International & Great Northern 1878 Timetable

Posted on by August 7, 2022
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The International & Great Northern Railroad went from the east Texas town of Longview (where it met the Texas & Pacific) to Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Laredo. At the time this map was issued in 1878, the extension to San Antonio and Laredo wasn’t completed, so travelers to San Antonio were encouraged to take the I&GN to Houston and connect with another railroad, the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio. I&GN’s line to San Antonio would open in 1880.

Click image to download a 7.9-MB PDF of this timetable, which is from the David Rumsey map collection.

Also in 1880, the railroad came under the control of Jay Gould, who also controlled the Texas & Pacific and Missouri Pacific. Although Gould was unable to retain control of the I&GN, which went through a couple of bankruptcies, Missouri Pacific regained control of I&GN in 1925. Continue reading →

Union Pacific-Central Pacific 1872 Timetable

Posted on by October 2, 2022
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As a part of his map collection, David Rumsey included more than 50 brochures that had a railroad map on one side and timetables on the other. Most of these timetables were printed by Rand McNally and followed a standard format. Instead of being a booklet like most 20th-century timetables, they unfolded to be 18 to 40 inches wide and 9 to 18 inches high. One side had a map of the railroad and the other had the timetables, often with other useful information and advertisements.

Click image to download a 6.3-MB PDF of this timetable, which is from the David Rumsey map collection.

We’ve already seen a few of them, but over the next couple of months I’m going to present nearly 50 more in order to trace the history of passenger train names. The timetables range from 1872 to 1907, which seems to cover the period during which most railroads went from no-name trains to names for at least their main passenger trains. Continue reading →

Inaugural Dates of Named Trains

Posted on by September 3, 2022
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August 1 was the tenth anniversary of the birth of Streamliner Memories. But I took a two-month vacation last year, so today is really the start of this blog’s eleventh year. Up through today, I’ve written just over 3,650 posts and uploaded nearly 5,000 PDFs of railroad documents. During that time, I’ve often noted the inaugural dates of major, pre-Amtrak intercity passenger trains. My list now includes more than 200 trains, though I am missing quite a few.

Inaugural Dates of Named Passenger Trains

TrainRailroadEndpointsMonthDayYearNotes
Pennsylvania LimitedPRRNY-Chicago6151887First vestibuled train, all Pullman
Overland FlyerUPChicago-Oakland11131887
Golden Gate SpecialUPChicago-Oakland1251888All Pullman, vestibules, weekly, disc. 5-12-1889
Fast Flying VirginianN&WJersey City-Cincinnati5111889disc. 5-12-1889
Empire State ExpressNYCNew York-Buffalo9141891
California LimitedSFChicago-LA11271892All Pullman, first with Fred Harvey diner
Exposition FlyerNYCNY-Chicago5281893All Wagner extra fare
Sunset LimitedSPNew Orleans-LA-SF1111894All Pullman, oldest named train
Overland LimitedUPCouncil Bluffs-Ogden11171895All Pullman, Chicago-Ogden after 1895
Black DiamondLVJersey City-Buffalo5181896
Lake Shore LimitedNYCNY-Chicago5301897All Wagner
Pioneer LimitedCMStPChicago-MSP51898First named train on St. Paul Road
Great Northern FlyerGNSt. Paul-Seattle121899Replaced unnamed train
Piedmont LimitedSRYNY-New Orleans3121899
Overland LimitedUPChicago-Oakland10151899
North Coast LimitedNPChicago-Seattle4291900All Pullman
Pennsylvania SpecialPRRNY-Chicago6151902
20th Century LimitedNYCNY-Chicago6181902All Pullman
Golden State LimitedSP-RIChicago-LA1121902All Pullman
Los Angeles LimitedUPChicago-LA511905Not formally named until 10-24-05, all Pullman
Oriental LimitedGNSt. Paul-Seattle121905
Yellowstone SpecialUPSLC-end of track691907First reached West Yellowstone in June 1909
LarkSPLA-SF581910
Panama LimitedICChicago-New Orleans241911All Pullman
OlympianCMStPChicago-Seattle5281911
ColumbianCMStPChicago-Seattle5281911
Kansas City-Florida SpecialFrisco-SRRJacksonville-KC11261911
Santa Fe De-LuxeSFChicago-LA12121911weekly, $25 extra fare, "unbelievably opulant" Lucius Beebe
Broadway LimitedPRRNY-Chicago11141912new name for Pennsylvania Special, all Pullman
Pacific LimitedUPChicago-SF431913
Glacier Park LimitedGNSt. Paul-Seattle4251915
NavajoSFChicago-LA1011915
Texas SpecialFrisco-MKTSt. Louis-San Antonio1915
ScoutSFChicago-LA1161916
Pan-AmericanSRYCincinnati-New Orleans1251921
Daylight LimitedSPSF-LA4281922
Capital LimitedB&ONY-Chicago5121923All Pullman
Portland LimitedUPChicago-Portland1923
MontrealerNH-BM-CV-CNWashington-Montreal6151924
Ponce de LeonSRYCincinnati-Jacksonville1211924
Crescent LimitedSRYNew York-New Orleans4261925
National LimitedB&OJersey City-St. Louis4261925
Orange Blossom SpecialSALNew York-Miami11211925All Pullman
SunbeamSPDallas-Houston1925
Twilight LimitedNYCDetroit-Chicago4251926
AlouetteBM-CPBoston-Montreal4261926
ChiefSFChicago-Los Angeles11141926All Pullman, GS & LALtd speeded up on same day
Gold CoastUPChicago-Oakland11141926disc. 1931
PocahontasN&WNorfolk-Cincinnati111926
ArgonautSPNew Orleans-LA1926
CascadeSPOakland-Portland4171927All Pullman
Maple LeafGTWToronto-Chicago5151927
Spirit of St. LouisPRRNY-St. Louis6151927
Erie LimitedErieJersey City-Chicago621929
Empire BuilderGNChicago-Seattle6101929
Grand Canyon LimitedSFChicago-LA6291929
CascadianGNSpokane-Seattle1929
ColumbineUPChicago-Denver5221930
Portland RoseUPChicago-Portland971930Previously named Portland Limited
ColumbianB&OJersey City-DC5241931First air conditioned train
ImperialSP-RIChicago-LA1931
George WashingtonC&OWashington-Cincinnati4301932
Pioneer ZephyrCB&QKC-Lincoln111119349000
City of SalinaUPKC-Salina111935M-10000
Twin Cities 400C&NWChicago-MSP121935
Flying YankeeBM-MCBangor-Boston411935
Twin Cities ZephyrsCB&QChicago-MSP41719359901-9902
HiawathaCMStPChicago-MSP5291935
CometNHBoston-Providence651935
City of PortlandUPChicago-Portland661935M-10001
FlambeauC&NWChicago-Ashland6211935
Royal BlueB&ONew York-Washington6241935
Abraham LincolnAltonChicago-St. Louis6241935
Mark Twain ZephyrCB&QSt. Louis-Burlington102819359903
City of Los AngelesUPChicago-Los Angeles5151936M-10002
ChallengerUPChicago-Los Angeles5151936day uncertain
Green DiamondICChicago-St. Louis5171936
Denver ZephyrCB&QChicago-Denver5311936
City of San FranciscoUPChicago-Oakland6141936M-10004
Minnesota 400C&NWChicago-Rapid City6141936
City of DenverUPChicago-Denver6181936M-10005 M-10006
MercuryNYCCleveland-Detroit7151936rebuilt from older cars
Sam Houston ZephyrCB&QHouston-DFW10119369901
HiawathaCMStPChicago-MSP1011936re-equipped
Denver ZephyrCB&QChicago-Denver11819369906-9907
Twin Cities ZephyrsCB&QChicago-MSP121819369904-9905
Ozark State ZephyrCB&QKC-St. Louis122019369902
Coast DaylightSPLA-SF3211937
Super ChiefSFChicago-Los Angeles5181937
ChippewaC&NWChicago-Upper Peninsula5281937renamed Chippewa-Hiawatha in 1948
Forty-NinerCMStPChicago-Oakland781937
San Francisco ChallengerUPChicago-Oakland9191937
Streamlined SunbeamSPDallas-Houston9191937
Peoria RocketCRI&PChicago-Peoria9191937
Des Moines RocketCRI&PChicago-Des Moines9261937
KC-Twin Cities RocketCRI&PMSP-KC9291937
CrusaderReadingPhiladelphia-Jersey City12131937
City of San FranciscoUPChicago-Oakland121938E2
City of Los AngelesUPChicago-Los Angeles121938E2
KC-OKCity RocketCRI&PKC-Oklahoma City2131938
El CapitanSFChicago-Los Angeles2221938
Super ChiefSFSecond HW2261938
San DieganSFLA-SD3271938
Chicagoan/Kansas CitianSFChicago-KC4171938
Twentieth Century LimitedNYCNY-Chicago6151938streamlined
New England StatesNYCBoston-Chicago6151938streamlined
Broadway LimitedPRRNY-Chicago6151938streamlined, General, Liberty Ltd, and Spirit of St. Louis also streamlined
Golden GateSFOakland-Bakersfield711938
Super ChiefSFChicago-Los Angeles721938LW equipment
HiawathaCMStPChicago-MSP911938re-equipped
KC-Dallas RocketCRI&PKC-Dallas11151938
Afternoon HiawathaCMStPChicago-MSP1211939
Silver MeteorSALNew York-Miami221939
Treasure Island SpecialUPChicago-Oakland5221939alternated days with 49er, in winter train became AZ Ltd
Exposition FlyerCB&Q-RG-WPChicago-Oakland6101939
Valley FlyerSFOakland-Bakersfield6111939
Trail BlazerPRRNY-St. Louis7281939early all-coach train
GoldenrodSRYBirmingham-Mobile9241939
Rocky Mtn RocketCRI&PChicago-Denver11121939
ChampionACLNew York-Miami1211939
TulsanSFChicago-Tulsa1211939
Henry M. FlaglerFECJacksonville-Miami1231939
Dixie FlaglerCEI-L&N-ACL-FECChicago-Miami1231939
Missouri River EagleMPSt. Louis-Omaha311940
FireflyFriscoKC-Tulsa3291940
General Pershing ZephyrCB&QKC-Lincoln41519409908
Silver Streak ZephyrCB&QKC-Lincoln41519409909 e5
Texas ZephyrCB&QDenver-DFW8221940E5
Southern BelleKCSKC-NO921940
Gulf Coast RebelGM&OSt. Louis-Mobile10291940
Choctaw RocketCRI&PMemphis-Amarillo11171940
Ak-Sar-Ben ZephyrCB&QLincoln-Chicago12111940
Midwest HiawathaCMStPChicago-Sioux City12111940Used original Hi eqpt
Arizona LimitedSP-RIChicago-Phoenix12151940
City of MiamiIC-CG-ACL-FECChicago-Miami12181940
South WindPRR-L&N-ACL-FECChicago-Miami12191940
San DieganSFLA-SD111941
Zephyr-RocketCB&Q-CRI&PSt. Louis-MSP171941
Streamlined LarkSPLA-SF321941
SouthernerSRYNew York-New Orleans3311941
AdmiralPRRNY-Chicago4271941
James Whitcomb RileyNYCCincinnati-Chicago4281941
TennesseanSRYWashington-Memphis5171941
San Joaquin DaylightSPOakland-LA741941
ProspectorRGDenver-SLC11171941disc. 7-5-42
Streamlined Empire State ExpressNYCNew York-Buffalo1271941
ColumbianB&OJersey City-Chicago12191941
Capitol 400C&NWChicago-Madison11942
Panama LimitedICChicago-NO511942
Colorado EagleMPSt. Louis-Denver6211942
ProspectorRGDenver-SLC1011945
Zephyr 9902CB&QChicago-Ottumwa1945
Powhatan ArrowN&WNorfolk-Cincinnati4281946
Sacramento DaylightSPLA-Sacramento521946
City of St. LouisUPSt. Louis-LA621946
Pere MarquettePMDetroit-Grand Rapids8101946
City of San Francisco 3 times a weekUPChicago-Oakland1011946
MeadowlarkC&EIChicago-Joppa1061946
HummingbirdL&N-C&EICincinnati-New Orleans11171946
GeorgianL&N-C&EIAtlanta-St. Louis11171946
Royal GorgeRGDenver-SLC1946replaced Scenic Limited
CincinnatianB&OBaltimore-Cincinnati1191947
Empire Builder (streamlined)GNChicago-Seattle271947
City of New OrleansICChicago-New Orleans4271947
UtahnUPCheyenne-Los Angeles5141947
Silver CometSECNew York-Birmingham5181947
Golden StateSP-RIChicago-LA5181947
TransconUPChicago-LA621947
Olympian HiawathaCMStPChicago-Seattle6291947
Nancy HanksCofGAtlanta-Savannah7171947
City of San Francisco dailyUPChicago-Oakland911947
Gold CoastUPChicago-Oakland1011947Replaced SF Challenger, disc. 1-9-1957
Nebraska ZephyrCB&QChicago-Lincoln11161947
City of Kansas CityWabashSt. Louis-KC11261947
Silver StarSALNew York-Miami12121947
Streamlined Golden StateSP-RIChicago-LA141948
Super ChiefSFChicago-Los Angeles2291948daily
El CapitanSFChicago-Los Angeles2291948daily
Texas ChiefSFChicago-Galveston431948
Texas EagleMPSt. Louis-San Antonio-El Paso8151948
SteelerPRRPittsburgh-Cleveland12121948
California ZephyrCB&Q-RG-WPChicago-Oakland3201949
Streamlined ColumbianB&OBaltimore-Chicago551949First dome cars in east
Shasta DaylightSPOakland-Portland7101949
Gulf WindL&N-SALJacksonville-New Orleans7311949
Phoebe SnowL-NKPHoboken-Buffalo11151949
Flambeau 400C&NWChicago-Ashland5261950
InternationalGNSeattle-Vancouver6181950
Streamlined Sunset LimitedSPNew Orleans-LA8201950
ZephyretteWPSLC-Oakland9151950
Western Star/Mid-Century Empire BuilderGNChicago-Seattle631951
Gopher/BadgerGNMSP-Duluth5261952
MainstreeterNPChicago-Seattle11151952
American Royal ZephyrCB&QChicago-KC211953
KC ZephyrCB&QChicago-KC211953
San Francisco ChiefSFChicago-Oakland661954
CanadianCPToronto-Vancouver4241955
Super ContinentalCNToronto-Vancouver4241955
Kate Shelley 400C&NWChicago-Boone101955
Jet RocketCRI&PChicago-Peoria21956
KeystonePRRNew York-Washington6241956
Hi-Level El CapitanSFChicago-Los Angeles781956
XplorerNYCCleveland-Cincinnati7151956disc. 8-17-1957
City of Las VegasUPLA-LV12181956
John Quincy AdamsNHBoston-NY3251957disc. 6-5-1958
Roger WilliamsNHBoston-Washington4281957
Dan'l WebsterNHBoston-NY51957disc. 6-5-1958
Talgo Train ("Speed Merchant")B&MBoston-Portland1958disc. 1965

To download the complete spreadsheet, click here. Note that month, day, and year are separate fields because whoever programmed Excel couldn’t imagine anyone would ever use dates before 1900.

The first passenger trains began operating in the United States in the 1830s. As near as I can tell, however, few railroads applied names to their trains before the 1880s, or if they did they were destination-oriented names such as “Pacific Express” (for a westbound train) or “Federal Express” (for a train to Washington, DC). Continue reading →

Mountain Wonderland Lunch Menu

Posted on by August 27, 2022
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“Colorado is the “highest of all the forty-eight states,” notes the back of this menu. “Forty-nine of Colorado’s peaks push skyward more than 14,000 feet above the level of the sea [today it is supposed to be 53, though some say 58], and literally hundreds of pinnacles in this mountain chain exceed 10,000 feet in elevation.” The mountains shown in the photo are called the Collegiate Peaks, specifically Princeton (14,204′), Yale (14,202′), and Harvard (14,421′) as seen from the town of Buena Vista (which Coloradans pronounce Byuna Vista).

Click image to download a 911-KB PDF of this menu.

This lunch menu is dated November 1946, which meant the railroad no longer had to guarantee that its prices followed federal price controls. In fact, they are about 50 percent higher than on this 1944 lunch menu. A salad bowl was 40¢ in 1944; 65¢ in late 1946. A table d’hôte lunch with a fish entrée was $1.00 in 1944; $1.40 in late 1946. Oddly, the fresh mountain trout, which was $1.25 in 1944, isn’t on this menu. Continue reading →

Los Pinos River Breakfast Menu

Posted on by August 26, 2022
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The Los Pinos River, sometimes called the Pine River, flows out of what is now the Wenimuche Wilderness Area near Durango, Colorado. This wilderness is nearly half a million acres in size, and one of its trail heads is only accessible by taking the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to a stop known as Needleton.

Click image to download a 851-KB PDF of this menu.

The “n” in Pinos should have a tilde (~) over it, signifying that it is pronounced “peenyos,” but Coloradans aren’t very respectful of Spanish names — they pronounce the town of Buena Vista “byuna vista.” The front cover of this menu identifies the photo as Los Pinos River, while the back calls it the Pine River. Either name might be found on maps of the area. Continue reading →

Denver Zephyr Buttercup Beverage Menu

Posted on by August 27, 2022
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Yesterday’s Colorado Room beverage menu had wild rose and lupin on the cover. Today’s has buttercup, anemone, and fringed gentian, the same as this dinner menu.

Click image to download a 230-KB PDF of this menu.

This particular menu, however, wasn’t used on the Denver Zephyr. Instead, it was used for the first annual meeting of the Railroadiana Collectors Association in 1988. Speakers for the meeting including Jackson Thode, a retired Rio Grande official, and my late friend David Schumacher, who helped Tom Rader find cars for restoration and reconstruction when he operated Rader Railcar (later Colorado Railcar). The meeting was coordinated by Richard Luckin, who has written several books on dining car china patterns. Continue reading →

Denver Zephyr Beverage Menu

Posted on by August 27, 2022
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Nine years ago, when I presented a beverage menu for the vista-dome Denver Zephyr with a columbine and deer vine painting on the cover, I noted that I had also seen one with wild rose and lupin. I then forgot about it until recently when I found this one.

Click image to download a 370-KB PDF of this menu.

The wild rose and lupin painting was one of eight wildflower illustrations that were also used on Denver Zephyr dinner menus. As I’ve noted before, these are among 115 wildflower paintings done by Kathryn Fligg for the Budd Company, which built the vista-dome Denver Zephyr. These paintings were hung in the train’s bedrooms, compartments, and drawing rooms. Unfortunately, I’ve found no record of what the other 107 paintings were or what they looked like. Continue reading →

More Memo Timetables: Chicago-K-City

Posted on by August 27, 2022
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These memo timetables show the schedules of the Kansas City Zephyr and American Royal Zephyr along with several unnamed trains that only went from Chicago to Galesburg. They also show connecting trains from Kansas City to St. Joseph — some of the same trains as were shown on yesterday’s Kansas City-Omaha timetables.

Click image to download a 450-KB PDF of this timetable.

Note that the image on the cover appropriately shows vista domes, while yesterday’s did not. However, it shows five dome cars per train, while the Chicago-Kansas City trains only had two. The observation cars on the Kansas City trains also had blunt ends, not the nicely rounded ones shown in the picture. Continue reading →

Burlington Memo Timetables: K-City to Omaha

Posted on by August 27, 2022
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Burlington published these smaller-than-postcard sized timetables in the 1960s. The tables show that the railroad operated three trains a day over the 195 miles between Kansas City and Omaha. Some of those trains connected with other trains to Lincoln.

Click image to download a 569-KB PDF of this timetable.

In 1963, the one-way fare from Kansas City to Omaha was $6.07 — nearly $60 in today’s money. A seat in the parlor car was an additional $1.85 or close to $20 in today’s money. Continue reading →

Genuine or Fake?

Posted on by September 25, 2022
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Along with yesterday’s note pads came another note pad that I am pretty sure wasn’t issued by a railroad. I’m including it here both to warn people against fakes and to laud whoever did this for their creativity. I’m not complaining: I suspect whoever made it didn’t try to sell it as genuine, and the dealer I bought it from probably didn’t know enough railroad history to know any better. Some people, however, might be misled into thinking these are real.

Click image to download a 1.3-MB PDF of this 15-sheet note pad.

This notepad consists of 15 different sheets, each advertising a different train. The pad I bought has two of some of the ads, but presumably the original had four or more copies of each ad. Continue reading →