Although Burlington trains didn’t come any closer to Glacier Park than Billings, about 400 miles away, it issued a number of postcards advertising Glacier. Of course, the Great Northern, which did go to Glacier, owned nearly half of the Burlington. We’ve previously seen a Burlington postcard showing Morning Eagle Falls. Here are two more.
Click image to download a 211-KB PDF of this postcard.
Today’s postcards show different views of Going-to-the-Sun Chalet on St. Mary Lake. The 1912 chalet was built as a part of Great Northern’s series of hotels, chalets, and camps throughout the park. It and several other chalets were demolished after World War II, probably because the opening of the Going-to-the-Sun Road meant that they were by-passed by most tourists. “Prior to the construction of the road, visitors would need to spend several days traveling through the central part of the park,” says Wikipedia, “an area which can now be traversed within a few hours.”
Click image to download a 173-KB PDF of this postcard.
Both of these cards have the same back, which differs from the one used on the Morning Eagle Falls card, indicating they were issued in different years. All three are lithographic representations of black-and-white photos and all three advertise on the front that travelers can take Burlington trains “direct to the park.”
Until the late 40s or early 50s there actually was through CB&Q/GN service from the Midwest to Glacier (trains 42-43 on both roads), a one-seat ride for sleeping car passengers and a transfer at Billings for coach passengers.
See page 20 of the summer 1947 GN timetable on this site.