NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD "FLIGHT OF THE CENTURY" CENTURY LIMITED -- FAMOUS TRAIN MD86504

Made by the New York Central Railroad in 1935, FLIGHT OF THE CENTURY is a portrait of the "most famous train in the world."
The 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train on the New York Central Railroad (NYC) from 1902 to 1967. The train traveled between Grand Central Terminal (GCT) in New York City and LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, Illinois, along the railroad's "Water Level Route".
The NYC inaugurated this train as direct competition to the Pennsylvania Railroad, aimed at upper class as well as business travelers between the two cities. It made few station stops along the way and used track pans enroute to take water at speed; after 1938 it made the 960-mile journey in 16 hours, departing New York City westbound at 6:00 P.M. Eastern Time and arriving at Chicago's LaSalle St. Station the following morning at 9:00 A.M. Central Time., averaging 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). For a brief period after World War II, the eastward schedule was shortened to 15½ hours.
The 20th Century was known for its style, which has been described as "spectacularly understated ... suggesting exclusivity and sophistication" as well as for its speed; passengers walked to and from the train on a plush, crimson carpet which was rolled out in New York and Chicago and was specially designed for the 20th Century Limited. "Getting the red carpet treatment" passed into the language from this memorable practice. "Transportation historians", said the writers of The Art of the Streamliner, "consistently rate the 1938 edition of the Century to be the world's ultimate passenger conveyance-at least on the ground".
Regular passengers included Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, Lillian Russell, "Diamond Jim" Brady, J. P. Morgan, Enrico Caruso, and Nellie Melba.
In the 1920s the New York-Chicago fare was $32.70 plus the extra fare of $9.60, plus the Pullman charge (e.g. $9 for a lower berth), for a total of $51.30. For that one got a bed closed off from the aisle by curtains; a compartment to oneself would cost more. In 1928, the peak year, the train earned revenue of $10 million and was believed to be the most profitable train in the world.
Shortly after the announcement of the fluorescent lamp, the cars of the 20th Century Limited were lit with this new type of lamp.
Like many express passenger trains through the mid-1960s, the 20th Century Limited carried an East Division (E.D.) Railway Post Office (R.P.O.) car operated by the Railway Mail Service (RMS) of the United States Post Office Department which was staffed by USPOD clerks as a "fast mail" on each of its daily runs. The mails received by, postmarked, processed, sorted, and dispatched from the 20th Century Limited 's RPOs were either canceled or backstamped (as appropriate) during the trip by hand applied circular date stamps (CDS) reading "N.Y. & CHI. R.P.O. E.D. 20TH CEN.LTD." and the train's number: "25" (NY-CHI) or "26" (CHI-NY).
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[@bobd5197]

I would GLADLY trade today's flying for this mode of travel!

[@paulnicholson1906]

I’ve taken the train from Chicago to New York and it is an experience but way too slow compared to flying. In 1930 though you didn’t really have another option.

[@josephvarchola2122]

​@@paulnicholson1906 But in the days of the Cunard Line..."Getting there was half the fun!"

[@paulnicholson1906]

@@josephvarchola2122 we sailed from New York to Liverpool in 1966 on the Cunard steamship Sylvania. It took 6 days 2 that were rough as anything and everybody was sick as dogs 🙃.

[@bradpritts766]

my great grandfather was an engineer from buffalo to cleveland! My grandfather worked maintenance in Cleveland.

[@NYRM1974]

We need our railroads

[@yixnorb5971]

I was commuting through LaSalle St. Station on the day the movie "The Sting" was being filmed there. The magazine and snack counter had 1920s items in it and the clerk wore a straw hat and sleeve garters.

[@cadicorniche]

What a fantastic adventure train travel - or any long distance travel - must have been back then. This was a very enjoyable video.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

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[@johnbehneman1546]

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I LEARNED ALOT ABOUT THE 20TH CENTURY LIMITED!!!!

[@InFltSvc]

I would LOVE it if we could still travel like this

[@michaelbutler1619]

A cocktail called the 20th century was modeled after this train. It’s just as luxurious, but the ingredient combination is pretty weird. 1.5 ounces of gin, and 3/4 of an ounce each of white crème de cacao, lillet blanc/cocchi americano (kina lillet was used originally, but they stopped making it back in 86), and lemon juice. It’s one of my favorites, but I use elderflower liqueur instead of lillet/cocchi because it has the same flavor profile without the bitterness of the quinine.

[@chuckmyers7698]

Amazing customer service, courtesy and employee took their jobs seriously. Would have loved to had experience it. Young people today do not realize what real customer service was like.

[@andyrob3259]

That was the type of service that ‘tipping’ was created for. Not just a compulsory payment for handing you something.

[@echoecho3108]

Wow. Just wow. Wish I'd been able to ride that magnificent beast. Or at least watch it come into the station. What a beauty. Thanx muchly, Periscope, for sharing this little treasure!

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Glad you enjoyed it and appreciate it. To take a deep dive on our submarine of filmic preservation, visit Patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm

[@johnbehneman1546]

I NEED TO START COLLECTING MERCHANDISE OF ICONIC TRAINS FROM THE PAST. THAT INSPIRE ME!!!! ART DECO TRAINS!!!!!

[@mike89128]

My wife's grandfather was the NYC track superintendent from Gary to Michigan City In. Here's where the story gets weird. Mom and I traveled to NY to catch the Queen Elizabeth in 1947, because of family drama. The train passed through Chesterton In and may or may not have stopped at the NY Central station there. Mom never came back to the States but when I married in 1969 in Chesterton it's possible that 22 years earlier my wife's parents might have been stopped at the tracks to let the Century pass and saw us in the window.

[@degoske]

Awesome!

[@triplet7861]

Awesome Train Footage :) - TinyTrainTrack

[@johnbehneman1546]

WOW!!!! THAT WAS HIGH END TRAIN TRAVEL IN THE 1930S!!!! WE NEED THAT LUXURY AGAIN!!! JUST LIKE THE QUEEN MARY!!!

[@steveb6103]

In 1935 this was one of the only good paying jobs a black person could have. Pullman conductor's were payed very well . Hard job to get. Harder to keep.

[@kristov29]

Very true. Being a Pullman Porter or a cook (or having one of the other jobs) meant long hours of seemingly endless hard work, but back in those days, black or white, if you had a job at all, you were expected to bust your butt to keep it. The mindset today is much different.

[@jamesnotfound]

Very true. My great great grandfather was a Pullman porter.

[@carlupthegrove262]

I like that we get a bit of Hello Mudder Hello Fadder at about 10:45 in. 🙂

[@Greatdome99]

It's classical (opera) music,; Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours, from the opera La Gioconda.

[@carlupthegrove262]

@@Greatdome99 Thanks I never knew that

[@toma5153]

@@Greatdome99 Thanks, I always forget!

[@TomHoffman-uw7pf]

I THOUGHT that's what it was!

[@torgeirbrandsnes1916]

I have only eaten a three course meal on a train ONCE! I want to do it again!

[@gonebamboo4116]

In the 1920s, 'a total fare of $51.30' could buy more than a few ounces of gold. That's what's happening to our dollars. Price listed in the description

[@robertlandry5676]

Really impressed with the cleanliness, the Airline’s should practice the same

[@almeggs3247]

Why? Because I grew up the same back then as everyone in this film working a days work for a days pay we were accountable for our actions we were conscientious we we had integrity and whatever we were tasked to do We did it to the best of our ability! How? AMERICA WAS PROUD AND SO WERE WE! It was an honor to have a job and felt good at the end of a hard day!

[@Yu-hx5jo]

you probably did nothing without government's free help

[@xr6lad]

@@Yu-hx5jolet me guess? A 15 year old virgin? With no life experience and nervous around woman. Still living at home making CGI images of themselves?

[@xr6lad]

@@Yu-hx5jolike yourself?

[@robertdaniels1269]

@@Yu-hx5joLike you ?

[@Yu-hx5jo]

@@robertdaniels1269 my brother in christ do you even understand context or just reply with your penis

[@mrpeel3239]

Is there an equivalent film showing the later, streamlined Century?

[@varrunningtrains4112]

Am wondering the same thing!

[@steverudder3321]

10:22 the pleasant music becomes "Hello Mudda, Hello Fada" by Alan Sherman!🤔🤣

[@echoecho3108]

Actually, long before the tune was 'appropriated' by Alan Sherman, it was part of an Opera. I think, Puccini?

[@E.L.RipleyAtNostromo]

I was born 40 years too late! I regret not being able to experience this kind of luxury train travel today. Today you’re relegated to cattle car TSA hack airplane travel, or super expensive government mismanaged Amtrak. How did we screw this up? A shame.

[@CodeScrubber]

Easy, The free market and the vast majority of America wants CHEAP. $51.30 in 1935 is $1140 adjusted for inflation. I guess you can buy a "first class" (ha ha) ticket from JFK to O'hare with that. Amtrak simply doesn't have the long distance service density because few want to ride a train for 17 1/2 hours to go somewhere they can fly to in 4 hours. These trains were full, day in day out. Not only that, but all those workers were supporting a fleet of trains, not only another Chicago limited, but also first class limiteds like this to Detroit, Cincinnati and St. Louis. There were also a larger number of secondary trains servicing all of the small cities in between. That's only the New York Central

[@Valeria-ix8qv]

🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@johnbehneman1546]

20TH CENTURY LIMITED RENISANCE!!!!

[@jpoirier690]

My family produced the 20th Century Limited and the NY Central Railroad films and documentaries, We also still own the rights to the archives. Who is distributing these films? We have master archive reals of the films and more.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Contact us via stock.periscopefilm.com

[@CrossOfBayonne]

In this film we also see the NYC Hudsons, Non were saved sadly and they were the pride of the fleet for the NYC.

[@Slapjabber]

Wow, mail on the train? How long is this trip?

[@robertdaniels1269]

An RPO ( Railway Post Office ) car - basically, a Post Office on wheels. Mail was picked up, sorted, and delivered along the way. The last one in the US was in 1976 between New York and Washington DC.

[@echoecho3108]

@@robertdaniels1269 😊👍 Cool! Thanx for the info!

[@TomHoffman-uw7pf]

@@robertdaniels1269 Some RPOs had a mail slot on the side of the car. You could walk up to the car and drop your letter in the slot. It would be delivered to the recipient's home or office the next day. The postmark in this case would read NY&CHI RPO TRAIN 26 July 10 1935.

[@robertdaniels1269]

@@TomHoffman-uw7pf Yes - I have a postmarked envelope from the NY - Washington RPO ( The last one in the US ) that was mailed that way. You could also buy stamps from an RPO.

[@gonebamboo4116]

13:19 two centuries pass in a single night

[@globeforever9777]

How do I get rid of that annoying clock?

[@steveb6103]

Buy the video! It's there to keep people from ripping off the footage.

[@globeforever9777]

@@steveb6103 Ok thanks.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Here's the issue: Tens of thousands of films similar to this one have been lost forever -- destroyed -- and many others are at risk. Our company preserves these precious bits of history one film at a time. How do we afford to do that? By selling them as stock footage to documentary filmmakers and broadcasters. If we did not have a counter, we could not afford to post films like these online, and no films would be preserved. It's that simple. So we ask you to bear with the watermark and timecodes. In the past we tried many different systems including placing our timer at the bottom corner of our videos. What happened? Unscrupulous KZbin users downloaded our vids, blew them up so the timer was not visible, and re-posted them as their own content! We had to use content control to have the videos removed and shut down these channels. It's hard enough work preserving these films and posting them, without having to spend precious time dealing with policing thievery -- and not what we devoted ourselves to do. Love our channel and want to support what we do? You can help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference.

[@chasethesky1]

@@PeriscopeFilm Have you delved into the possibility of doing some sort of collaboration with TCM? As a stormchaser I know a little bit about those thieves.

[@LittleGeoffrey]

A question for experts: why are there two trains leaving at 6:54?

[@georgestephani4308]

Because of the amount of passengers traveling wouldn't fit in one train set and the railroad couldn't run a longer train for logistical reasons (train platform lengths) so two trains would run under one Schedule Train Number as the second (train) section, following the first one. The lead locomotive would display a colored flag or white flag (depending the railroads book of rules) indicating the train following it is the second section. This helped the Block Operators and Station Agents in identifying the trains. Some railroads would run an all Pullman train set and the second train would have coach cars.

[@echoecho3108]

@@georgestephani4308 😊👍 Wow. Thanx for the info! Fascinating. Another question I never thought to ask my grandpa loooooong ago. He retired from C&O at Unuion Station in DC, back in the 1960s.

[@PatsPurposefulPutzing]

and depending on who was going where the second section could be all boston bound@@georgestephani4308

[@TomHoffman-uw7pf]

@@georgestephani4308 On January 7, 1929, the eastbound Century left Chicago with 7 sections. 1st 26, 2nd 26, 3rd 26 and so on. I remember the date because January 7 is my birtday.

[@Vinyl_guy]

so sad that no dryfuss hudson’s still exist

[@seethevolcane-qj8ys]

Great film. (Audio is screwed).

[@NYRM1974]

If I can get investors online..... I like to build a railroad empire to rival Amtrak and Brightline in Florida. With service into Canada & Mexico and across the United States including Alaska

[@godspeed1-maxthrust972]

This is not possible..you are delusional

[@NYRM1974]

@@godspeed1-maxthrust972 Ambition is what built America industry. DON'T LIKE MY VISION THEN LIVE ON THE MOON

[@NYRM1974]

@@godspeed1-maxthrust972 the problem with people like you is that you lack vision. People like you don't look at the bigger picture like other people like myself see. This is why you will continue to be complacent in your life. I on the other hand am very well accomplished.

[@godspeed1-maxthrust972]

@@NYRM1974 a railroad empire is not feasible..you do not understand rail, the scope or the climate that we live in

[@godspeed1-maxthrust972]

Impossible..

[@boathemian7694]

And to think we threw this away for stupid crewcab luxury pickups.

[@johnbehneman1546]

SUGGESTION: ART DECO RENISANCE!!!

[@bullettube9863]

Notice that all of the workers were black? That is because the passenger cars were part of the Pullman system of Pullman cars. The New York Central, like other railroads that used Pullman cars, shared the profits with Pullman. The men were not paid a wage, they depended entirely upon tips for their livelihood! Old man Pullman was the typical railroad baron, utterly ruthless in the pursuit of profit and an expert at exploiting his workers. The New York Central was just as ruthless, driving other railroads to bankruptcy by offering lower prices, then swooping in to "rescue" them, then promptly raising prices to an even higher level. They were efficient and comfortable, but they didn't think cars and planes were a threat and thus lost traffic.

[@metricstormtrooper]

Yeah, typical Americans to lay claim to the most famous train, how about Orient express, Flying Scotsman etc etc

[@jlwilliams]

greggy weggy Uh, you understand what an advertisement is, right?

[@1942Dreamer]

It's called marketing. Everyone claims to have the best. It builds morale.

[@kristov29]

This is essentially a commercial for the New York Central Railroad. When it came to spending their advertising dollars, NYCRR did not believe to American public to believe that any other railroad existed.

[@katsebua]

I heard the Orient Express gets stuck in snow

[@andyrob3259]

Yawn. I’ve seen the same from the LNER & LMS each claiming ‘unique’ things.