The Alcoa Corporation touted it use of aluminum incorporated in the railroad's Streamliner passenger trains of the 1930s. The integrated-body-and-frame construction using aluminum and Cor-Ten steel was used to reduce the required structural weight to a fraction of conventional railcars. Outwardly, stainless steel was the dominant material, however, typically left unpainted except for the car's reporting marks required by law. In general, the above-illustrated advertisement exaggerates the typical length of these trains.
Burlington and Union Pacific railroads sought to increase the efficiency of their passenger service and looked to the lightweight, petroleum-powered technology offered by Budd and Pullman-Standard. Union Pacific's project was named the M-10000 (top, above) and Burlington's was named the Burlington Zephyr (top, bottom). The M-10000 was the star attraction at the 1934 World's Fair "Century of Progress" in Chicago, Illinois. It was officially named The Streamliner during its demonstration period. With nearly a million miles on its engine, the trainset was scrapped in 1942 and its aluminum recycled for use in the wartime aircraft industry.
Note: Founded in 1888 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Alcoa Corporation (a portmanteau of Aluminum Company of America) is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum.
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