In the late 1930s, Budd’s order books were ... then plunged for 32 cars to streamline the Empire State Express. The new train made its debut on Dec. 7, 1941, shortly after which Budd (and ...

"Streamlined trains," wrote one historian ... took on the look. By the late 1930s, even bathroom scales were streamlined. Following a speaking tour of the Midwest, consumer engineer Egmont ...

spawning the streamlined craze of the 1930s. Ralph Budd, as savvy a marketer as an engineer, organized a publicity stunt for his train that would allow it to capture the American imagination.