We’ve previously seen a dinner menu for the Golden State Limited from about 1940 and one for the … Continue reading
Category Archives: CRI&P
The first cover today commemorates the 30th anniversary of the first run of the California Zephyr. Postmarked March 17, 1979, in Bond, Colorado, the envelope includes a printed note saying that it was carried from Denver to Bond on the … Continue reading
Although the American Freedom Train that was put together for the Bicentennial used two different steam locomotives at different times, the one that made the lasting impression — and that is still active today — was the Southern Pacific 4449. … Continue reading
I’ve probably read more about the Arizona Limited than the Choctaw Rocket, Zephyr-Rocket, and Californian combined. The Choctaw Rocket was a secondary train to the Memphis-California, the Californian itself was a secondary train to the Golden State Limited, while the … 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
The Burlington and Rock Island railroads each served both Minneapolis and St. Louis, but the shortest Burlington route between the two cities was 615 miles and the shortest Rock Island route was much longer. By using the Rock Island for … Continue reading
The Choctaw Route, or more formally the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad, extended from West Memphis, Arkansas to Amarillo, Texas in 1902 when it was purchased by the Rock Island Railroad. Rock Island extended the line to Memphis, TN on … Continue reading
This booklet argues that “scenic Colorado” is the best answer to the above question (which is posed on the front cover, while the cover shown below is, like Rock Island timetables, on the back). It also notes that “The Rock … Continue reading
Although Chicago’s 1933-1934 Century of Progress fair was usually called an “International Exhibition,” this booklet repeatedly calls it the “World’s Fair.” In fact, except for a line drawing of the Travel and Transport Building on page 2, there’s nothing about … Continue reading
In 1929, Rock Island was competing with Union Pacific and Burlington in offering both escorted and independent (unescorted) tours of Colorado. The two-week, escorted tours left from Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, the Twin Cities, or Dallas-Ft. Worth every Saturday in … Continue reading