Dreyfuss’s 20 th Century Limited model for New York Central both went
into production also. The designers in question were equally at home
working inside trains, planes and ships. The specific constraints pre-
sented by those projects, including the need to appeal to paying passen-
gers and to build on the important symbolic relationship of transport
objects with modern life, made those interiors especially challenging.
Passenger plane interiors were perhaps the most demanding of all. Bel
Geddes’s office designed a mock-up for Pan American’s China Clippers
which began flying in 1935. He made a number of innovative proposals
including the provision of sleeping facilities, a galley with a refrigerator
and sound insulation. Ship interiors also received the attention of the
industrial designers. In 1936 Raymond Loewy created a number of rooms, 163
The main lounge and observation end of the 20 th Century Limited train, designed by
Henry Dreyfuss, 1938.