Train - Railroad Pageant 1939 Business Card

Colourized photo from 1939 May 27 Original Title: World's Fair, Railroad pageant, Final Curtain Location: Flushing Meadows, NY In 1939, New York hosted the World's Fair. They showcased the latest in technology, from talking and smoking robots, to kitchens with built in dishwashers, a real kitchen of the future. They also had a large train collection and an unusual show. This show as we see here was called the Railroad Pageant. It featured a number of full sized locomotives that were a part of the show. The show was about how the train was responsible to move progress right along. It was a story from 1869 to 1939 (present day). They had 4 shows a day, employed 250 actors, all of which dressed up in period outfits, peddled bikes, drove cars, carriages etc. All the while trains from that era would plough through (some how not hitting anyone). They would use these larger trains as a sort of curtain, helping them to hide what's going on behind the scenes as the set changed. One of the acts featured when the final spike was pounded in.They used a total of 20 live steam engines. This scene here was called the final curtain. It featured two trains representing the last model to the current model. On the left is a Pennsylvania Streamline 3738 (which is the older model). And on the right is a Delaware, Lakawana & Western 1939 (a number they designated for this show as I believe it was custom made for the show, but it was built in 1938). The person in the centre, the lady wearing dark colours with a large fan like fin on her head. She was the "woman of the future". She represented what we are supposed to look like in the future, though they didn't say how far into the future it was. It seems awkward to wear, especially if its windy.