Mississippi River Scenic Line

This 1939 brochure includes six pages of history of the upper Mississippi, a colorful centerfold map, and five pages describing towns and sights seen from the Twin Cities Zephyr or another Burlington train. The back cover advertises the Morning and Afternoon Zephyrs and mentions “three fine night trains,” the Black Hawk, North Coast Limited, and Empire Builder.


Click image to download a 11.6-MB PDF of this 16-page brochure.

The six-page history liberally quotes Mark Twain as well as other writers. It was written by Lucia Lewis, the travel editor for the Chicago Daily News. Lewis won numerous awards for her writing, including the first presentation of the Mark Twain Travel Writer of the Year award in 1955, winning that award again in 1960 and 1962.


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