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Through the Decades Amtrak Beginnings |
adapted from Journey to Amtrak edited by Harold Edmonson (1972) / collection
1971 proposed Railpax routes
from O Scale Magazine / collection
from O Scale Magazine / collection
New Orleans, La / Oct 1970 / Michael Palmieri collection
from Railroading magazine (Apr 1969) / collection
New Orleans, La / Nov 1970 / Michael Palmieri collection
from 
magazine (Jun 1971) / collection
from magazine (Jun 1971) / collection
New Orleans, La / Nov 1970 / Michael Palmieri collection
The official name of the newly created rail-passenger enterprise was - and is — the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, but its popular name was to be Railpax. Federal officials suddenly became skittish that Railpax would be corrupted to Railpox. So, the New York public relations firm of Lippincott and Margulies was engaged, and it created the name Amtrak from the contraction of the words "American" and "Track." Only rarely has Amtrak been corrupted to Anthrax.
Finalists, besides Amtrak, included the names Unitrak, Span, Trak, and Amtrax. The firm also created the Amtrak symbol — a blunted arrow in red, white and blue that caused some early skeptics to proclaim, "the route of the pointless arrow."
Frank N. Wilner / The Amtrak Story
from Extra 2200 South magazine - Mar 1971 / collection
from magazine (Jun 1971) / collection
adapted from Journey to Amtrak edited by Harold Edmonson (1972) / collection
Amtrak's Sunset Limited
New Orleans, La / Aug 1972 / Michael Palmieri collection
collection
from Railroading
magazine (Jul 1971) / collection
collection
Amtrak's Sunset Limited
New Orleans, La / Sep 1971 / Michael Palmieri collection
collection
from Railroading magazine (Jul 1971) / collection
Amtrak's Panama Limited
New Orleans, La / Jul 1973 / Michael Palmieri collection
from magazine (Aug 1971) / collection
See also our next Amtrak Through the Decades 1970s scrapbook
