Since quite a bit came up about the 20th Century Limited on a recent post, I thought I would offer this info.
Here are two book recommendations.
"The Twentieth Century Limited 1938-1967"
TLC Publishing
Richard J. Cook Sr.
1993
and
"20th Century"
Lucious Beebe
Howell-North Books
1962
One important distinction about the books is that the first one above is obviously the streamline era. The second one, by Beebe, a very famous railroad auther, starts from the beginning, 1902, I think: and covers the non-streamliend steam and heavyweight era very generously, and then into the streamlined.
In addition to those, there are several books just about the New York Central itself,which would of course have material in them about the Century.
For anyone who "doesn't get" the attention to this train so "long-ago"(well, that is relative)it is just that it was very fast for its time , made few stops,was almost always on time, red-carpet boarding at GCT, had best possible service,carried the most famous people in the world from all walks, movie stars, politicans, sports figures, government figures, they all rode the Century!!
The author of one of those books mentions being on it one night during a horrible blizzard. They were passing stranded trains right and left but still moving....at one point the author realized that the Century was moving along DIRECTLY BEHIND the snow plow!! The Century had to get through if anything did!!
Hope this helps.
Last but not least--let us not slight its arch-rival, Pennsylvania Railroad's Broadway Limited. One was about as good as the other for most of the years, and they kept trying to out-do each other, which kept both of them in shape.
Here are two book recommendations.
"The Twentieth Century Limited 1938-1967"
TLC Publishing
Richard J. Cook Sr.
1993
and
"20th Century"
Lucious Beebe
Howell-North Books
1962
One important distinction about the books is that the first one above is obviously the streamline era. The second one, by Beebe, a very famous railroad auther, starts from the beginning, 1902, I think: and covers the non-streamliend steam and heavyweight era very generously, and then into the streamlined.
In addition to those, there are several books just about the New York Central itself,which would of course have material in them about the Century.
For anyone who "doesn't get" the attention to this train so "long-ago"(well, that is relative)it is just that it was very fast for its time , made few stops,was almost always on time, red-carpet boarding at GCT, had best possible service,carried the most famous people in the world from all walks, movie stars, politicans, sports figures, government figures, they all rode the Century!!
The author of one of those books mentions being on it one night during a horrible blizzard. They were passing stranded trains right and left but still moving....at one point the author realized that the Century was moving along DIRECTLY BEHIND the snow plow!! The Century had to get through if anything did!!
Hope this helps.
Last but not least--let us not slight its arch-rival, Pennsylvania Railroad's Broadway Limited. One was about as good as the other for most of the years, and they kept trying to out-do each other, which kept both of them in shape.
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