- Chicago Railroad Fair
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The cover for the Chicago Railroad Fair's 1949 official program
The Chicago Railroad Fair was an event organized to celebrate and commemorate 100 years of railroad history west of Chicago, Illinois. It was held in Chicago in 1948 and 1949 along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is often referred to as "the last great railroad fair" with 39 railroad companies participating. The board of directors for the show was a veritable "Who's Who" of railroad company executives.
Contents
History of the fair
The fair was rapidly planned during the winter and spring of 1948, and originally scheduled to run between July and August of that summer. Erected on 50 acres (200,000 m2) of Burnham Park in Chicago between 21st and 31st Streets,[1] the fair opened after only six months of planning. A grand opening for the fair commenced on July 20 with a parade that featured such spectacles as a military marching band and a replica of a troop train, a contingent of cowboys and Native Americans, a replica of the Tom Thumb, the first American locomotive, and the spry, octogenarian widow of Casey Jones, who served as honorary Grand Master of the parade. One dollar was the price of admission, and, except food, all the attractions, displays, exhibits and shows were free. Besides the thirty-nine railroads who participated in the fair, there were more than twenty equipment manufacturers, including General Motors.[2]
Board of directors
The officers and board of directors for the fair were mostly prominent railroad executives. The fair's officers were:
- President - Lenox R. Lohr, President Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago
- Vice President - R.L. Williams, President Chicago and North Western Railway
- Treasurer - Wayne A. Johnston, President Illinois Central Railroad
- Secretary - G. M. Campbell, Vice President Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The fair's directors included (in alphabetical order by surname):
- Arthur K. Atkinson, President Wabash Railroad
- John W. Barriger III, President Monon Railroad
- T. D. Beven, President Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad
- J. J. Brinkworth, Vice President New York Central System
- John M. Budd, Vice President Great Northern Railway
- Ralph Budd, President Burlington Lines
- C. H. Buford, President Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
- G. M. Campbell, Vice President Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
- Thomas J. Deegan, Vice President Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
- William N. Deramus III, President Chicago Great Western Railway
- S. A. Dobbs, Vice President Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad
- J. D. Farrington, President Rock Island Lines
- P. E. Feucht, Vice President Pennsylvania Railroad
- E. S. French, President Boston and Maine Railroad
- Charles J. Graham, President Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway
- Fred Gurley, President Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
- C. R. Harding, President Pullman Company
- Wayne A. Johnston, President Illinois Central Railroad
- J. D. Dodson, President Texas Mexican Railway
- Lenox R. Lohr, President Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago
- Wilson McCarthy, President Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
- H. E. McGee, President Green Bay and Western Railroad
- C. M. Roddewig, President Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
- F. L. Schrader, President Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway
- C. A. Skog, Vice President and General Manager Grand Trunk Railway
- A. E. Stoddard, President Union Pacific Railroad
- A. Syverson, Vice President and General Manager Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad
- P. H. Van Hoven, President Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
- R.L. Williams, President Chicago and North Western Railway
- L. L. White, President Nickel Plate Road
- Ward Wire, Vice President Colorado and Wyoming Railway
- R. E. Woodruff, President Erie Railroad
Participating railroads
38 railroads and more than 20 railroad equipment manufacturers participated in the Chicago Railroad Fair exhibiting equipment and interpretive displays around the fair's theme of 100 years of railroad history. The majority of the participating railroads maintained a direct rail connection to Chicago. The companies that participated included:
- Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
- Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
- Boston and Maine Railroad
- Burlington Lines
- Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
- Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
- Chicago Great Western Railway
- Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway
- Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway (Monon Railroad)
- Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road)
- Chicago and North Western Railway
- Colorado and Wyoming Railway
- Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
- Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
- Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway
- Erie Railroad
- Grand Trunk Railway
- Great Northern Railway
- Green Bay and Western Railroad
- Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad (The Alton Route)
- Illinois Central Railroad
- Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad
- Maine Central Railroad
- Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway
- Monongahela Railway
- New York Central Railroad
- Nickel Plate Road
- Norfolk Southern Railway
- Northern Pacific Railway
- Pennsylvania Railroad
- Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway
- Pullman Company
- Rock Island Lines
- Soo Line Railroad
- Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
- Texas Mexican Railway
- Union Pacific Railroad
- Wabash Railroad
- Western Pacific Railroad
Rolling stock displays
Illinois Central Railroad No. 201, built in 1880 by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works, was used in the pageant. This locomotive is now preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum, where this photo was taken.The highlight of the Chicago Railroad Fair was the "Wheels A-Rolling" pageant. This was a dramatic and musical presentation intended to showcase the development of transportation and the railroads across the country beginning with trails and waterways. The pageant included a recreation of the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory, Utah, and various historic rolling stock and replicas of equipment in operation.
Railroad equipment used in the pageant included:
Original equipment
- No. 222 and coach
- No. 637, Zulu and combine car
- No. 10250
- Cumberland Valley Pioneer and coach
- Empire State Express No. 999
- The General (1948 only)[3]
- John Hancock and coach
- Illinois Central 201 and coach
- Little Butter Cup and two coaches
- Minnetonka and two logging trucks
- Pioneer and coach
- Pioneer Zephyr
- Reuben Wells and coach
- William Crooks and two coaches
- William Mason and baggage car number 10
Replicas
- Atlantic and two replica coaches
- Best Friend of Charleston
- Chicago horse car
- DeWitt Clinton and three coaches
- John Bull and coach
- Jupiter(portrayed by Virginia and Truckee locomotive "Genoa") and combine car
- Lafayette and two barrel cars
- Pioneer horse car
- Pullman coach number 9
- State Street cable car
- Tom Thumb locomotive and director's car
- Union Pacific No. 119(portrayed by Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy locomotive no. 35)
Legacy
In addition to being the last great assembly of railroad equipment and technology by participating railroad companies, the 1948 Chicago Railroad Fair holds a lesser known honor and connection to Disneyland. In 1948 Walt Disney and animator Ward Kimball attended the fair. To their enjoyment they not only got to see all of the equipment, but they were also allowed to operate some of the steam locomotives that were at the Fair. Upon their return to Los Angeles, Disney used the Fair and Greenfield Village, which the two had also visited on the trip, as inspiration for a "Mickey Mouse Park" that eventually became Disneyland.[4] Walt also went on to build his own backyard railroads, building the Carolwood Pacific Railroad. Kimball already had his own, named Grizzly Flats Railroad.
References
- Chicago Railroad Fair Official Guide Book (1949).
Notes
- ^ Chicago Daily Tribune, February 21, 1948.
- ^ Chicago Daily Tribune, July 20, 1948.
- ^ The General: Custody Battles Begin. Retrieved February 9, 2006.
- ^ MousePlanet, Magic Kingdom Chronicles: Pre-History. Retrieved February 9, 2006.
External links
- Photo of the Chicago Railroad Fair entrance on July 26, 1948 This site includes many more color photos from the fair; use "Chicago Railroad Fair" as the search term.
- Photos from the Chicago Railroad Fair
- Great Northern Railway's 1948 Chicago Railroad Fair flyer
- Recording of the Wheels A Rolling music pageant
Categories:- Rail transportation in Illinois
- Trade shows in the United States
- History of Chicago, Illinois
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