Evening star., 1939-03-19

railroad locomotive From the time of the
building of the first railroads, a little over a
century ago, down to the present day trains.
been delighted and fascinated by them. Even
in an age that has evolved other wondrous
methods of transportation, there are vast
numbers of people to whom railroading is
form of religion, the steam locomotive an all
compelling god.
In the United States, more than anywhere
else in the world, the legend of railroading is
heroic and vital saga. 1t is an integral part
of the national epic, inevitably associated
with national destiny and the conquest of the
continent The cult of railroad worship in its
purest form in the United States embraces
minimum tally of 100000 enrolled and regis
tered devotees - members of the various rail-
road clubs and groups of photographers,
train-model fans and memorabilia collectors.
Beyond this there are known to exist many
hundreds of thousands who, though not COM
municants, still are to be numbered among
the almost fanatical faithful.
There are. too, variety of sects. There are
fans for Diesel power and electricity; there are
amateurs of the legend of the narrow gauge;
there are strange apostates who bow before
the trolley car and there are followers of
score of minor schisms. Only one who has
encountered the species can know the fanati-
cism of the true rail fan, his fiery espousal of
the deathless cause of tractive force, speed
ratios and wheel arrangements, his scofn for
the heresy of the horseless carriage, his con-
tempt for the comedy of the flying machine.
Americas leading prophet of locomotive
worship is Edward Hmgerford, of the New
York Central Lines. There are scores of other
toilers in the vineyard of the romdhouse and
classification yard, and there are preachers of
the steam Jehu in every rail center and divi-
sion point from Altoona to San Bernardino
and from Omaha to Lancaster; and through
out the breadth of the land there are Wears
and aoolytes who know the dispatchers'
schedules, the motive power and operations in
their territory with a precision that confomds
the professionals in the calling.
But Ed Hungerford is the archetypical rail
FAM He is historian and collector, photog
rapher and enthusiast, a traveller of vast dis
tances along main lines and upon forgotten
spurs and branches, the confidant of presidents
and division supermtendents, connoisseur
of sentimental antiquities, practitioner and
visionary, seer and doer in the railroad cause.
He travels rs, 600 Pullman miles year for the
sheer heavenly pleasure of doing it. He COL
lects locomotives as a grade school urchin
collects aggies; he is prophet, propagandist
and priest, and he aTanges railroad spectacles
and pageants involving scores of trains and
miles of trackage with the practiced finesse
of dancing master arranging a debutante
cotillion.
Just now Ed is working on the biggest slow
of his career: pageant drama to be called
Railroads on Parade" for the New York
Worlds Fair. His experience as the Max
Reinhardt of motive power includes the
direction for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
of the widely hailed Fair of the Iron Horse"
at Baltimore few years ago, the railroad
exhibit Wings of the Century" at the
Chicago Worlds Fair, and his famed drama
The Parade of the Years" at Cleveland's
Great Lakes Exposition. He has also superin-
tended any number of minor rolling-stock
shows and caboose charades. But Railroads
on Parade" will top them all.
Ed Hungerford was born on December 81,
1875, in Dexter, just below the small city of