Help Identify the location/time period of a photo.

Just going from memory, I believe that is one of the NYC official publicity photos of the new streamlined 1938 20th Century Limited. Obviously the photo was NOT taken on the Horseshoe Curve, in PA, as THAT was on the Pennsylvania Railroad!  NYC publicity photos were general taken on the "Water Level Routs", along the Hudson River.

You might want to try Google, as there is a wealth of information, including many, many photos of the NYC 20th Century Limited.

Definitely Horseshoe Curve! 

Jon

Hot Water posted:

Just going from memory, I believe that is one of the NYC official publicity photos of the new streamlined 1938 20th Century Limited. Obviously the photo was NOT taken on the Horseshoe Curve, in PA, as THAT was on the Pennsylvania Railroad!  NYC publicity photos were general taken on the "Water Level Routs", along the Hudson River.

You might want to try Google, as there is a wealth of information, including many, many photos of the NYC 20th Century Limited.

Thank you for the info, now I can direct my search. I m sure that a publicity photo other trains may of been photographed in that general location for the total effect. Since I framed it years ago there may of been some type of stamping on the back. I would have to pull it apart as there is a backing on the frame (maybe at a later date). Still it is a nice picture for $4.00.

From "American Rails":

It looks like this "Sixteen Hours to Chicago" was painted from your picture, maybe you can figure out where/when with this clue. It certainly looks like both are depictions of the Mohawk Valley along the Water Level Route.

Ron,

I have been a fan of the NYC Hudsons for a long time, and in one of my books this photo is shown

and identified as "Train number 25, the westbound Century at Peekskill, New York, with  14 cars

and Hudson number 5453 during the first year of the 1938 train's operation.''

It's no doubt a NYC photo.

The book the photo is in is "The Twentieth Century Limited 1938-1967" by Richard J Cook, Sr.

Ed

And to add to that, I just answered my own questions from "Art by David Oram":

Thank you  Ed:
This photo has been hanging on my wall for years and always wondered about the location and time.
I will copy the information you gave me and put it on the back of the photo frame in a zip-lock.
I will be looking on eBay and Amazon for the book.

Also thank you Rob the painting does have a uncanny appearance of the photo.

Ed Mullan posted:

"Train number 25, the eastbound Century at Peekskill, New York, with  14 cars

 

Ed,
Even numbers go East & North, odd numbers go West & South. I'd say that since this is #25 and the river is on the right in this photo, the train is actually heading west.

Big Jim, you are correct, it is indeed westbound. Between reading the caption upstairs and coming down

and posting, I changed the direction of the train. The caption under the photo does call it westbound.

And more info says it was probably photographed in the mid summer of 1938.

I corrected the info in my post above.

Ed

ADCX Rob posted:

From "American Rails":

It looks like this "Sixteen Hours to Chicago" was painted from your picture,

Well, except that the background is completely different...

One is a photo and the other an artist conception. 

I'd agree the photo is Breakneck Ridge. 

Speaking as an artist, it's pretty easy to tell that the painting wasn't based on the image. The train is positioned differently and the point of view is different.

Even l, who knows nothing about the NYC or Pennsylvania was about to pipe up and say, "Hudson's on H.S. curve...No!"  However, nowadays disasters result in trains being rerouted over competing lines.  Did not that ever happen between these famous competitors?