Vintage Rare Authentic Milwaukee Road Porcelain on Steel 3-Color Sign-EC

  
Vintage Rare Authentic Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Porcelain on Steel 3-Color Sign-EC. This is an authentic, rare vintage pre-1930s genuine Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad enameled porcelain on steel three-color sign. This beautiful advertising sign features brilliant white block letters placed on a scarlet red field with a narrow black border around the perimeter of the sign. The sign is 28 long, 20 wide and 1/16 deep and weighs 9 pounds unpacked. The sign is made of heavy gauge steel with an enameled porcelain overlay and has 6 brass mounting grommets (one grommet is missing).

Paul and Pacific Railroad sign is in excellent used condition. There is some chipping of the porcelain overlay around the perimeter, but the graphics are intact. The colors on the sign are vibrant, and the glaze on the porcelain is bright and shiny. This sign is in its original used condition. The sign is NOT touched up or restored.

Moreover, this railroad sign is the genuine article. It is NOT a reproduction or a brand new sign made to look old! Use the enlarged pictures to judge the condition of the sign for yourself.

The pictures show the areas on the sign where the enameled porcelain has chipped over the years that this sign was in active service. This remarkable and well-preserved, unique Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific sign would serve as a colorful centerpiece in any railroading collection. It has been one of my top pieces for over 35 years! Paul and Pacific Railroad (often referred to as the Milwaukee Road) was a Class I Railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1980, when its Pacific Extension (Montana, Idaho, and Washington) was abandoned following a bankruptcy.

Around this time, the company went through several official names and faced bankruptcy on multiple occasions. The eastern half of the system merged into the Soo Line Railroad thirty-two years ago on January 1, 1986, a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway. Although the " Milwaukee Road " as such ceased to exist, much of its trackage continues to be used by multiple railroads.

It is also commemorated in buildings like the historic Milwaukee Road Depot in Minneapolis and in railroad hardware still maintained by railfans, such as the Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotive. The Milwaukee Road aggressively marketed passenger service through much of its history, maintaining a high quality of service until the end of private intercity passenger operations in 1971.

The Milwaukee prided itself on its passenger operations, providing the nation with some of its most innovative and colorful trains. The railroad's home-built equipment was among some of the best passenger equipment ever run on any American railroad. The Milwaukee's reputation for high quality service was the principal reason that UP shifted its service to the Milwaukee Road for its "City" stream liners in 1955. The Milwaukee Road's Pioneer Limited was one of the first named trains and its colorful Hiawatha trains were among the nation's finest stream liners.

The post-World War II Hiawatha trains remain a high-water mark for passenger train industrial design. The item "Vintage Rare Authentic Milwaukee Road Porcelain on Steel 3-Color Sign-EC" is in sale since Wednesday, January 17, 2018. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Transportation\Railroadiana & Trains\Signs & Plaques".

The seller is "wallybuzz" and is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This item can be shipped to United States.

• Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
• Railroad: Chicago, Milwaukee, St.