The Golden State Limited was still an all-Pullman train when this timetable was issued, a status it would soon lose due to the Depression. In 1932, Southern Pacific would add a chair car between Los Angeles and Phoenix. By 1934, … Continue reading
In the late 1920s, the Rock Island started a Vacation Travel Service Bureau that attempted to compete with Union Pacific and Burlington’s escorted tours by offering unescorted tours whose transportation, accommodations, and meals were fully prepaid in advance. This booklet … Continue reading
Yesterday’s booklet mentioned a “new fast” but as yet unnamed Chicago-Los Angeles train that would be introduced on December 28, 1924, the same day as the Golden State Limited was reequipped with new cars. Actually, the “new” train was the … 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
Rock Island faced stiff competition over all of its major routes and was at a disadvantage over most of those routes. Between Chicago and Denver it had to cover many more miles than the Burlington or UP and couldn’t compete … Continue reading
In another decade or so, the Rock Island would become known as “one railroad too many” as it was competing against the Burlington, Milwaukee, and North Western. But in the 1950s it was still making profits and was pleased to … Continue reading
The Santa Fe called the Phoenix area the Valley of the Sun in this 1950 booklet. Rock Island responded with this Kingdom of the Sun booklet in 1953, though Rock Island’s term extended to the entire Southwest region from El … Continue reading
We’ve previously seen a 1937 Rock Island booklet that was printed in rather gloomy blue and black ink. This one from 1940 is brightened up with some red highlights. While the cover shown below (which is the back cover) tints … Continue reading
We’ve previously seen a 44-page 1929 Rock Island booklet advertising “personally conducted and independent all-expense tours to Colorado.” This one from two years before has fewer pages because it only describes the personally conducted tours, not the independent ones. Click … 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
