Famous Flash

The Flash Gordon zip and gleam of modern, streamlined, air-conditioned railway travel have been taken for granted for years by cinemaddicts, toy makers, and U. S. travelers in the West. Last week Eastern railway passenger travel suddenly got Flashed up when two of the nation's most famous trains, New York Central's Twentieth Century Limited and Pennsylvania's Broadway Limited, were streamlined to the last rivet and brake beam and made into the first all-room Pullman trains in the U. S.

Tie-for-tie competitors for 36 years, the Century and Broadway, now alike in contour as a brace of eels, glided off this week on the Manhattan-Chicago run in what looked like another dead heat. Each was scheduled to make the run in 16 hours, a half-hour faster than before. This meant that Central's blue-streaked, silver Century must cover its 960 miles in 960 minutes, the gold-banded. Tuscan-red Broadway its 908 miles in the same time.

What made this mile-a-minute pace fairly easy was a 15% increase in locomotive efficiency and 15 to 30% reductions in train weight. Head end of the Century on its steam haul was a 96-foot, futuristically jacketed Hudson-type engine. Pulling the Broadway over its more rugged mileage was a Pacific-type locomotive, sheathed like the Century's, just as efficiently geared.

The new Century and Broadway are composed of company-owned baggage and public cars coupled with matching all-room sleepers built by Pullman Co. Each has eight all-room Pullmans, accommodations including snug roomettes, single and double bedrooms, compartments, drawing rooms. Each has two diners. The Century's, informal but sober, stick to rust tones and grey. The Broadway's, more splendiferous, have a speak-easy style midsection with side-seat nooks. Each has a bar-lounge, the Century's, mannish, leathery, the Broadway's, like an intimate cocktail room.

Last week both trains staged trial runs. To court proper press attention, New York Central hired Pressagent Steve Hannagan, whose technique runs more to figures than to facts. Pressagent Hannagan's choice to set off the Century's, maiden jaunt was blonde, beautiful Model Virginia judd, who wore a frock of Twentieth Century grey. Public relations counsel for Pennsylvania was Ivy Lee, Inc., trained in less frivolous accounts like the Rockefeller interests. Counsel Lee countered with solidity: Sophie Tucker.

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