The 1947 "Train of Tomorrow" still looks enticing

[CHamilton]

This 1947 Train of Tomorrow Puts Today's Trains to Shame

Here in 21st century America, train travel isn't seen as very futuristic. But in the years after World War II, trains were right up there with airplanes as the coolest in luxurious transportation of tomorrow. And in 1947 Americans got a peek at what was promised to be their train-bound future. P

It was called the Train of Tomorrow, first conceived by General Motors in 1944 simply as a scale model promotional tool. But after the war, people working on the project were excited enough that GM contracted with Pullman to actually build it. The train went out on a 28-month tour of the U.S. and Canada and became a symbol of postwar promises for the future of getting around. Nearly 6 million people walked through the train as it toured, though a much smaller group got to actually travel on it.P

The website Streamliner Memories has uploaded a fantastic color brochure of the train from 1947. Many of the images below come from that brochure. A handful of other black-and-white photos come from the impressively detailed 2007 book Train of Tomorrow by Ric Morgan.

 

[railiner]

A great story of when there was so much optimistic promise for the future of rail passenger travel in the Post-War years.

I recall one of the road's, ( Illinois Central), ad copy touted: "Yesterday's future is arriving on time".....or words similar, when they unveiled their new trains to the public.

As interesting as the Train of Tomorrow was, it was the Burlington, that put the first modern dome car out on the road (Silver Dome, converted from a flattop Budd coach), a couple of years prior to it......