Antique Railroad China

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Railway Paradise: How a Fine-Dining Empire Made the Southwest Palatable to Outsiders

Near a dusty stretch of train track on the outskirts of Barstow, California, the imposing Casa del Desierto—or House of the Desert—stands silent, its arched colonnade emptied of the railroad passengers, restaurant diners, and overnight guests who once visited its elegant hotel. The forlorn red-brick façade no longer greets crowds of visitors headed west to the California coast or east to the Colorado mountains, interrupting their journey for a respite at this cosmopolitan oasis. In fact, of...

Staffordshire and the Baltimore and Ohio

The Staffordshire potters, always eager for new designs, were quick to incorporate the locomotive, as it appeared first in England and later in America, in their scenic china patterns. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, our first and earliest railroad, was thus depicted upon the dark blue table, tea, and toilet sets, which were so popular in their day and so eagerly collected now. The Napoleonic Wars were indirectly responsible for the expansion westward of the young United States because...

Railroadiana Collectors Preserve the Days of Train Travel

My husband Bill always loved trains and my grandfather had been an executive with the Denver and Rio Grande here. We opened up a little store in Georgetown, Colorado and sold railroad stuff. The Georgetown Loop Train was in that area, so we thought it might be a good spot. A gentleman walked in the store one day and wanted us to sell his memorabilia for him, and that’s what propelled us into the business. We were collectors, but not certainly the way we are now. My husband also...

An Overview of Railroadiana Collecting

Many people are fascinated by railroads. At one time, railroads were connected to most aspects of community and economic life, and almost everyone had the experience of taking the train to some distant destination. Today, railroads are still a vital part of the nation's commerce, but they have largely evolved into less publicly visible movers of freight. For the most part, the romance and glory of the great age of railroads has passed from the scene. One way of remembering this bygone era...