Why should they have thought things would go so far south so fast? Like the old song says, they knew the soldiers were going to want to travel after they got home from "Par-ee".
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Flintlock76 Mr. Jones, Rogers E. M. Whittaker said essentially the same thing in the closing chapter of "Decade Of The Trains, The 1940's." In a nutshell, he said the railroads won the war, but were about to lose the peace, although it wasn't obvious at first.
Mr. Jones, Rogers E. M. Whittaker said essentially the same thing in the closing chapter of "Decade Of The Trains, The 1940's." In a nutshell, he said the railroads won the war, but were about to lose the peace, although it wasn't obvious at first.
I believe Mr. Rogers E. M. Whittaker witnessed a lot of things happened in the railroad industry during WWII; he was in the front line working with different ranks of hardworking railroaders. I can understand he had a very deep feeling about how America's railroad contributed to fight and won the war. Unfortunately, the railroad industry, especially the passenger service part, was sacrificed for the national interests of America after WWII.
Penny Trains Why should they have thought things would go so far south so fast? Like the old song says, they knew the soldiers were going to want to travel after they got home from "Par-ee".
Maybe they knew when the soldiers came home, they would travel by air or driving their own cars...
Jones 3D Modeling Club https://www.youtube.com/Jones3DModelingClub
Jones1945 Penny Trains Why should they have thought things would go so far south so fast? Like the old song says, they knew the soldiers were going to want to travel after they got home from "Par-ee". Maybe they knew when the soldiers came home, they would travel by air or driving their own cars...
They had no such idea... and shouldn't have.
This period was still perceived as the Streamliner Age, merely interrupted by a few years of unpleasantness. What had worked so well up to late 1941 would certainly work even better as soon as the 'inevitable depression' had ended and the lost wartime production absorbed by industry. Few of the things that actually ended passenger service were manifest at that time: most of the road-improvement projects were primarily grade-separation or high-traffic-density propositions, for instance. The only real superhighway in the East was the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which was essentially built to German Autobahn standards and which was a horror thrill ride then as now to anyone without a good capable car -- in short supply for years after the War ended. The great age of turnpikes, and later the Interstate system, wouldn't get underway for at least several years, and cars built to optimize their capabilities even further away.
Meanwhile, most of the advantages of four-engine military aircraft were only just starting to trickle down to airlines, where a Skymaster was still first-line equipment, little better than a fat DC-3. Still an era of relatively low-level flight severely impacted by weather conditions. Who'd expect that would become highly preferred to riding Pullmans ... or competition for cheap coach travel with 'streamliner' amenities?
Steamship people were making similar mistakes, later than railroads did. I have mentioned the stillborn attempt to extend the Trail-Blazer like service model to transatlantic travel that Yourkevitch was developing as late as 1954... might it have been interesting to live in a slightly later world of nostalgia, in which we had the Hyperboloid instead of the old GCT; mass steamship travel with the usual cruise-line kind of amenities; Chessie-style consists on NYC Dieseliner service with Mr Young's eye toward improvement of service. And real high-speed trains that matter, instead of lightweight beer-can accommodation stuff...
Perhaps without the war we would have gone this way.
Wow! Great artwork Vince! Lady Firestom approves!
And she LOVES the Zeppelin! And no damn swastikas on it either, which makes it perfect.
By the way, Dr. Hugo Eckener, the head of the Zeppelin Company, didn't want swastikas on his ships either, but since the company operated under a government subsidy, and "you-know-who" was in charge, he didn't have any choice.
You know the old saying, "You take the kings money, you dance to the king's tune."
Overmod They had no such idea... and shouldn't have. This period was still perceived as the Streamliner Age, merely interrupted by a few years of unpleasantness. What had worked so well up to late 1941 would certainly work even better as soon as the 'inevitable depression' had ended and the lost wartime production absorbed by industry. Few of the things that actually ended passenger service were manifest at that time: most of the road-improvement projects were primarily grade-separation or high-traffic-density propositions, for instance. The only real superhighway in the East was the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which was essentially built to German Autobahn standards and which was a horror thrill ride then as now to anyone without a good capable car -- in short supply for years after the War ended. The great age of turnpikes, and later the Interstate system, wouldn't get underway for at least several years, and cars built to optimize their capabilities even further away. Meanwhile, most of the advantages of four-engine military aircraft were only just starting to trickle down to airlines, where a Skymaster was still first-line equipment, little better than a fat DC-3. Still an era of relatively low-level flight severely impacted by weather conditions. Who'd expect that would become highly preferred to riding Pullmans ... or competition for cheap coach travel with 'streamliner' amenities?
Your analyze is absolutely right, the LD Passenger train was doing so well, operated in a section after section until the end of the War World II, until the general public of America was free from war restrictions, allowed to drive their car and use the gas again. And commercial Jet like the de Havilland Comet first appeared in the mid-1949. After the Korean War, we had the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 which benefited a lot a family and corporation in the States but it was the the last nail in the coffin of America's long-distance passenger service.
But I do believe that some railroader who was leading some largest RR in the States had the foresight on the future of America's industry. So why I made such an obvious mistake when answering Becky's question? Maybe for a meaningful and informative response like yours?
Overmod Steamship people were making similar mistakes, later than railroads did. I have mentioned the stillborn attempt to extend the Trail-Blazer like service model to transatlantic travel that Yourkevitch was developing as late as 1954... might it have been interesting to live in a slightly later world of nostalgia, in which we had the Hyperboloid instead of the old GCT; mass steamship travel with the usual cruise-line kind of amenities; Chessie-style consists on NYC Dieseliner service with Mr Young's eye toward improvement of service. And real high-speed trains that matter, instead of lightweight beer-can accommodation stuff...
Interesting, Overmod. A REAL High-Speed Rail connecting the most important cities of the Northeast, travel package allow HSR passenger to take the new massive high-speed oceanliner at a much lower cost which had acceptable amenities like what Yourkevitch designed from 1954 to 1957; small profits, quick turnover approach. Although I am not sure Yourkevitch's idea is practical for transatlantic ocean liner service since public order on such a big ship with 6000 passengers plus maybe 1200 crews would be a big headache.
By the way, could I call The UP "Big Boy" "She" when I talking about he/she/it? If UP Big Boy is a boyo then what is the PRR S1? The Big Mother of American railroad? !
Miningman Perhaps without the war we would have gone this way.
Very Metropolitan! I've always found it curious that being a German film and all, they didn't model miniature Zeppelins for the 1929 film:
"Metropolis!" Good point, they put just about everything else in it.
Flintlock76Well, one of the reason's that U-Boot's there is as a reminder of a magnificent feat of arms by the US Navy in WW2, the first Navy capture of an enemy vessel since the War of 1812, and one that resulted in the award of the Medal of Honor to the officer commanding the boarding party. As a matter of fact, Captain (later Rear Admiral) Daniel Gallery, the commander of the hunter-killer group that captured the sub was the first US Navy commander since the War of 1812 to give the command "AWAY ALL BOARDERS!" Quite a guy, Captain Gallery! Here's his story... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_V._Gallery Now a war souvenir like that is just too good to throw away!
As a matter of fact, Captain (later Rear Admiral) Daniel Gallery, the commander of the hunter-killer group that captured the sub was the first US Navy commander since the War of 1812 to give the command "AWAY ALL BOARDERS!"
Quite a guy, Captain Gallery! Here's his story...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_V._Gallery
Now a war souvenir like that is just too good to throw away!
Starting about the 19 minute mark is the story of the capture of U-505 - 2 days before D-Day. Over 800 U-boats were sunk during WW II.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
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