Along with the observation cars with Charles Russell paintings, the Western Star apparently inherited the Empire Builder’s Charles Russell menus. There were originally five observation cars in the series, with one more added for the Western Star, so there must … Continue reading
When in service, the tables on the Empire Builder’s dining car were covered with beautiful white tablecloths into which was stitched a delicate pattern representing sheaves of wheat and the railroad’s initials. I’ll show one of these here if ever … Continue reading
The logo for the Golden State was a cluster of oranges, and the SP-RI used this on the drumhead on the back of the train, stationery, menus, and other items. It looks very nice on the on-board stationery, which is … Continue reading
Here are a few items passengers might encounter on board one of the Olympian Hiawathas. First is a sticker that someone might apply to their luggage, more as a souvenir than as an identifier. Here’s a postcard of the Olympian … Continue reading
Union Pacific streamliners had an incredible variety of menus, most of which had a large photo of some sight along the rail line. This photo covered most of the front cover and wrapped around to about half the back cover. … Continue reading
After introducing the streamlined Empire Builder, the train’s menus featured paintings by Charles Russell, the cowboy artist who once lived in Great Falls on the Great Northern line. This is a breakfast menu offering meals from $1.00 to $1.35 (about … Continue reading
Like the overnight Chicago-Denver trains, the two-night Chicago-Pacific Coast City trains were timed to minimize the loss of business hours. This worked especially well westbound, the direction in which time zones work in the traveler’s favor. During the late 1930s, … Continue reading
The overnight Denver Zephyr left Chicago at 5:30 pm and arrived in Denver at 8:30 am, in time for a full business day. The City of Denver left Chicago at, perhaps, a slightly more convenient 6:20 pm but arrived in … Continue reading
