Empire Service June 1971 Timetable

Posted on by November 14, 2023
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This timetable shows Amtrak operated seven trains a day from New York City to Albany, four of which went on to Buffalo. One of those trains connected with a train to Toronto. The overnight New York-Buffalo train took 8 hours and 5 minutes while the other three took 8 hours and 10 minutes.

Click image to download a 979-KB PDF of this pocket timetable.

Service has slightly improved since then. My 2018 Amtrak timetable shows 12 trains a day from New York to Albany, but still only four went to Buffalo. One of the Buffalo trains went on to Toronto, apparently relieving travelers of the need to change trains. New York-Buffalo trains took over 9 hours in 2018. According to Amtrak’s web site, times are back down to around 8 hours today, and the fastest train takes only 7 hours and 53 minutes. Continue reading →

Southern Pacific Winter Resorts Booklet

Posted on by November 14, 2023
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The painting on the (back) cover of this booklet was by Sam Hyde Harris, who made many posters and other artworks for the Southern Pacific. Inside, the booklet focuses on Palm Springs and nearby areas and is illustrated by 33 black-and-white photos (though many are small).

Click image to download a 7.2-MB PDF of this 16-page booklet.

The booklet is dated 1928. Though published by the Southern Pacific, some Rock Island agent glued a small banner over the front cover photograph advertising the Golden State Route, which was “the shortest and quickest way from Chicago to San Diego and is many hours faster between Chicago and Phoenix than any competitor.” The banner mentions three trains: the Golden State Limited, Apache, and Californian.

Southern Pacific Crater Lake Booklet

Posted on by November 14, 2023
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“Now you can reach Crater Lake by either Siskiyou Line or new Cascade Line, Shasta Route,” advises this booklet. We’ve previously seen the Maurice Logan painting on the cover (which is the back cover) on a poster. Inside are 20 black-and-white photos along with plenty of descriptive text.

Click image to download a 6.5-MB PDF of this 16-page booklet.

The booklet is undated, but the “new Cascade Line,” also known as the Natron Cutoff, was opened to traffic in 1927. The names of the agents in the back also match a 1927 timetable, but not 1928, so I feel confident in dating this to 1927. Continue reading →

City of Portland 1960 Timetable

Posted on by November 14, 2023
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We’ve seen pocket timetables such as this one used for commuter trains or in corridors that have several trains a day. Santa Fe also issued timetable cards for individual trains. This is the first time I’ve seen a pocket timetable for just one Union Pacific transcontinental train.

Click image to download a 944-KB PDF of this tiny timetable.

By 1960, the City of Portland was doing dual duty as the City of Denver as well. The time from Chicago to Denver was 17-1/4 hours, up from 16 hours at its fastest. Total time from Chicago to Portland was 42-3/4 hours, up from 39-3/4 at its fastest. That doesn’t sound like a big difference, but UP was once able to advertise that its trains from Chicago to the West Coast took two nights and one day, but this increased it to two nights and a day-and-a-half. Continue reading →

Served by Union Pacific Railroad (Not!)

Posted on by November 14, 2023
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In 1957, Palm Springs was served twice daily by the Golden State and Imperial. Both of these were Southern Pacific trains, yet this brochure claims that the resort area was “served by Union Pacific Railroad.” Putting it mildly, that’s a stretch.

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

As revealed in the fine print on page 4, “Palm Springs is 55 miles east of Riverside or San Bernardino; an hour and a half trip by car.” Travel agents could arrange for a Grey Line limousine to take up to seven passengers from Riverside or San Bernardino to Palm Springs for $26.50 (roughly $300 today). That’s not exactly the same as being “served by Union Pacific.” Continue reading →

Fun Trip to Hoover Dam

Posted on by November 14, 2023
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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 by November 14, 2023
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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 by November 14, 2023
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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 by November 14, 2023
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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 by November 14, 2023
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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 →