Giant photo of the Alton Limited from 1900



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How About That Camera!

That's not a faked image!  In 1900, George Charlton, the director of the Chicago & Alton Railway, believing his train to be the handsomest in the world, commissioned a giant photograph of it.

"The Alton Limited" was the Chicago & Alton Railway's flagship passenger service between Chicago and St. Louis.  It was introduced in 1899.  It was strikingly decorated in three shades of maroon, with gold stenciling, which led to its nickname, "The Red Train."  I've read that, for aesthetic reasons, it even had its tender designed to rise to the exact height of the roofs of the cars behind, but that doesn't appear to be true in the photos I find. 

In 1900, to promote its service and highlight this beautiful new train, photographer George R. Lawrence was hired to create the giant photograph.  A 1,400-pound camera, which used 10x6-foot plates, was built.  The photo was taken in the Brighton Park area of Chicago.  The resulting print of "The Alton Limited" was 8 x 4.5 feet in size.  Since it was 1900, this was taken in glorious black & white.  One source said it used an isochromatic process - presumably tinted red. (here's a very interesting article on the early color autochrome process).  The photo was shown at the 1900 Paris World's Fair, and a few copies are said to still exist in private collections.

After several changes in ownership, the name and service was ultimately discontinued in late 1971.



For the full story, as presented by the railroad, please go see the original brochure that was produced of the event at the Indiana State Digital Archives.

There are some articles online claiming that this was the first camera.  No.  Photography was about 75-years-old when this photo was taken in 1900.  Please correct any such listings you can!



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Here's a version of the original photo for sale on Amazon


Check out this book - there's a lot to the history of this railroad, including the first Pullman cars, the first steel bridge, and a famous early stockholder named Abraham Lincoln, who later rode the Chicago & Alton Railroad...in his coffin.

Book: The Chicago & Alton Railroad: The Only Way





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