The Californian was Southern Pacific’s Chicago-Los Angeles economy train, operating from 1936 to 1947 in competition with Union Pacific’s Challenger. This 1938 menu folder is fancier than the ones used on the pre-war Challenger, which were usually just cards. But … Continue reading
The Californian was the local counterpart to the Golden State Limited on the Rock Island-Southern Pacific route between Chicago and Los Angeles. It began operating in 1910, was cancelled in 1930 due to the Depression, then was revived in 1937 … Continue reading
This brochure presents the Californian as a direct competitor to the Challenger, Union Pacific’s budget alternative to the Los Angeles Limited and Overland Limited. The Challengers operated at approximately the same schedules as their higher-priced counterparts, leaving Chicago or the … Continue reading
SP’s 1938 brochure for the budget-priced Californian was printed in black-and-white with red trim. For 1940, SP issued an all-new brochure printed in “natural color,” meaning Kodachrome photographs printed with the CYMK four-color process. Although this is a great improvement, … Continue reading
Here’s a luggage sticker advertising the Southern Pacific/Rock Island Californian. As described in the brochure for that train, the Californian was a budget service designed to compete with the Union Pacific Challenger. The sticker was probably issued about the same … Continue reading
Inaugurated in 1937, the Rock Island-Southern Pacific Californian was an attempt to compete with the Union Pacific Challenger in the Chicago-Los Angeles market. In other words, it was a low-cost train with tourist sleepers rather than Pullmans and low-cost meals … Continue reading
