Framed Vintage Train Art
In today’s world of transportation, trains are far less common than airplanes and cars. Perhaps that’s part of what makes framed vintage train posters so appealing. Train artwork, like art featuring cars, planes, ships, and bicycles, come in all shapes and sizes—from vintage advertisements, to more traditional art, to photographs.
Advertisements are one of the most popular forms of framed vintage train art available. “Hiawatha 1952” is an extremely detailed ad for the Olympian Hiawatha train, which travelled from Chicago through parts of the Pacific Northwest. The advertisement features stone mountains and a rocky river, along with a woman standing at a stop near a passing orange train, waving her hand. Beside her are a brown horse in a stable and a man sitting on a rock. Another advertisement, “The Railway Magazine October 1901 Cover,” is actually the cover of a vintage illustrated magazine about railroads. The magazine is British and was first printed in London in July 1897; it is still in print today.
“New York Central System” is a powerful framed vintage train art piece. Like many train advertisements, the artwork is highly detailed. Set against the dark silhouettes of city buildings, it features multiple antique trains roaring into the station. Clouds of white steam billow from the trains’ engines, blocking out some of the buildings. The piece beautifully illustrates the massive strength of the trains.
Another retro piece of train art is Paul Colin’s “Train Fantome,” which shows a black train coming out of a fog of smoke. In front of the train, on the railway tracks, stands the white outline of a train conductor with a red lantern in hand. Beneath him read the words “Le Train Fantome: The Ghost Train.”