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The Coronation Scot ; Great Britain's luxury train on exhibition at the New York World's Fair : leaflet issued by the London Midland & Scottish Railway : 1939

In 1939, as part of the New York World's Fair, the London Midland & Scottish Railway undertook the mammoth task of releasing one of their streamlined locomotives and matching train sets and shipping them across the Atlantic for display as part of the Transportation exhibits in New York. This was not the first time the LMSR had shown such panache as in 1933 they had sent the Royal Scot train to the United States on a tour.

 

The locomotive seen 'here' and that was displayed at the Fair following a journey around the US was badged up as 6220 'Coronation' and carried the streamlined crimson livery; it was in fact locomotive 6229 Duchess of Hamilton disguised and the original 6220, one of the first five of the larger class, originally carried the streamlined 'Caledonian Blue' livery. The whole Fair was overshadowed by the outbreak of war in 1939 and the train was effectively stranded in the US. The locomotive returned to the UK in 1942 and regained its original identity the following year. The carriages had to wait until 1946 until being repatriated.

 

The leaflet opens to describe the importance of the LMS and its services along with descriptions of the territory it served. There was a similar leaflet, printed in blue, that was issued during the tour around the US in 1939 before the train appeared at the Fair.

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Uploaded on June 20, 2023