RENDAL BURLINGTON FLYING ZEPHYR. Calendar, with 12 monthly pages attached. 1939. 27x18 inches. Condition A: paper; metal strips affixed to top and bottom margins. In an attempt to regain passengers lost due to the Great Depression, 1934 became the year that train companies innovated in streamlining their trains. This marketing idea was based on creating better designs to enable the railroad companies to increase the speed of their trains and the comfort of their passengers, while at the same time cutting costs. The results were electric, with "streamliner mania" (Zega p. 105) reaching its peak later that year. The Zephyr, named after the god of the west wind, was put into operation by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy line. Here, with a red carpet rolled out for the railroad's passengers, a stylish woman is checking her reflection in the train's stainless steel exterior.
