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

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

, 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.

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 (202,343 m²) of Burnham Park

Burnham Park (Chicago)

Burnham Park is a public park in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The park, which lines along six miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, connects Grant Park at 14th st. to Jackson Park at 56th St. The of parkland is owned and managed by Chicago Park District. It was named for urban...

 in Chicago between 21st and 31st Streets, 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

Casey Jones

John Luther Jones was an American railroad engineer from Jackson, Tennessee, who worked for the Illinois Central Railroad...

, 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

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

.

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
  Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
  The Museum of Science and Industry is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood adjacent to Lake Michigan. It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
  
   in Chicago
• Vice President - R.L. Williams, President Chicago and North Western Railway
  Chicago and North Western Railway
  The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
  
  
• Treasurer - Wayne A. Johnston
  Wayne A. Johnston
  Wayne A. Johnston was president of Illinois Central Railroad from 1945 to 1966. When he stepped down from the presidency of the railroad, he was named Chairman of the Board for IC, a position he held for a year...
  
  , President Illinois Central Railroad
  Illinois Central Railroad
  The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
  
  
• Secretary - G. M. Campbell, Vice President Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
  Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
  The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
  
  

The fair's directors included (in alphabetical order by surname):

• Arthur K. Atkinson
  Arthur K. Atkinson
  Arthur K. Atkinson was president of the Wabash Railroad in the mid-20th century. In 1949, he served as a director for the Chicago Railroad Fair.- Legacy :...
  
  , President Wabash Railroad
  Wabash Railroad
  The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including trackage in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit,...
  
  
• John W. Barriger III
  John W. Barriger III
  John Walker Barriger III was an American railroad executive; he successively led the Monon Railroad, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad...
  
  , President Monon Railroad
  Monon Railroad
  The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway from 1897–1956, operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana...
  
  
• T. D. Beven, President Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad
• J. J. Brinkworth, Vice President New York Central System
  New York Central Railroad
  The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
  
  
• John M. Budd
  John M. Budd
  John Marshall Budd was chairman and chief executive officer of Burlington Northern Railroad from 1970 to 1971, chairman from 1971 to 1972, and a director from 1970 to 1977.-Family:...
  
  , Vice President Great Northern Railway
• Ralph Budd
  Ralph Budd
  Ralph Budd was an American railroad executive.-Early life:One of six children of John and Mary Budd, Ralph was born on a farm near Waterloo, Iowa on August 20, 1879...
  
  , President Burlington Lines
  Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
  The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
  
  
• C. H. Buford, President Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
  Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
  The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until its merger into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names...
  
  
• G. M. Campbell, Vice President Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
  Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
  The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
  
  
• Thomas J. Deegan, Vice President Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
• William N. Deramus III
  William N. Deramus III
  William Neal Deramus III was an American railroad executive; he led the Chicago Great Western Railway , the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, and the Kansas City Southern Railway through periods of great change in the railroad industry.Deramus graduated from the University of Michigan in 1936 and...
  
  , President Chicago Great Western Railway
  Chicago Great Western Railway
  The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad...
  
  
• S. A. Dobbs, Vice President Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad
  Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad
  The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St...
  
  
• J. D. Farrington, President Rock Island Lines
  Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
  The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
  
  
• P. E. Feucht, Vice President Pennsylvania Railroad
  Pennsylvania Railroad
  The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
  
  
• E. S. French, President Boston and Maine Railroad
  Boston and Maine Railroad
  The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
  
  
• Charles J. Graham, President Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway
  Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway
  The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad, the venture entered receivership in 1908 and the line...
  
  
• Fred Gurley
  Fred Gurley
  Fred G. Gurley was president and executive committee chairman of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.Gurley began his railroad career in 1906 on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, where he worked his way up to become an assistant vice president...
  
  , President Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
  Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
  The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
  
  
• C. R. Harding, President Pullman Company
  Pullman Company
  The Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
  
  
• Wayne A. Johnston
  Wayne A. Johnston
  Wayne A. Johnston was president of Illinois Central Railroad from 1945 to 1966. When he stepped down from the presidency of the railroad, he was named Chairman of the Board for IC, a position he held for a year...
  
  , President Illinois Central Railroad
  Illinois Central Railroad
  The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
  
  
• J. D. Dodson, President Texas Mexican Railway
  Texas Mexican Railway
  The Texas Mexican Railway is a class 1 railroad that operates as a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern Railway in Texas. It is often referred to as the Tex-Mex, or TexMex Railway....
  
  
• Lenox R. Lohr, President Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago
• Wilson McCarthy, President Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
  Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
  The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
  
  
• H. E. McGee, President Green Bay and Western Railroad
  Green Bay and Western Railroad
  The Green Bay and Western Railroad served the transportation and freight haulage needs of northern Wisconsin for almost 100 years before it was absorbed into the Wisconsin Central in 1993...
  
  
• C. M. Roddewig, President Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
  Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
  The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two World Wars before being purchased by the Missouri Pacific...
  
  
• F. L. Schrader, President Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway
  Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway
  The Illinois and Midland Railroad is a railroad in the U.S. state of Illinois, serving Peoria, Springfield and Taylorville. Until 1996, when Genesee & Wyoming Inc. bought it, the company was named the Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway...
  
  
• C. A. Skog, Vice President and General Manager Grand Trunk Railway
  Grand Trunk Railway
  The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
  
  
• A. E. Stoddard, President Union Pacific Railroad
  Union Pacific Railroad
  The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
  
  
• A. Syverson, Vice President and General Manager Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad
  Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad
  The Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad , a U.S. railroad offering service from Marquette, Michigan, to nearby locations in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, began operations in 1896...
  
  
• P. H. Van Hoven, President Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
  Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
  The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...
  
  
• R.L. Williams, President Chicago and North Western Railway
  Chicago and North Western Railway
  The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
  
  
• L. L. White, President Nickel Plate Road
  New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
  The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...
  
  
• Ward Wire, Vice President Colorado and Wyoming Railway
  Colorado and Wyoming Railway
  Originally founded in 1899, the Colorado and Wyoming Railway is a subsidiary of the Oregon Steel Mills. It hauls coal, ore and steel products on about five miles of track inside Oregon Steel's Rocky Mountain Steel Mills facility in Pueblo, Colorado, and connects to the Union Pacific Railroad and...
  
  
• R. E. Woodruff, President Erie Railroad
  Erie Railroad
  The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
  
  

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
  Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
  The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
  
  
• Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
  Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
  The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
  
  
• Boston and Maine Railroad
  Boston and Maine Railroad
  The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
  
  
• Burlington Lines
  Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
  The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
  
  
• Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
  Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
  The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
  
  
• Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
  Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
  The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two World Wars before being purchased by the Missouri Pacific...
  
  
• Chicago Great Western Railway
  Chicago Great Western Railway
  The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad...
  
  
• Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway
  Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway
  The Illinois and Midland Railroad is a railroad in the U.S. state of Illinois, serving Peoria, Springfield and Taylorville. Until 1996, when Genesee & Wyoming Inc. bought it, the company was named the Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway...
  
  
• Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway (Monon Railroad)
• Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
  Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
  The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until its merger into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names...
  
   (Milwaukee Road)
• Chicago and North Western Railway
  Chicago and North Western Railway
  The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
  
  
• Colorado and Wyoming Railway
  Colorado and Wyoming Railway
  Originally founded in 1899, the Colorado and Wyoming Railway is a subsidiary of the Oregon Steel Mills. It hauls coal, ore and steel products on about five miles of track inside Oregon Steel's Rocky Mountain Steel Mills facility in Pueblo, Colorado, and connects to the Union Pacific Railroad and...
  
  
• Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
  Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
  The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
  
  
• Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
  Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
  The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...
  
  
• Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway
  Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway
  The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway is a Class II railroad that operates in the suburbs surrounding Chicago. The railroad is a link between Class I railroads in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana...
  
  
• Erie Railroad
  Erie Railroad
  The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
  
  
• Grand Trunk Railway
  Grand Trunk Railway
  The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
  
  
• Great Northern Railway
• Green Bay and Western Railroad
  Green Bay and Western Railroad
  The Green Bay and Western Railroad served the transportation and freight haulage needs of northern Wisconsin for almost 100 years before it was absorbed into the Wisconsin Central in 1993...
  
  
• Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad
  Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad
  The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St...
  
   (The Alton Route)
• Illinois Central Railroad
  Illinois Central Railroad
  The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
  
  
• Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad
  Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad
  The Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad , a U.S. railroad offering service from Marquette, Michigan, to nearby locations in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, began operations in 1896...
  
  
• Maine Central Railroad
  Maine Central Railroad
  The Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...
  
  
• Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway
  Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway
  The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway was an American Class I railroad that built and operated lines radiating south and west from Minneapolis, Minnesota which existed for 90 years from 1870 to 1960....
  
  
• Monongahela Railway
  Monongahela Railway
  The Monongahela Railway was a coal-hauling short line railroad in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the United States. It was jointly controlled originally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with NYC...
  
  
• New York Central Railroad
  New York Central Railroad
  The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
  
  
• Nickel Plate Road
  New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
  The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...
  
  
• Norfolk Southern Railway
  Norfolk Southern Railway
  The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
  
  
• Northern Pacific Railway
  Northern Pacific Railway
  The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
  
  
• Pennsylvania Railroad
  Pennsylvania Railroad
  The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
  
  
• Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway
  Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway
  The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad, the venture entered receivership in 1908 and the line...
  
  
• Pullman Company
  Pullman Company
  The Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
  
  
• Rock Island Lines
  Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
  The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
  
  
• Soo Line Railroad
  Soo Line Railroad
  The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , controlled through the Soo Line Corporation, and one of seven U.S. Class I railroads. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste...
  
  
• Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
  Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
  The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway was a United States-based railroad incorporated in 1905. It was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank of the Columbia River....
  
  
• Texas Mexican Railway
  Texas Mexican Railway
  The Texas Mexican Railway is a class 1 railroad that operates as a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern Railway in Texas. It is often referred to as the Tex-Mex, or TexMex Railway....
  
  
• Union Pacific Railroad
  Union Pacific Railroad
  The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
  
  
• Wabash Railroad
  Wabash Railroad
  The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including trackage in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit,...
  
  
• Western Pacific Railroad
  Western Pacific Railroad
  The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California...
  
  

Rolling stock displays

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

Golden spike

The "Golden Spike" is the ceremonial final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory...

 ceremony at Promontory, Utah

Promontory, Utah

Promontory in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, is notable as the location of Promontory Summit where the United States' Transcontinental Railroad was officially completed on May 10, 1869....

, and various historic rolling stock

Rolling stock

Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...

 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
  The General (locomotive)
  The General is a type 4-4-0 steam locomotive that was the subject of the Great Locomotive Chase of the American Civil War. The locomotive is preserved at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.-...
  
  (1948 only)
• John Hancock and coach
• Illinois Central 201
  Illinois Central 201
  Illinois Central 201 is a steam locomotive, originally owned and operated by Illinois Central Railroad. In 1949, the locomotive was operated at the Chicago Railroad Fair as part of the "Wheels A-Rolling" pageant. It is now on static display at Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois....
  
   and coach
• Little Butter Cup and two coaches
• Minnetonka and two logging trucks
• Pioneer
  Pioneer (locomotive)
  Pioneer is the name of the first railroad locomotive to operate in Chicago, Illinois. It was built in 1837 by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Utica and Schenectady Railroad in New York, then purchased used by William B. Ogden for the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad...
  
  and coach
• Pioneer Zephyr
  Pioneer Zephyr
  The Pioneer Zephyr is a diesel-powered railroad train formed of railroad cars permanently articulated together with Jacobs bogies, built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad , commonly known as the Burlington...
  
  
• Reuben Wells
  Reuben Wells (locomotive)
  The Reuben Wells is a steam locomotive in the permanent collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States...
  
  and coach
• William Crooks and two coaches
• William Mason
  William Mason (locomotive)
  "William Mason" is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive currently in operation at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was built for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, carrying that railroad's number 25...
  
  and baggage car
  Baggage car
  A baggage car or luggage van is a type of railway vehicle often forming part of the composition of passenger trains and used to carry passengers' checked baggage, as well as parcels . Being typically coupled at the front of the train behind the locomotive, this type of car is sometimes described...
  
   number 10

Replicas

• Atlantic
  Atlantic (locomotive)
  Atlantic was the name of an early American steam locomotive built by Phineas Davis for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1832.-Design and construction:...
  
  and two replica coaches
• Best Friend of Charleston
  Best Friend of Charleston
  The Best Friend of Charleston was a steam-powered railroad locomotive. It is widely acclaimed as the first locomotive to be built entirely within the United States. It also produced the first locomotive boiler explosion in the US.- History :...
  
  
• Chicago horse car
• DeWitt Clinton
  DeWitt Clinton (locomotive)
  The DeWitt Clinton of the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad was the first steam locomotive to operate in the state of New York and the fourth built in the United States....
  
  and three coaches
• John Bull
  John Bull (locomotive)
  John Bull is a British-built railroad steam locomotive that operated in the United States. It was operated for the first time on September 15, 1831, and it became the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operated it in 1981...
  
  and coach
• Jupiter
  Jupiter (locomotive)
  The Jupiter was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive which made history as one of the two locomotives The Jupiter (officially known as Central Pacific Railroad #60) was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive which made history as one of the two locomotives The Jupiter (officially known as Central Pacific Railroad #60) was...
  
  (portrayed by Virginia and Truckee locomotive "Genoa") and combine car
  Combine car
  A combine car in North American parlance, most often referred to simply as a combine, is a type of railroad car which combines sections for both passengers and freight....
  
  
• Lafayette and two barrel cars
• Pioneer horse car
• Pullman coach number 9
• State Street cable car
• Tom Thumb
  Tom Thumb (locomotive)
  Tom Thumb was the first American-built steam locomotive used on a common-carrier railroad. Designed and built by Peter Cooper in 1830, it was designed to convince owners of the newly formed Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to use steam engines...
  
  locomotive and director's car
• Union Pacific No. 119
  Union Pacific No. 119
  The No. 119 was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive which made history as one of the two locomotives to meet at Promontory Summit during the Golden Spike ceremony commemorating the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.No...
  
  (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

Walt Disney

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...

 and animator Ward Kimball

Ward Kimball

Ward Walrath Kimball was an animator for the Walt Disney Studios. He was one of Walt Disney's team of animators known as Disney's Nine Old Men.-Career:...

 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. Walt also went on to build his own backyard railroads, building the Carolwood Pacific Railroad

Carolwood Pacific Railroad

The Carolwood Pacific Railroad was a live steam backyard railroad, built by the American animated film producer and animator, Walt Disney in the backyard of his home in California, USA....

. Kimball already had his own, named Grizzly Flats Railroad

Grizzly Flats Railroad

The Grizzly Flats Railroad was a long narrow gauge railroad in San Gabriel, California, owned by Disney animator Ward Kimball. It was the first full-sized backyard railroad in the United States and was operated from 1942 to 2006.-History:...

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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