Beauty Contest for Passenger Trains

Steam:

1. Southern Crescent Limited PS-4 and Heavyweight Cars
2. Jersey Central Blue Comet G-3 and Heavyweight Cars
3. Southern Pacific GS-4 Daylight and Streamlined Cars
4. Chesapeake & Ohio L-1 Yellowbelly and Streamlined Cars
5. New York Central J Hudson and Heavyweight Cars

Diesel

1. Pennsylvania Aerotrain
2. Santa Fe F-Units heading the Super Chief
3. Denver & Rio Grande ALCO PA's heading the California Zephyr
4. Anything chrome from the Burlington Route
5. Anything blue and white from the Baltimore & Ohio

Steam, SP Daylight

Diesel, UP City of Los Angeles

Electric, Hiawatha being pulled by bipolar in Milwaukee colors.

Steam SP Daylight

Diesel WP California Zephyr

Electric Pennsy Congressional

I cannot force myself to select a single steam era favorite because I fancy so many, but conforming to catagories, my choices are:

> The most beautiful streamlined locomotives ever to polish the rails, the Dreyfus Hudson with the 20th Century Limited, and the N&W J with the Powhatan Arrow;

> I can only fancy 1st generation hood units, so the D&H ALCO PA's are my favorites;

> The New Haven still is Juice Jack Heaven, and I pick the EP-4.

I never knew there were so many beautiful passenger trains!!  Of course I will pick the Reading Crusader, not colorful but 'clean'.   

More varied opinions here than there are options on automobiles!

Steam:  N&W P. ARROW

Diesel:  GN Green and Orange EMPIRE BUILDER

Juice:  PRR Congo.

No doubt, the steam powered Daylight tops many of our lists, but let's not forget the SP's second most beautiful train, the Sunset Limited

RickO, thanks for that great video, haven't heard that sound (in person) in a long time.  The first word that came to mind as I was watching it was...EFFORTLESS.  611 didn't seem to break a sweat pulling all those cars and has my vote for "Most Beautiful".

Maybe the next "poll" should be where we have to pick one that is not from your favorite RR (I just did, you know I would be posting Seaboard's "Silver Meteor" otherwise).

My choice would be the Citrus scheme of the Seaboard Air Line particularly attached to the New York-Florida passenger runs..in terms of branding a service, it seems just right.

I want to thank everyone who responded to this beauty contest. The winners in each category were all runaways: Steam; Souther Pacific Daylight, Diesel; Santa Fe War Chief and Electric; Pennsylvania GG-1 Congressional

Happy Railroading!

Steam....PRR; S1 with '38 Broadway.   Diesel....Lackawanna; Phoebe Snow w/ E8s

Juice...PRR congo 1952 w/ GG1 red 5 !

I would have to agree with MilwRdPaul...

Steam: Southern Crescent Limited

Diesel: Milwaukee Road Hiawatha with orange, maroon and black with a skytop observation car