Ragan, Leslie
The New 20th Century Limited
19-?
41 x 27
The power to travel between New York and Chicago quickly was a marvel of the mid-20th century. Shrouded in a camouflage of streamlining steel, a Hudson Locomotive accomplished that feat using the power of engineering know-how to coax the most from this steam behemoth. Power pounding the rails. Power from the expanded water vapor. An idea as old as the pharos of Egypt, but unfulfilled until we rush headlong into the 17th and 18th centuries. With the engineering innovation of James Watt, a simple idea is transformed into the efficient steam engine that frees slaves from hard labor and propels us into the industrial revolution and off to Chicago in only 16 hours.
Thomas B. Barker
Professor
Center for Quality and Applied Statistics College of Engineering
Locomotive
I'm new and really sleek
I'm the best that ever there was.
Maybe the best there ever will be.
I can't wait to begin
Chicago here I come - ready or not.
I'm ready. I'm all steamed up.
My boiler's hot. This first trip means a lot.
Let's go. It's time to leave.
Conductor signals: Allll aboard!!
Engineer pulls the lever.
My wheels begin to turn.
Chugga, chugga, chugga.
Grand Central Station - now left behind.
Highball to Chicago!
Here I come! Chugga, chugga, chugga.
Chugga, chugga, chugga.
Faster, faster, faster.
Chugga, chugga, chugga.
Smoother, smoother, smoother.
Chugga, chugga, chugga.
Graded crossing dead ahead.
Whoooooo! Whoooooo!
Whoo! Whooooo!
Two longs, one short, one long
Stand aside I'm coming through.
Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland
Record time, record time.
All behind me now.
Chicago here I am.
Record time.
Okay team, let's recycle.
Load them people on.
Quickly now.
Load that mail car.
Alll Aboard!
New York City here I come - ready or not.
Chugga, chugga, chugga
Bruce L. Oliver
Professor
Accounting Director, Frank D. Bertch Center for Business Ethics
College of Business
This Henry Dreyfuss design for a locomotive is the essence of an early 20th century "streamliner." Any railroad aficionado will be familiar with this creation - part art deco, part high modernism yet only ten of them were ever built. The image projected here is polished steel, seen from a dramatic perspective where water mirrors and amplifies this steam engine at the brink of WWII in 1938. The artist employs watercolor and gouache to portray this train which became synonymous with our modern ambitions to travel. Light, speed, air, movement - this could almost be a plane moving over our land. This poster's appeal comes from a new sense of order, exactitude, and efficiency, which the image exudes. The poster is graphic yet blends realistic fact with ideals of modern travel.
Alan Singer
Professor
Illustration
College of Imaging Arts and Sciences
The power of this poster is found in its simplicity. Everything is explained through the image of a train and the text, which advertises the salient attributes of the Limited. What are the salient attributes of this train? The poster clearly achieves what it's trying to convey safety, comfort and speed. The watercolors used create a safe and comfortable mood. It appears that the Limited is running at full speed. This is conveyed though the powerful use of perspective. The train is definitely going place. "Wanna hop on?"
Eunduk Kang
Graduate student, 1st year
Graphic Design
College of Imaging Arts and Sciences
Excitement, adventure and style entice me to travel as I discover "The New 20th Century Limited New York Central System" poster. The movement of the train as it charges west or east, depending on your fancy, forces me to ask myself, "Why aren't I on that train?" I have the smell of steel and speed in my every breath. To be looking out the window as I dine on tea and cookies, watching the water as it races me to our next stop! Oh, the thrill of travel across this great country! This bullet train begs me to enter the next wave of civilization, to be part of the future and to get on board!
Sharon McKenna
Graduate student, 1st year
Graphic Design
College of Imaging Arts and Sciences
Henry Dreyfuss' design of "The New 20th Century Limited" was instrumental in defining the American art deco era. Ragan successfully captured the sleek, futuristic, and streamlined look of the train in this 1930s advertisement. These concepts were signs of the times; new inventions were making life easier. Boasting an unheard of 16-hour travel time between New York and Chicago, the railroad industry was responding to automobile and airline competition by uniting the nation through luxury, comfort and reliability. The train, often referred to as "National Institution" and the "Most Famous Train in the World," remains among the most famous industrial icons of 20th century America.
Andrew Quagliata
Undergraduate, 3rd year
Professional and Technical Communication
College of Liberal Arts