The Californian was Southern Pacific’s Chicago-Los Angeles economy train, operating from 1936 to 1947 in competition with Union Pacific’s Challenger. This 1938 menu folder is fancier than the ones used on the pre-war Challenger, which were usually just cards. But the prices were economical: lamb chopsweare 30¢ or 55¢ for two, vs. 45¢ and 85¢ on a regular 1938 SP dinner menu. Grilled fish was 50¢ on this menu, 75¢ on the other one.

Click image to download a 600-KB PDF of this menu.

Expensive items such as sirloin steaks were absent from this menu. It also doesn’t have a table d’hôte section, though an insert offered a plate dinner with fish or turkey plus vegetables, bread, dessert, and beverage — no soup or salad — for just 35¢. A similar table d’hôte meal on the regular menu was at least 90¢, though that came with soup and salad.

The cover illustration is unsigned, but except for the foreground trees it appears to be the exact same view of a slice of Crater Lake as was on the 1932 Michel Kady menu. As I noted for that menu, I suspect the artists drew these illustration from photographs rather than life.