Photos and Artwork: Colorful Passenger Trains--updated 2/27

From the website Streamliner Memories:

"During the streamlined era, Leslie Ragan became quite possibly the best-known commercial railroad artist. He did work for the Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend, New York Central, more NYC, as well as the Budd Company, including this Florida streamliner, RDCs, Great Northern Great Domes, and many others.

Less well-known than Leslie Ragan was an artist named Bern Hill, who made 65 paintings of Diesel-powered trains for General Motors in the early 1950s. These were all used as cover illustrations for Railway Age magazine (which sold its front cover to advertisers), and many were also printed as posters. Many of Hill’s paintings were striking because they didn’t attempt to accurately portray the train but instead showed the trains as a part of the gigantic landscape through which they travel. I’ve collected many of his passenger train paintings here and here, while some of his freight paintings are here."

Leslie Ragan: South Shore...

Seasons Greetings...

Leslie Ragan's City of Miami:

And his art used in advertisements:

The last three images are of the "Bamboo Grove" observation car.  Pity the photo of the car isn't in color to more fully display the striping of the car.

More Leslie Regan, Visions of Stainless Steel...

Leslie Regan, NYC...

LIONEL did a good job representing the Budd RDC cars judging from the Ragan art; would make a great scene on a layout to represent one of his pictures.

Leslie Ragan, D-Train...

Morning Commute...

Howard Fogg...

The "Best Advertised Train in America," is how the website Streamliner Memories describes the California Zephyr based on magazine advertising at the time.

Here are some of those ads, and some photos also.  This first picture is by artist Bruce Bomberger:

The CZ's dome observation car, and the dome cars generally, were a major part of CZ's advertising at the time:

Forgot the locomotives of the CZ:

I find that last ad interesting, as it depicts all three roads using the same equipment and I dont think that happened. Am I wrong?

CNJ 3676, Bob, really enjoyed the photos above; especially the last showing stone piers, steel trestles, and inverted truss structures. 

found a few things in my stash.  

not colorful, but very interesting.

this one was too large for my scanner.  it is the City of Portland and the ad is for a diesel motor oil.

According to Streamliner Memories the CZ was advertised in National Geographic magazine using cartoons by Gerhardt Hurt:

For more Gerhardt Hurt cartoons used by Western Pacific ads for the CZ, click on the link above.

a couple of my own CZ items.

i favor the WP segment.