Here is a coloured picture of a US steam loco from the 1930s…it’s a pretty ordinary loco under the streamlined body-work. Actually, the thing I liked was the telegraph post next to the railway track.
The railway was the first information super-highway. The track was lined with telegraph posts…and these gave the train journey a powerful sense of percussive rhythm. This visual trope was augmented by the distinctive sound of the steam loco and by the sound of the train riding over the points, and the joins in the track.
Remember that, before welded track, the railway was made up of short lengths. Just like on a tran set.