Affiches McKeen 300 HP Gasoline Motor Car

From www.railphotoexpres.biz; The McKeen Motor Car Company of Omaha, Nebraska, was a builder of internal combustion-engined railroad motor cars (railcars), constructing 152 between 1905–1917.Founded by William McKeen, the Union Pacific Railroad's Superintendent of Motive Power and Machinery. The first cars were constructed by the before McKeen leased shop space in the UP's Omaha Shops in Omaha, Nebraska. The UP had asked him to develop a way of running small passenger trains more economically. The vast majority of the cars produced were for E. H. Harriman's empire of lines (Union Pacific, Southern Pacific and others). Harriman's death in 1909 lost the company its major sponsor and investor, and Harriman's successors were less enthusiastic about the McKeen cars. "Many McKeen cars ended up being re-engined with a variety of drive mechanisms — gasoline-mechanical, gasoline-electric, diesel-electric, or even steam power. One method of advertising the motor cars has proven particularly effective. I refer to picture postcards illustrating the car, and describing in fine type The cards were left in hotels, news stands, cigar stores, etc., for free distribution, and we find that they are being mailed very generally throughout the country, and even abroad. It has been interesting to note that in addition to diverting travel to our line, these cards have in a number of known instances brought curiosity riders from considerable distances." Mr. McKeen