This Map of the Month appeared in the December 2004 issue of Trains magazine.
Although the idea of branding passenger-train fleets did not begin with the streamliner, it flourished in that era. Innovations such as stainless steel found widespread use in an age captivated by design. Suddenly, appearance mattered. Trains with colorful paint schemes and exterior finishes projected an image far removed from the past.
The first branded streamliner was Burlington’s Zephyr, which became a fleet name in late 1934 with the announcement of the Chicago-Twin Cities Twin Zephyrs. Union Pacific arrived at its brand circuitously: It first promoted the awkward, numeric designations of its early trains such as M-10000; this gave way to a named fleet with the introduction of the City of Portland in early 1935. Streamlining’s third early brand, Rock Island’s Rockets, which entered service in 1937, were planned as a fleet from the outset.
In considering what fleets to include on this map, many proved to be too small, while others were not well defined. Seaboard’s Silver service and Coast Line’s Champions appear, while Florida East Coast’s Flaglers were but a pair of names. (The mileages depict the post-World War II period when the fleets were at their height, not a single year.)
By and large, the service promised under a brand was delivered across a fleet. Exceptions occurred early, when orders for streamlined equipment exceeded production, and after 1950, when some fleets were downgraded as ridership fell.
Some railroads applied branding before streamliners, breaking with a tradition of naming trains to give information (e.g., Pittsburgh Night Express). Pennsylvania set a patriotic theme with the Congressional Express of 1882; Liberty Limited and The American date from 1925. New York Central claimed to invent passenger-train branding with the 1891 Empire State Express. Central was at the fore: The 1890s saw the popularization of national brands such as Ivory soap, yet Central’s memorable “Great Steel Fleet” appeared in advertising only from 1936 to ’38.
Railroading’s best known and most effective brand, Santa Fe’s Chief, dates from 1926. Yet even earlier, the road introduced names drawing on its marketing theme of the great Southwest — Missionary and Navajo date from 1915, Hopi from 1929.
Railroads included in this map:
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Atlantic Coast Line; Chicago & Eastern Illinois; Chicago & North Western; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific; Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific; Louisville & Nashville; Missouri Pacific; Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis; Seaboard Air Line; Southern Pacific; Union Pacific
