City of San Francisco Goes Daily

The Pere Marquette and Empire Builder may have been the first brand-new streamliners after the war, but the Union Pacific already had streamliners throughout its system. Without buying any new equipment, it (with the help of partners Southern Pacific and Chicago & North Western) managed to scrounge together enough cars to increase the frequency of its City of San Francisco from twice a week to three times a week on October 1, 1946.

At least, the above ad, which says “Now! Three Times a Week,” is dated October 1st. Click the image to download a .8-MB PDF of this mailer, which the Southern Pacific sent to travel agents and other people who might be able to promote the train.

On September 1, 1947, the City of San Francisco moved to daily service. Given the train’s 39-3/4 schedule, only four trainsets were needed to meet protect a daily train in each direction, though this left precious little time to clean the trains at each end of the trip. The above ad (click the image to download the 1.0-MB PDF) is dated August 4, 1947.

The Southern Pacific liked to show pictures of its trains on the Lucin Viaduct, an 11.8-mile-long causeway across the Great Salt Lake. It was built in 1904 when Edward Harriman controlled both the SP and the UP. Click on the above image to see a larger version.


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