco stylization still existed in some of these most began to move away from it and take on a more contemporary look this was due to art deco now mainly being seen as gaudy wasteful and pretentious which wasn't quite fitting for wartime austerity posters of world war ii often showcased a more realistic style and spoke of the importance of the railroads they also urged passengers to stay home and allow the railroads to conserve fuel to move wartime materials and soldiers after the war classic art deco had for the most part faded out of the mainstream media as more streamlined practical and realistic styles in the late 1940s and 50s would spread across the world however art deco's influence would still linger on and influence architecture and minimalist and modernist art streamlined modern had become very popular in the us during the 1930s for example and it saw continued used into the 1940s and 50s it was used for stations like the chesapeake and ohio's prince west virginia station in 1946 along with their fort spring tunnel in 1947. even culling towers in hinton west virginia and clifton forge virginia would get a streamlined look cno locomotives like the rebuilt l1 hudson in 1946 an experimental m1 steam turbine in 1947 featured prominent streamlined modern designs as well even the classic c l logo got special treatment at the print station using a unique color scheme and pattern of lines within the letters other trains in the style for the time were the southern pacific gs2 through gs6 from 1937-1943 norfolk and western j class in 1941 alco pa in 1946 beno cincinnati in 1947 emd's f series of locomotives from 1939 to 1960 the fs class etr 300 in 1953 general motors futuristic looking arrow train in 1955 db class vt 11.5 in 1957 and the japanese national railways 151 series in 1958 back to posters artists like joseph bider and bernhill are some examples of the post art deco minimalist and modernist art style binder's designs maintained a somewhat abstract modernist style and had bright color themes hill's designs were a bit more detailed and realistic but had elements of minimalism with a cel-shaded appearance however by the late 40s and throughout the 50s particularly in the us art deco streamliners had begun to fall out of style in favor of up-and-coming diesel locomotives while these diesels kept the streamlined appearance they weren't exactly art deco with the formation of british railways in 1948 a variety of realistically painted posters were created promoting locations in the operations of the br these often displayed steam locomotives and early diesels working hard in active scenes other countries followed this more realistic trend up into the 1960s while minimalism and an increased interest in graphic design began to take hold with technology rapidly increasing in complexity and capabilities this change in the design world could also be seen in the world of railway logos for example canadian national railway in 1960 french national railways and british rail in 1966 along with dutch railways in 1968 it was actually inspired by canadian national and british rail streamlining would then reach a new medium in the world of high-speed trains examples being the shinkansen zero series in 1963 tgv in 1972 ice-1 in 1989 and soon enough the acela express in 1999. by the 1970s and 80s though photos and other art styles were being more frequently used in advertising and promotional material while locomotives had gained a more industrial and practical appearance to put it short art deco was long gone after it once reigned supreme over the world's railways while the 1980s did see a bit of an art deco revival the railroads of the world didn't quite capitalize on it all that much as they found styles of their own from there it hasn't ever quite made a full comeback for the railways only coming back for nostalgic one-time deal advertising for example in the mid-2000s into the 2010s graphic artist michael schwab created several promotional posters for amtrak while mainly reflective of a modern day minimalist style some do look as if they could be from the art deco era many of these you can still see inside of amtrak's stations and trains art deco has nonetheless made a lasting impact on railroads whether it be printed advertising or the physical appearance of locomotives rolling stock and infrastructure stations often stand as a reminder of a time long gone by when art deco was the most modern and futuristic looking style out there of course not everything was art deco in the 1920s and 30s it was just one of the many popular styles in existence and happened to catch on and serve as the poster boy of art for two decades whether you find it appealing or not it undeniably paved the way for future streamliners in the modern locomotives and train sets of today perhaps one day it'll make a comeback but for now art deco remains a nostalgic trademark of the 1920s and 30s and will always be one of the most unique eras in the history of the world's railways [Music] you

Channel: AmtrakGuy365

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Keywords: Amtrak, Amtrakguy365, Art, Deco, Streamline, Streamliners, 1920s, 1930s, Railroad, Railway, Art Deco Train, Train, Trains, Locomotive, NYC Mercury, NYC Dreyfuss Hudson, PRR S1, PRR T1, Streamliner Train, Streamline Moderne, Art Moderne, 1920s art deco, Streamlined Train, Art Decos impact on railroads, Railroads, Commentary, Education, Artdeco, Art Deco Style, Style, Architecture, Art Nouveau, Moderne, Art Deco Documentary, Documentary, Art Deco 1920s, Educational, History, Steam, Diesel, Electric, Poster

Id: EW9g44fvjrM

Length: 17min 40sec (1060 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 20 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/imalittlefrenchpress]

Two of my favorite things!!