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Fun Trip to Hoover Dam

Posted on December 13, 2023 by Train LoverNovember 14, 2023

Yesterday’s brochure featured giant Boulder Dam; today’s features giant Hoover Dam. Of course, they are both the same dam; the name simply depended on whether the Democrats or Republicans were in control of Congress. Of the two, Hoover was probably most appropriate as the dam wasn’t even built in Boulder Canyon.

Click image to download a 2.4-MB PDF of this brochure.

In 1953, it was still possible for Union Pacific passengers to get off one train in Las Vegas, tour the dam, and get on another train the same day without having the extra expense of spending the night in Vegas. Eastbound passengers would take the Gold Coast, get off at the early hour of 5:30 am, then after their tour continue east on any of three evening trains. Continue reading →

The Evergreen Empire

Posted on December 12, 2023 by Train LoverNovember 14, 2023

This 1951 brochure contains gorgeous color photographs of scenery and drab black-and-white photographs of the interiors of UP passenger trains. I can’t help but think this did not show the railroad at its best.

Click image to download a 2.2-MB PDF of this brochure.

The cover photo shows Otter Crest on the Oregon Coast. Inside are photos of Crater Lake, Multnomah Falls, Mount Hood, the City of Portland in the Columbia River Gorge, and — the only photo in Washington state — a floating bridge across Lake Washington. The dazzling colors make the interior photos even more boring in comparison. Continue reading →

Union Pacific 1949 Calendar

Posted on December 11, 2023 by Train LoverNovember 14, 2023

We’ve previously seen a 1949 UP calendar, but that copy was missing the page showing the December 1948 and 1949 full-year calendars. Also, when I wrote about that calendar, I was under the mistaken impression that UP changed the size of its calendars in 1949, issuing 10″x18″ calendars before then and increasing the size to 12-3/4″x22-3/4″ in 1949.

Click image to download an 12.8-MB PDF of this 16-page calendar.

In fact, as near as I can tell, UP calendars came in both sizes during much of the 1940s. My 1940 and 1941 calendars are the larger size, while 1942, 1943, and 1944 are the smaller size. This wasn’t just a wartime economy measure, as my 1948 calendar is also the smaller size and I have both sizes for at least one of the years between 1942 and 1947. Continue reading →

Union Pacific September 1947 Timetable

Posted on December 10, 2023 by Train LoverNovember 14, 2023

We’ve previously seen a condensed version of this timetable, but Tim Zukas has kindly made a full version available. In 1947, as an ad on page 1 (the page after the inside front cover) observes, Union Pacific began offering daily streamliner service for all of its main streamliners: Denver, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, and St. Louis. UP charged extra fares of up to $15 (more than $200 in today’s money) for the City of Los Angeles and City of San Francisco but not any other trains.

Click image to download an 31.4-MB PDF of this 52-page timetable.

Heavyweight cars were still used on most other routes, including the Portland-Seattle routes. Starting in 1943 or 1944, Union Pacific’s Portland-Seattle trains were numbered 457 and 458, numbers they would retain until Amtrak took over in 1971. Number 457 happened to be the best connection to Seattle for passengers on the City of Portland. It was also the connection for Southern Pacific’s West Coast and carried a sleeping car from that train that started its journey in Los Angeles. Continue reading →

Union Pacific July 1942 Timetable

Posted on December 9, 2023 by Train LoverNovember 14, 2023

The M-10002, as discussed yesterday, would continue to operate between Portland and Seattle until March 1943, making its last Seattle-Portland run on March 13, after which it would be retired. But it was still going strong in this 1942 timetable.

Click image to download an 42.2-MB PDF of this 64-page timetable.

The nation, of course, was in the midst of war, and these 1942 timetables contain many self-serving, pseudo-patriotic ads proclaim that “the railroads are the first line of defense.” While that’s questionable, they certain played an important role in the war, and railroad officials no doubt hoped that unions would refrain from strikes that could disrupt rail traffic. Continue reading →

Union Pacific April 1942 Timetable

Posted on December 8, 2023 by Train LoverNovember 14, 2023

Until the creation of Amtrak, the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Union Pacific “pooled” their passenger trains between Portland and Seattle. The trains were run mostly on tracks built by Northern Pacific but under some form of joint ownership. For most of those years, one train ran overnight and three trains operated in daytime service. The railroad that ran the overnight train changed from time to time according to the pool agreement.

Click image to download an 43.9-MB PDF of this 64-page timetable.

The train numbers shifted frequently but in 1942, Union Pacific’s daytime trains were numbered 458 southbound and 561 northbound. The companion train numbers, 459 and 562, were operated by one of the other railroads, which was especially odd because the other railroads used a different train station from Union Pacific in Seattle. Continue reading →

Union Pacific 1941 Calendar

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Train LoverNovember 14, 2023

This 1941 calendar completes my collection of UP calendars between 1940 and 1996, the years they came out in this format. This calendar is 12-1/2″x22-3/4″, the same size as most other UP calendars during those years. However, my 1942, 1943, 1944, 1947, and 1948 calendars are 10″x18″. This may have been a concession to wartime paper shortages, but I have seen both sizes for 1949 and 1950, so it is possible UP published both sizes until 1950, after which it used only the larger size.

Click image to download an 15.0-MB PDF of this calendar.

The photographs in this calendar are certainly beautiful, but they focus on the natural resources of the Union Pacific West, not its tourist attractions. Most photos show crops, livestock, timber, or mining. One photo shows a Union Pacific freight train and one shows the Sun Valley opera house, but there are no photos of passenger trains. Continue reading →

One of the Greatest Attractions in America

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Train LoverNovember 14, 2023

When completed in 1936, Boulder Dam was the largest concrete structure ever built. This generated feelings of national pride and the Union Pacific happily took advantage of this by encouraging people to stopover in Las Vegas so they could tour the dam. Of course, people going to or from California who wanted to tour the dam had to take a Union Pacific train rather than, say, the Chief or Golden State Limited.

Click image to download a 4.4-MB PDF of this brochure.

As noted in yesterday’s 1935 Challenger brochure, eastbound passengers could step off the Los Angeles Limited in Las Vegas at 5:45 am, take a bus tour to the dam, and then continue their journey on the Pacific Limited at 5:45 pm, adding just $1.75 (for the bus tour) to the cost of their trip. Westbound, the Pacific Limited arrived at 12:05 pm and the Los Angeles Limited departed at 9:30 pm, allowing plenty of time for a dam tour. By 1940, when today’s brochure was issued, slight changes in schedules allowed westbound passengers even more time for the tour. Continue reading →

Union Pacific’s Big 3 National Park Vacations

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Train LoverNovember 14, 2023

The cover’s reference to “plenty to shoot at” means with a camera. “Wherever you turn from wherever you are a new picture presents itself in the Utah-Arizona national parks,” says the inside of this 1936 brochure. I’d have to agree: while Yellowstone is more famous, its most incredible features are limited to a few spots in the park: Mammoth, Norris, Fire Hole-Old Faithful, and Canyon. By comparison, Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon are almost overwhelming with scenery anywhere you look.

Click image to download a 2.4-MB PDF of this brochure.

Inside are colorful photos of Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon. However, the brochure is aimed not at potential vacationers but at ticket agents looking for places to send their “patrons.” In promoting escorted tours, the back page encourages agents to get a “copy of the 1936 Zion Red Book” if they didn’t already have one. Continue reading →

Union Pacific Challenger in 1935

Posted on December 4, 2023 by Train LoverNovember 14, 2023

Union Pacific introduced the Challenger, its low-cost train to Los Angeles, in June, 1935. This brochure must have been issued about that time or soon after. Although it is undated, times shown in the brochure for trains arriving in Las Vegas match those of UP’s 1935 timetables. The brochure doesn’t mention a lounge car that was added to in April 1936, confirming that it was issued before then.

Click image to download a 4.2-MB PDF of this brochure.

The train carried coaches and tourist sleepers but not first-class Pullmans, which went on the Los Angeles Limited. Later brochures emphasized the economical nature of the train, but this one emphasized “luxurious comfort,” suggesting that UP hadn’t yet figured out the best way to market it. Continue reading →