As previously mentioned here, in 1926 the Santa Fe introduced the Chief, which went between Chicago and Los Angeles in 63 hours, five hours faster than previous trains. The railroad also charged a $10 extra fare (about $175 in today’s … Continue reading
Category Archives: Southern Pacific
The painting on the (back) cover of this booklet was by Sam Hyde Harris, who made many posters and other artworks for the Southern Pacific. Inside, the booklet focuses on Palm Springs and nearby areas and is illustrated by 33 … Continue reading
“Now you can reach Crater Lake by either Siskiyou Line or new Cascade Line, Shasta Route,” advises this booklet. We’ve previously seen the Maurice Logan painting on the cover (which is the back cover) on a poster. Inside are 20 … Continue reading
The purpose of this booklet isn’t entirely clear. The main cover shown below (which, this being the Rock Island, is the back cover) is boring and uninformative. The front cover is the painting of Carriso Gorge by W.H. Bull, which … Continue reading
Today’s 48-page timetable (which puts the cover shown below on the back) has a front-page ad proclaiming “faster streamliner schedules Chicago-California.” The Golden State, it says, was an hour and 50 minutes faster eastbound and an hour faster westbound. The … Continue reading
Because of the San Francisco and San Diego exhibitions celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal, “California the wonderland, with two Expositions, will be irresistible” in 1915, says this booklet. For easterners who could not resist, the Golden State Limited … Continue reading
This booklet should really be called “Western Oregon Outdoors,” as it focuses on those parts of Oregon that can be seen in a short drive from Southern Pacific tracks. It even opens by describing Oregon as “a land of forest … Continue reading
We’ve seen Southern Pacific portfolios of photographs for the Overland Route, Shasta Route, and Valley & Coast Routes, so it stands to reason that there would be portfolios for the Sunset and Golden State routes. This is the first one … Continue reading
When Southern Pacific built across southern Arizona in 1880, it went through Tuscon, not Phoenix. At the time, Tucson, with more than 7,000 people, was by far Arizona’s largest city, while Phoenix was a comparative village of 1,700 people. Click … Continue reading
The tops of most pages of this timetable have helpful admonitions, such as “Fire Destroys – Save the Forests”; travel advice, such as “Santa Cruz Big Trees – Easily Reached”; or outright ads, such as “Eight Trains Daily, Each Way, … Continue reading