[Chicago and Alton Railroad, engine]

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Few subjects say turn-of-the-century Chicago like a locomotive on the Chicago and Alton's rails, and this glass negative records one of the road's engines in the years when steam still powered most American freight and passenger service. The Chicago and Alton ran routes between Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City, so its trains were a familiar sight across Illinois and Missouri. The Detroit Publishing Company, which made the negative, issued views like this to a national audience eager to see the railroads reshaping the country. Because the date is only estimated, the image is best read as a snapshot of the steam era rather than a record of one specific trip.

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