This being the start of a new year, I’m introducing the first of a number of tour books published by the Union Pacific Railroad. The railroad published similar guides over the years for California, Colorado, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, … Continue reading
This 1946 booklet advertises the route from Cody, Wyoming, to Yellowstone Park. Burlington rails had reached Cody in 1901, and no doubt the railroad lobbied hard for the construction of the Cody Road, which opened in 1903. This made it … Continue reading
This 32-page brochure is in pristine condition, especially considering it is around 80 years old. It is undated, but there are several clues about the date it was published. Click image to download a 17.4-MB PDF of this 32-page brochure. … Continue reading
The Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Burlington railways jointly published this travel booklet in 1925. Focused on the Northwest, the centerfold map features the three railroads’ routes across Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Naturally, the SP&S route is also … Continue reading
In 1911, the year after Congress created Glacier National Park, Great Northern invited eight reporters to go on a tour of the park along with an artist and a “travelogue lecturer.” Four of the reporters were from Chicago, three from … Continue reading
Even as Ralph Budd was leading the Upper Missouri and Columbia River Historical Expeditions, the Great Northern Railway was planning and building the new 7.9-mile-long Cascade Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in the United States. Construction began at the end … Continue reading
Seven Sunsets was the only non-historical essay Grace Flandrau wrote for the Great Northern. Ostensibly a travelogue, it was in fact a 46-page advertisement for the Oriental Limited, which the railway had completely re-equipped in 1924. The source of the … Continue reading
Canada is a big country, and over the years the Canadian Pacific issued many brochures making the case that the best way to see the country was from a Canadian Pacific train. This one dates from 1959 and features a … Continue reading
Many railroads had a theme they used–year after year, sometimes decade after decade–in their passenger advertising. The Santa Fe’s theme was “all the way,” meaning that only the Santa Fe could get you all the way from Chicago to the … Continue reading
