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Go back to Afternoon Train Replaced by "Studemotive"
KV Represented at NY Worlds Fair
The KV brought recognition to
Belleville by being represented in a railroad exhibit
at the World's Fair of 1939, held in New York City. That year the Pennsylvania
Railroad formed a committee to locate examples of PRR
engines and cars that were considered streamlined fifty years ago for an exhibit. As a
local newspaper reported:
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PRR combine No.4639 was built in 1895 at the Altoona shops. In the 1930's it ended its operating years in a work train as a "camp" car for the track crews. In 1939 it was restored for the World's Fair with parts thought to have been from the KV. Photo taken at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania on 2/20/02. (Photo by Author)
Click Image to Enlarge
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"A committee in charge of a railroad exhibit at the fair decided to display three
types of, or styles of coaches or trains, the ancient, the medial and the modern.
The two latter types were not hard to procure since many are in use at the present time.
But an ancient coach, one used in the early history of American railroading is hard
to find... In some manner the committee learned that the
KVRR had some ancient
stock and came to Belleville to investigate. Representatives made several trips
here and finally contracted with the KV
management to purchase a number of parts."
It is believed that the items purchased, were from old combine
No.3. This is the
car that the railroad bought new from the Harlan & Hollingsworth Company
of Wilmington, Delaware in 1908. Since then it retired and was being stored in
the carbarn at the time.
Although not considered ancient, as the paper implied, No.3
did represent the type of coach typically used during the turn of the century. The parts
taken included seats, door locks, handrails, brake valves and toilet fixtures, among others.
The pieces may have been used to equip an old class OG PRR
combine then being restored at the Altoona shops for the fair. This combine, along with five
other cars displayed at the fair, can be seen at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
(www.rrmuseumpa.org) in Strasburg.
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