The Lightning Express. Train express.

A very decorative print of the express train called The Lightning Express, an American railroad scene published by Currier & Ives. The train, consisting of a locomotive, a tender, and four passenger cars, heads on a diagonal from the left foreground to the right background.
Published by Currier & Ives 125 Nassau Street, New York.

"Currier & Ives was a New York publishing firm that produced and sold thousands of impressions of more than 7,000 different lithographic prints during the latter half of the nineteenth century. One of the most prolific printmaking concerns of its time, the firm originated with Nathaniel Currier (1813-1888) whose shop issued its first lithographs in 1835. . . In 1852 Nathaniel Currier was joined by his brother-in-law, James Merritt Ives (1824-1895). The firm operated until 1907."
Images include genre scenes, illustrations of progressive technology, American nationalism, historical scenes and even leisure activities.

More about Currier & Ives [+]The printing firm has chosen to depict the advancement of technology. Society of the 19th century, driven by Manifest Destiny and a nationalized identity, viewed the train as a symbol of progress. Railroad lines were laid across the Midwest to connect the East and the West, which in turn influenced travel and settlement as well as the economy and socio-political ideology.

Reference: Gale, Currier & Ives A Catalogue Raisonné : 3801.