This is the first Union Pacific menu I’ve seen in what I call the Moderne series that is not from 1935; though the outside says “Printed in 1935,” the menu inside says “6-16-36.” As near as I can tell, UP began using the Art Nouveau series for most if not all of its trains in the late 1920s. But, perhaps starting with the 1929 inauguration of the Portland Rose, UP designed special menus for each of its premiere trains, with roses on the cover of the Portland Rose, California poppies on the cover of the Los Angeles Limited, columbine on the cover of the Columbine, and so forth.
Click image to download a 1.9-MB PDF of this menu.
UP then simplified the design of its menus for its secondary trains but, but used the same photos and text for the Moderne series as the Art Nouveau series. Though used on secondary trains, the cover stock used for the Moderne menus has a very nice pebbled surface on the outside. At some point, UP replaced Moderne menus with menus with black-and-white photos on the covers, which were still for the non-premiere trains. The earliest ones I have are from 1939, so the transition from Moderne to Black-and-White happened sometime between 1936 and 1939.
The menu itself offers five different breakfasts ranging in price from 50 cents to $1 ($9 to $18 today). Three of them come with a choice of three different entrées, so there are really 11 different breakfasts, plus an extensive a la carte side.