This fall the Alto Model Train Museum Association (AMTMA) will officially unveil a collection of railroad posters that have been added to its permanent displays in Altoona. All of the posters will be on display when the 29th Street location re-opens in September.
“We are very happy to have these important posters to display,” says club President Richard Mitchell. “They are an attractive addition to our collection and help convey the real-world industry that lives on today in our displays and brightens the lives of the thousands who visit the museum each year.”
There are currently 40 posters being prepared for display, 19 of which have been donated by retired architect A. Raymond Goodman. Club member Eric Miller has provided more than a dozen of the posters to the museum on a permanent loan. Many of the framing materials have also been donated by club members and local businesses.
The posters were published by major railroads including the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central and Chessie Systems from the 1920s through the 1960s. The Commercial Artists commissioned to create the posters include Howard Fogg, Grif Teller, Dean Cornwell and Harold Brett. The posters depict several local scenes including two views of the Horseshoe Curve from 1935 and 1952.
Mitchell also said the posters have a story to tell about the evolution of technology and design, as well as the importance of the railroad industry to the growth of cities and the nation.
Harnessing the Plane to the Iron Horse (1929), a poster still sought for the collection, shows an early system combining passenger train and rail travel to complete a cross-country voyage. Company executives may not have recognized the threat air passenger travel presented when they commissioned Giant Conquerers of Space and Time (1931) which shows a Ford Tri-Motor plane overhead. Pittsburgh Promotes Progress (1954) shows off urban renewal efforts in that city and Main Line Commerce (1951) depicts the transition from steam to diesel power.
The AMTMA will host weekend open houses at its 29th Street location the last full weekend of each month from September through April. The first open house will be held September 26-27, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 12 noon to 4 p.m. Monthly meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. on the third floor if the building at Industrial Avenue and 29th Street. The club also has displays at Lakemont Park attracting some 45,000 visitors each holiday season. More information is available by calling Ruth Miller at 814-942-5469.
The history of the AMTMA extends back to 1972 when a predecessor club was formed. The current organization, whose goal it is to permanently establish a model train museum in Altoona, was formed as a 501c(3) corporation in 2000.
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