Drawing upon his early experience as a newspaper illustrator, Reginald Marsh captured the harsh realities of life in and around Depression-era New York City. "The Limited" depicts the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Broadway Limited on the New York–Chicago route. This luxurious train included Pullman sleeper cars manned by members of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a union led by Black workers that protected the jobs of 18,000 railway workers.

Marsh juxtaposes the Limited with three unhoused men to reveal the deep divisions of the Great Depression, when massive unemployment caused the number of individuals riding the rails to grow to an estimated two million. The three drifters, waiting to catch a slow-moving freight train, watch as the Limited streaks past, cutting them off from the distant grain mill, a symbol of potential employment. Marsh offers a critical perspective on behalf of those who have been left behind by America’s economic engine and have “limited” options.