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Original vintage Pennsylvania Railroad promotional sheet advertising the dining-car service available aboard a PRR passenger train.
The upper portion features an attractive red illustration of a streamlined Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train led by diesel locomotive No. 5861. Beneath the illustration is the statement:
“THE DINING CAR IN THIS TRAIN
IS
YOURS”
The accompanying promotional verse reads:
“To frequent and enjoy:
Our Fine Food at a Moderate Price,
A Choice of Beverages Which Will Entice,
Our Good Service While You Relax,
A Full Meal or Between Meal Snacks.”
The Pennsylvania Railroad keystone emblem appears below the verse, followed by the slogan:
“Good Service is Our Business”
PRR LOCOMOTIVE NO. 5861
The locomotive depicted is Pennsylvania Railroad No. 5861, identified in railroad records as an EMD E7A passenger diesel carrying the PRR classification EP-20.
No. 5861 was built by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division in February 1948 and produced 2,000 horsepower. The E7 was designed specifically for passenger service and became one of the characteristic streamlined diesel locomotives of the postwar railroad era.
Because locomotive No. 5861 was not built until February 1948, this promotional sheet cannot predate that time. The typography, passenger-train artwork and dining-service advertising suggest a likely date in the 1950s, although no printed publication date appears on the sheet.
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD DINING SERVICE
During the middle decades of the twentieth century, dining cars were an important part of long-distance passenger service. Railroads used attractive promotional pieces such as this to encourage travelers to visit the dining car for complete meals, beverages or between-meal refreshments.
The combination of the PRR keystone emblem, named locomotive number and dining-car advertising gives this piece appeal to collectors of Pennsylvania Railroad material, passenger-train ephemera, railroad dining service and early diesel locomotives.
ITEM SPECIFICS
Railroad: Pennsylvania Railroad
Abbreviation: PRR
Subject: Dining-car service
Locomotive Depicted: PRR No. 5861
Locomotive Model: EMD E7A
PRR Classification: EP-20
Approximate Date: Circa 1950s
Type: Passenger-service promotional sheet
Theme: Railroad Dining, Passenger Trains, Diesel Locomotives
Color: Red and black on cream Original
Country of Manufacture: United States
Modified Item: No
The reverse is blank.
This listing is for the single original promotional sheet shown. Research photographs, screenshots and reference materials are not included in the sale.
