After the Union Pacific removed its City trains from the Chicago and North Western to the Milwaukee Road in 1956, C&NW passenger service rapidly declined. By 1962, when this timetable was produced, it had just five routes left: Chicago-Twin Cities … Continue reading
This well-worn timetable features the 400s, the not-yet-daily Streamliners, and numerous steam-powered, heavyweight trains. For some reason, the City of Portland is trains 1 & 2, while other streamliners are numbered much higher: 101 & 102 City of San Francisco, … Continue reading
Chicago & North Western fully streamlined its 400 in 1939, but the postmark on this postcard showing the train crossing the Mississippi on the Stone Arch Bridge is dated 1949. The bridge itself was built by the Great Northern Railway, … Continue reading
No, that’s not an April Fool’s joke: the North Coast Limited really was a Chicago & North Western train for about seven years in the 1910s. This seems peculiar for those used to thinking of the train as a Northern … Continue reading
This note pad is nearly identical to yesterday’s, except that the “Ship and travel North Western” slogan has been replaced by “the CarFax Route.” Car-Fax was a C&NW trademark describing “railway freight transportation services, consisting of an electronic integrated data … Continue reading
To emphasize both freight and passenger, many railroads used the slogan, “Ship and travel [railroad name],” especially on things like note pads that were designed to advertise both. This one from the Chicago An estimated 50% of men age 40 … Continue reading
Unlike yesterday’s stationery, this one lists the Chicago and North Western as the connecting railroad from Chicago to Omaha. It also has a nice little graphic of the sun setting behind the Golden Gate, entrance to San Francisco Bay. Click … Continue reading
“With the single exception of its eastern counterpart The 20th Century Limited,” wrote Lucius Beebe, the Overland Limited was for a period of time “the most radiant and celebrated train name in America.” Where the Century survived as a premiere … Continue reading
This 1940 brochure notes that the Pacific Limited was “completely air conditioned,” including both coaches and Pullmans. The Pacific Limited was a distinctly secondary train on the Chicago-San Francisco route, a cut above the Challenger but not as luxurious as … Continue reading
Out of the 120,000 or so steam locomotives built and used in the United States, only about 220 were streamlined–or, as the Chicago & North Western called it, steamlined–for passenger service. Railroads went to the trouble to streamline steam locomotives … Continue reading
