Original Color Illustration Of The Burlington Zephyr By An Unknown Artist

UNKNOWN

Publication: Privately drawn by an unknown artist, n d (ca 1934), N P

Undated, but most likely mid-1930's, depicting the famous, iconic, streamlined train of the era. Painted in brilliant colors, approximately 19 1/2" x 10," floated against a gray background, framed and glazed to an overall 26" x 16" frame size. Captioned "Racing the Sun: The Burlington Zephyr," depicts the speedy train coming out of a sunburst. Most likely done for advertising or promotion, although we have been unable to determine if or where it may have been used. The art is not signed. Aside from a bit of minor spotting and wear, it is in excellent condition and suitable for hanging. "The Pioneer Zephyr is a diesel-powered railroad train formed of railroad cars permanently articulated together with Jacobs bogies, built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington. The train featured extensive use of stainless steel, was originally named the Zephyr, and was meant as a promotional tool to advertise passenger rail service in the United States. The construction included innovations such as shotwelding (a specialized type of spot welding) to join the stainless steel, and articulation to reduce its weight. On May 26, 1934, it set a speed record for travel between Denver, Colorado, and Chicago, Illinois, when it made a 1,015-mile (1,633 km) non-stop "Dawn-to-Dusk" dash in 13 hours 5 minutes at an average speed of 77 mph (124 km/h). For one section of the run it reached a speed of 112.5 mph (181 km/h), just short of the then US land speed record of 115 mph (185 km/h). The historic dash inspired a 1934 film and the train's nickname, "The Silver Streak" The train entered the regular revenue service on November 11, 1934, between Kansas City, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; and Lincoln, Nebraska. It operated this and other routes until its retirement in 1960, when it was donated to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, where it remains on public display. The train is generally regarded as the first successful streamliner on American railroads" ----- Wikipedia.

Inventory Number: 43864