Phoebe Snow (character)

Phoebe Snow was a fictional character created in the early 20th century as the advertising symbol for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). She was typically depicted as a young woman dressed in a pristine white gown, traveling on the DL&W's anthracite coal-powered trains. The visual contrast of a white-clad woman staying clean on a train powered by coal, which was notoriously dirty, was the central theme of the advertising campaign.

The advertisements for Phoebe Snow emphasized the cleanliness and comfort of traveling on the DL&W's trains, which burned anthracite coal—a type of hard coal that produced little smoke or soot compared to bituminous coal. The slogan most often associated with Phoebe Snow was, "Phoebe Snow says 'My gown stays white from morn till night, Upon the Road of Anthracite!'"

The character was highly successful and became a recognizable symbol of the DL&W Railroad, appearing in print advertisements, posters, and other promotional materials. The campaign helped to differentiate the DL&W from other railroads of the era and to promote the advantages of anthracite coal. The Phoebe Snow character was used extensively from around 1900 until the 1950s, when the DL&W merged with the Erie Railroad to form the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. While the Erie Lackawanna initially kept the Phoebe Snow train service, the character and associated advertising were phased out.

The Phoebe Snow persona is considered a significant and memorable example of early 20th-century advertising and branding, highlighting the importance of associating a product with a specific image and message. She represents a clever approach to addressing consumer concerns about cleanliness and comfort in train travel, and stands as an icon of railroad advertising history.