Using steam locomotives and heavyweight cars, the Chicago & Northwestern introduced the 400 in 1935 to compete with the Burlington Twin Zephyrs on the Chicago-Twin Cities route. In 1939, it re-equipped the train with Diesels and streamlined cars.
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These postcards were issued to advertise the new train, so I’m dating them to 1939. The first one declares that the coaches provided “comfort to the point of luxury!”
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The parlor cars, of course, were even more luxurious, with seats “adjustable to any position.”
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The tavern-lunch counter-lounge car was supposed to be “the most unusual car in America,” though I suspect Union Pacific would contest that considering its Frontier Shack, Hollywood, and Copper King cars. This card is postmarked 1941, but would have been first issued with the train in 1939.
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The diner isn’t particularly special for a streamlined car, but offered “a wide selection of well-selected foods at a surprisingly low cost.”
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The observation car kept passengers entertained with “card tables, a magazine table with current periodicals, radio, bar, [and] speedometer.”
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Here are the General Motors Diesels used to pull the 1939 400.