I never got to ride the 20th Century, but when I was a boy - living near the NYC mainline in upstate NY - my mom would drive me down to the tracks to see the Century fly by. The train, ever at that late date, still had a mystique about it. The highlight was seeing the deep windowed observation car and it's blue lit tail sign. Long live the 20th Century Limited!
I was transported by the narration. Beebe was a brilliant writer. I still recall his describing and large, laboring locomotive which was belching out a massive plume of black smoke and steam as providing “the burning of Rome” theatrics. Genius! Thanks for this video.
I never got to ride "The Century", however, I spent three weeks at the B&O Riverside Shops in Baltimore as a volunteer helping to restore one of the engines used to pull the American Freedom Train.We ate all of our meals in a dining car. The chef used to be on the Twentieth Century Limited.At least from a culinary perspective I Know what's it must have been like to ride "The Century". That is the best three weeks of dining that I have ever experienced. Will work for food? That kind of food! Hell Yes!
I had many of his books as a kid ..and lived nxt to his families bldg in Boston on South Street in a Loft Later in life...I had a Vol 1 of Dubins Great Trains at one point..a nice book...
I got a huge kick out of seeing both terminals, particularly LaSalle Street Station back in the day; my real life intro to LaSalle was in very late 1970s, with the offices above the still functioning Rock Island suburban commuter station abandoned (left over Penn Central & Rock Island office directory signage still visible by 2nd floor elevators), the overhead train shed already removed, the eastern 2 tracks of the 4 track mainline out of service (at some places sections were torn out or missing), and the station trackage alongside the platforms having filth and dirt saturated with oil, rain water, and God knows what other fluids. The first time I saw it (about 12 years after the Century's last run in 1967) I found it hard to believe that the world's most famous train terminated there! The 2 big circles in concrete on the building's facade, one with CRI&P letters and the other LS&MS letters (NYC subsidiary Lake Shore & Michigan Southern) still graced the front though!
Absolutely fabulous thanks for taking the time to upload these clips and provide a narration. If people like these real scenes then look out for a 1947 movie called the Hucksters. It, in part, is shot onboard the 1938 20th Century Limited. Great scenes going up the Hudson having a drink with Ava Gardiner shot in the Dryfuss designed club lounge. The Super Chief is also featured but not to the same extent. As I recall.
If you can find a copy, I would recommend The Provocative Pen of Lucius Beebe, Esq. Lucius and Charles Clegg once owned the Territorial Enterprise made famous by Mark Twain. Their private train car complete with fireplace is at the California Railroad Museum.
Today, there is a passenger train like the 20-th Century Limited, with the reputation for sustained speed and unmatched punctuality. It runs from Tokyo to Osaka, with a train departing every half-hour.
I don’t know why Amtrak can’t operate a new more upscale 21st century limited with all the nostalgia and excellence as its predecessor. The customer base is there.
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I never got to ride the 20th Century, but when I was a boy - living near the NYC mainline in upstate NY - my mom would drive me down to the tracks to see the Century fly by. The train, ever at that late date, still had a mystique about it. The highlight was seeing the deep windowed observation car and it's blue lit tail sign. Long live the 20th Century Limited!
Greatest Pullman train ever, period, end of story. Sorry "Broadway Limited".
I was transported by the narration. Beebe was a brilliant writer. I still recall his describing and large, laboring locomotive which was belching out a massive plume of black smoke and steam as providing “the burning of Rome” theatrics. Genius!
Thanks for this video.
I never got to ride "The Century", however, I spent three weeks at the B&O Riverside Shops in Baltimore as a volunteer helping to restore one of the engines used to pull the American Freedom Train.We ate all of our meals in a dining car. The chef used to be on the Twentieth Century Limited.At least from a culinary perspective I Know what's it must have been like to ride "The Century". That is the best three weeks of dining that I have ever experienced. Will work for food? That kind of food! Hell Yes!
Excellent combination of words and moving images, it puts you right in the lounge car with an old fashioned in your hand.
3:02 The oval has "Lines", which puts this before the Central's 1935 reorganization when "System" was adopted.
I had many of his books as a kid ..and lived nxt to his families bldg in Boston on South Street in a Loft Later in life...I had a Vol 1 of Dubins Great Trains at one point..a nice book...
I got a huge kick out of seeing both terminals, particularly LaSalle Street Station back in the day; my real life intro to LaSalle was in very late 1970s, with the offices above the still functioning Rock Island suburban commuter station abandoned (left over Penn Central & Rock Island office directory signage still visible by 2nd floor elevators), the overhead train shed already removed, the eastern 2 tracks of the 4 track mainline out of service (at some places sections were torn out or missing), and the station trackage alongside the platforms having filth and dirt saturated with oil, rain water, and God knows what other fluids. The first time I saw it (about 12 years after the Century's last run in 1967) I found it hard to believe that the world's most famous train terminated there! The 2 big circles in concrete on the building's facade, one with CRI&P letters and the other LS&MS letters (NYC subsidiary Lake Shore & Michigan Southern) still graced the front though!
Beautifully narrated. If only I could have ridden the Famous 20th Century Limited.
Absolutely fabulous thanks for taking the time to upload these clips and provide a narration. If people like these real scenes then look out for a 1947 movie called the Hucksters. It, in part, is shot onboard the 1938 20th Century Limited. Great scenes going up the Hudson having a drink with Ava Gardiner shot in the Dryfuss designed club lounge. The Super Chief is also featured but not to the same extent. As I recall.
Sections 12 minutes early, 6 minutes early, and dead on time. Impressive!
THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!!
Greatly enjoy your narration!
Really nicely written. Fascinating!
If I understand the end credits correctly, this was Beebe himself, reading his own prose. He was a wordsmith of a high order.
@@atsf1920They're Beebe's words, but I'm reading them.
@@SpeedGraphicFilmVideo Thanks for the clarification! My apologies.
If you can find a copy, I would recommend The Provocative Pen of Lucius Beebe, Esq. Lucius and Charles Clegg once owned the Territorial Enterprise made famous by Mark Twain. Their private train car complete with fireplace is at the California Railroad Museum.
20th Century Limited in 2 sections. Each had the same luxury and panache.
Today, there is a passenger train like the 20-th Century Limited, with the reputation for sustained speed and unmatched punctuality. It runs from Tokyo to Osaka, with a train departing every half-hour.
I don’t know why Amtrak can’t operate a new more upscale 21st century limited with all the nostalgia and excellence as its predecessor. The customer base is there.
"Lucious" Lucius!! Sadly fitting that Lucious didn't live to see the sad end of the once-great 20th Century Limited in 1967.
Lucky that he didn't see its end. "Lucious" was an adjective meant to mock him for his dandyism and alleged homosexuality.
When men wore suits, hats and... spats.
Lucius rules!
Didn’t Cary Grant (Roger Thornhill) ride the 20th Century from NY to Chicago with Eva Marie Saint in “North By Northwest”?
yes, a great film
Amo histórias
My actor cousin Pat O"Brien would take The Chief from L.A. to Chicago & the Limited to New York.
what is meant by "sections" to me it sounds like multiple trains bearing the same name and traveling the same route. Is that correct?
That's correct. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_(rail_transport)
But how did it compare with Elizabethean?
It surprises me that Bebe mispronounced "opulence" and "Crillon".
Was that actually Lucius Beebe himself narrating? Text was definitely him-wasn't sure about the voice.
No, it's me reading his words.
@@SpeedGraphicFilmVideo You mispronounce "opulence" and "Crillon". I didn't think Bebe could have done that.
Good thing I don't make my living doing video voice-overs.
@@SpeedGraphicFilmVideo Actually you have a good voice. If you were doing voiceovers, presumably any mistakes would have been corrected in rehearsal.
Terrible narrator - doesn't sound like the way Beebe wrote at all!
Then you should scrub your mind with a SOS pad after being forced to listen and watch this.
you're right.