According to Utah Rails, 1940 was the first year in which Union Pacific produced calendars with scenic photos for each month. Initially, each page was 10 inches by 18 inches; in 1945, they grew to 12.5 inches by 23 inches. This calendar is six sheets of paper comb-bound together, allowing for one page for every month of the year.
Click image to download a 16.7-MB PDF of this 12-page calendar.
Although Union Pacific would not begin its color-photo menu series for six more years, at least three of the photos on this calendar would later appear on a wrap-around color-photo menu. Below is a list of photos by month and whether or not they appear on a menu.
Month | Subject | Menu? |
---|---|---|
January | City of Los Angeles | |
February | Hoover Dam | |
March | Great White Throne | Yes |
April | Old Faithful | |
May | Bryce Canyon | |
June | Sun Valley Summer | |
July | Grand Canyon | Yes |
August | Jackson Lake | |
September | Dream Lake | |
October | Columbia River Gorge | Yes |
November | Mission Santa Barbara | |
December | Sun Valley Winter |
For at least a few years prior to 1940, UP had a calendar with a separate page for each month, but the photos did not show scenery or even Union Pacific trains. Below is the January, 1938 calendar, whose photo encourages people to “keep life safe.” Other photos in that calendar promote safe driving, safe work conditions, and other safety themes. Rather than print the months back to back, the backs of each page had safety tips related to the subject of the facing page. The only connection to the railroad was the slogan on every page assuring that Union Pacific was “a safe railroad on which to work, ship, and travel.”
Warning: This page appears to be suffering from a case of Linkus Brokenus. Please treat via Great Love and my overwhelming appreciation for this work and eagerness to examine the photos.