P.R.R. Loco Waiting to be Junked 1932

Reginald Marsh made this etching, “P.R.R. Loco Waiting to be Junked”, sometime in the middle of the 20th century. Marsh, a prominent figure in the American Scene movement, was known for his social realist depictions of urban life. The image captures the stark reality of industrial decline, particularly the obsolescence of steam locomotives. The Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive, rendered with precise detail, sits idle, awaiting its fate as scrap metal. This scene reflects the broader economic and technological shifts occurring in the United States at the time, as traditional industries gave way to new forms of transportation and energy. Marsh’s choice of subject matter challenges the romanticized view of progress often celebrated in art, instead highlighting the human and material costs of modernization. To fully understand the impact of this work, we need to consider how it spoke to anxieties around industrial change and the social dislocation that came with it. We can do this by exploring period news accounts, and government records.