May 19, 1910 - Santa Fe...Industrial Parade

A Miniature Locomotive and Car, exhibited by the Car Department. Boys are in uniform as engine and train crew and girls as passengers. (photo by C. H. Shaffner)

* The San Bernardino Centennial Celebration, held from May 17-21, 1910, included many spectacular events and four days of parades: floral, automotive, live stock, and the most impressive of all, the industrial parade.

* On May 19, the Industrial Parade, viewed by tens of thousands, began with a band, banners, horseback riders, and several cars containing Mayor McNabb, Santa Fe executives and VIPs.  Many organizations from San Bernardino and surrounding towns participated, however Santa Fe outclassed any of the other exhibits.

* Santa Fe was represented by ten departments with floats descriptive of the work the men performed.  Some floats were drawn by a team of horses, while others were built and operated on an automobile chassis.

* First Prize for the best entry in the Industrial Parade went to Santa Fe's Locomotive Department, while the Car Department; the Bridge & Building Department; and the Store Department won 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. 

* The next day, the San Bernardino Daily Sun reported:

"With the terrific din of the hammers of the boilermakers, the clanging of the anvils of the blacksmiths, the pounding of the pile driver, the screaming whistles and the other resounding metallic noises of the clamor of activity, heard day in and day out about the great railway shops, the approach of the massive Santa Fe display announced to the waiting multitudes.  Alone, the great display of the railroad men would have made a notable industrial parade.  Through the streets of the city, lined with cheering throngs, the long procession of men and gigantic floats extending for a mile, itself".

Click here to see more of the Santa Fe Railway's participation in the Industrial Parade.