and he notes -
Interesting observation on the Raymond Lowey design applied to the
Pennsy Locos. One must remember that Lowey was an renowned industrial
designer with accomplishments such as the 1930 Hupmobile, the Lucky
Strike cigarette package and several small appliances made by A. C.
Gilbert Company.
When the PRR decided to enter the streamline era they hired Lowey. In
contrast, the Central hired Henry Dreyfuss who was a theatrical stage
designer (his firm still does this today). But with the onset of the
depression he took on industrial contracts and produced designs such
as the Bell Telephone with the hand held receiver/speaker and a nifty
chrome plated toaster and the Hoover upright vacuum cleaner, to name a few.
As far as railroad designs are concerned, it would appear that both
men were influenced by two already well established architects. Lowey
by Paul Philippe Cret, a noted French designer who introduced the Art
Deco form into such projects as the Cincinnati Union Terminal and the
fluting on Burlington's Pioneer Zephyr. (The Santa Fe also used this
concept on the Super Chief). Cret carried these lines further on a
series of German and French streamlined steam locos.
Enter the second long standing rail designer, Otto Kuhler and we have
many examples of Art Deco with Milwaukee's Hiawathas, Lehigh Valley
locos and B&O's 'Royal Blue' with their parallel lines. Dreyfuss was
obviously taken by his concepts and used them in his venture into
railroad streamlining.
Streamlining was not new on the New York Central, being introduced in
1934 with the home-made 'bathtub' design (by the road's mechanical
engineer Carl Kantola) used on the "Commodore Vanderbilt" Hudson.
When the Central wanted a design for their planned Cleveland-Detroit
Mercury train, they hired Dreyfuss (Lowey was already working for the
PRR and Kuhler for the Milwaukee). However budget restraints made the
designs submitted impractical until Dreyfuss came up with a compromise.
The 'Commodore' styling could be used as it would save a whole new
mechanical design so it was applied to two Pacifics. Since they had
overhanging Elesco feedwater heaters, a new front end was applied.
The locos were painted gray with parallel polished aluminum 'stripes'
surrounding shrouded pilot beam, they lacked the esthetics Dreyfuss
intended, so the tenders became the link to the design of the train.
The Central rebuilt a string of commuter cars with full width
diaphragms and an enclosed observation deck with gray sides bordered
by two aluminum stripes and cream colored window panels. Only the
stripes were carried across the tender. The trains were an instant
success and solidified Dreyfuss as the Central's designer.
Not to be outdone, Lowey's design for a Pennsy K-4 No. 3768 was
similar to one designed by Cret for German State Railways except for
the added parallel striping. There was no train however as the Pennsy
had been planning a redesigned "Broadway" but, like the Central,
lacked money. It wasn't until the combined 1937 (delivered in 1938)
Century/Broadway passenger car purchase from Pullman that the 3768
had any matching stock to haul and even then, the color was different
and the stripes on the cars were below the windows with the stripes
on the tender near the top.
The two designers, Lowey and Dreyfuss, achieved their goals in
designing the trains for the new streamlined service. Both carried
the Art Deco striping, albeit distinctively different enough to make
identical cars look different. However - The Pennsy did not
immediately invest in a fleet of streamlined locomotives and turned
its attention to electrification - enter the GG1.
I met Raymond Lowey at Washington Union Station for the 4935's
restoration ceremony in 1978. After he signed a couple of programs, I
asked him about the GG1's restoration and he said he was impressed
but never really liked the design since the striping had to begin and
end on the locomotive and not carry down the cars. But he added that
the Pennsy never seemed to care whether the locomotives matched the
rolling stock until the diesels came along.He said even then they
weren't a complete match. I asked him if he knew Henry Dreyfuss and
he said he did and collaborated with him on the 1938 Broadway/Century
to be sure they didn't duplicate interior colors and furnishings.
I don't recall whether either of them designed the diesel striping. I
would presume General Motors or ALCO did their own in concert with
the PRR and Central's mechanical department. But when looked at from
an esthetic viewpoint, the Central's lightning stripes aren't much
better than the Pennsy's pin stripes. When either road ran ABB
combinations, they looked better but when operated with a trailing A
unit the continuity effect was lost. The 'Cigar Band' is just that -
a cigar band and the Pennsy solid stripe looks like a Marx paint job.
I guess when you're running outa money - art ain't the top priority!
I don't have either one. That's not to say that I wouldn't have a
GG1, having ridden in one out of D. C.'s Union Station to Baltimore.
You needed a shoehorn to get around in that thing! Maybe someday
though - it'll give my heirs another item to dispose of - but that's
another thread!...
Raleigh in Maine
At 01:45 PM 11/19/2007, ed_loizeaux wrote:
> > But, Ed - can't you just visualize a GG-1 in Lightning Stripes?
> > Bob Nicholson
>
>Actually, the GG-1 would have looked better in lightning stripes. I
>mean, really, think of those sharp looking zig-zag straight lines with
>a definite purpose and destination. Compare that superb visual
>statement to those slithering little curvy things that seem to be
>searching for a hiding place under a rock. Sort of like water running
>downstream to nowhere important -- like Harrisburg or Philly, PA.
>Cheers...Ed L. (tongue in cheek)
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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