A Defunct Railroad And The Red Carpet Runner

An innovative cross-country express passenger train that stopped running in 1967

is not the first thing one might think of when considering red carpet runners. In fact, such a train just might be the last thing one thinks of. Yet our cultural understanding of red carpet runners as celebrity walkways is inextricably linked to "The Greatest Train in the World," a train which ran for 65 years from Grand Central Station to LaSalle Street Station in Chicago. Were it not for this train, celebrity events like The Academy Awards and Golden Globes might have a distinctly different flavor.

The train line in question, 20th Century Limited, was no stranger to the rich and famous, having transported the likes of presidents and business magnates across the country regularly for decades, including Theodore Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan. The train had a reputation of grandeur and elegance, frequently receiving positive write-ups in periodicals such as The New York Times. It was marketed from the beginning to the upper-class and corporate elite, an alternative to the then dominant Pennsylvania Railroad. Needless to say, the marketing worked. The train itself was even a bit of a celebrity, starring along with Carey Grant in Alfred Hitchcock's classic film, North by Northwest.

But what does any of this have to do with red carpet runners?

Remarkably, and though it's a cultural staple now, 20th Century Limited was one of the first institutions to use red carpet runners for anyone other than heads of state, and certainly the primary institution to bring the practice into popularity. Passengers would board the now defunct train by walking across a finely crafted red carpet, thus giving birth to the phrase "the red carpet treatment." At the time, this must have been quite a bold statement, since red carpet runners were traditionally, and almost exclusively, used to welcome dignitaries. Treating other upper class society members in the same manner no doubt gave the line an air simultaneously of both modernity and sophistication. It's no wonder that "the red carpet treatment" has now entered the lexicon so thoroughly, both in language and in practice.

So, the next time you read an article about the best and worst dressed on the red carpet, or the next time you watch a celebrity pose for the cameras on the red carpet runners, think not only of movies and glitter. Think also about the once popular train line that, in some ways, made the whole thing possible. If it weren't for The 20th Century Limited, people would have to settle for something other than "the red carpet treatment."

by: Mark Etinger

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