In a 3,000-seat theater, with a cast of 250 members, Railroads on Parade reenacted the progress of rail transportation from the 1820s through 1939.

The goal of Edward Hungerford was to briefly tell the story of the railroad through a series of stage presentations, with narration and incidental music.

The following is a quote from the opening paragraph in the Railroads on Parade program guide. "into every corner of our social and economic existence, the railroad is tightly interwoven. It is the backbone of he country, no, even more, it is its veritable lifeblood. In its 250,000 miles of steel veins, it flows to every far corner of a far-flung land, it binds in its living, throbbing embrace city and town and village, the open country, the forest, the mine, the forge, the factory, and the sea. It is indeed the nation's lifeblood, the great arm not only of its industry, but of its military defense. If it were to die, then the nation would die."

Railroads on Parade Program Cover


1939 and 1940 Railroad on Parade brochure covers
Click the 1939 cover to view the
contents of the brochure.