Worlds Fair LIRR Exhibit

This popped up on another blog history. Not sure if I ever shared this story here so...

The LIRR had an exhibit at the 1964-65 NY Worlds Fair. They had a "fishbowl" where you could watch an operator turn the switches for the nearby station. You can see the tracks on the left, above the building is an electrical tower for the local sub station. Then there are two bathrooms on the side... and you can just see a little daylight between the bowl and the next building, and that opening was no little thing, anyone could shimmy right thru it.

My dad worked for the LIRR in the power division and had a huge ring of keys, must have had keys for every gate on the system, including the sub station on the other side of the tracks. Most weekends he'd drive the family over to the sub station, open the gate and park inside. Then we would walk over the tracks (after getting the third rail lecture every time) and magically appear at those very bathrooms: free parking AND admission to the Worlds Fair for the whole family!

FAIR Interlocking Cabin - NY World's Fair 5/16/1965 Photo: Richard Makse Archive: Dave Keller
This interlocking cabin was designed as a "fishbowl" for Fair visitors to look in the wide windows as the block operator did his job. The sign above the windows reads "Come See How We Run Our Railroad." Dashing Dan on the men's room door and Dashing Dottie on the women's room door.

There was a captivating fantasy model railroad as well as an H-O scale LIRR. I wish I kew what happened to both. Really, it was a terrific representation of the LIRR. With the NH FA1 cab and the PRR(?) observation platform photo ops, it was one of the best family locations to enjoy industry at the fair. Fortunately, the locomotive cab is preserved at the OBRM and the observation end was salvaged for parts.
The Louisville & Nashville briefly displayed "The General" of Civil War fame, and GM displayed an EMD GP30, which eventually was sold to the NYC, and made it down to COnrail before it was cut up.

RG: Back in 2014-2015 OBRM had a 50th Anniversary exhibit of the New York World's Fair - which included
a few LIRR HO passenger cars that were used on the layout - interestingly they were only detailed on one
side visible to the public with the other undecorated. There were other artifacts from the Fair exhibited.
As anyone familiar with the 1964-65 NYWF (and for that matter the 1939-1940 Fair) knows memorabilia
from both World's Fairs are highly collectible - LIRR NYWF items being no exception...MACTRAXX

90% down the page models: http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirrwo ... d's%20Fair


Model recreation of 1964 World's Fair LIRR exhibit

I'm sure I would have been put on the LIRR's ride-on train when I was brought to the Fair in '65... I can't see how my dad would have passed it up. Now, I really need to look at those slides I kept.

If interested I have posted a LIRR 1964 World's Fair packet for sale in the Railroadiana section below. See for details. Purchased by me in 1964 so it is "one owner" and in mint condition in original LIRR mailing envelope.

BAR

Here we go:





on this page: http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirrwo ... d's%20Fair