With the April 1957 timetable, Southern Pacific replaced drawings of its four leading streamliners on the back cover with a simplified map of its rail system, as shown below. A more detailed system map is still included in the centerfold. … Continue reading
This menu is dated 1963 and by this time NP has slightly simplified the border design around its menu cards, allowing printing to be done with one fewer color. The prices are higher than on yesterday’s 1959 menu but the … Continue reading
Although Union Pacific had more dining car menus than any other railroad, Canadian Pacific had far more total menus because it also served meals in hotels, steamships, station restaurants, and airplanes. Many of the menu designs used in these venues … Continue reading
Union Pacific issued more dining car menus than any other railroad. It had plenty before World War II, but really cranked them out after the war. My count shows more than 50 menus in various series before the war and … Continue reading
Northern Pacific was the first transcontinental railroad to have dining cars. But Northern Pacific was the last transcontinental railroad to streamline its premiere train, the last to offer a full diner on that streamlined train, and the last to speed … Continue reading
As shown on the Great Northern menu PDF page, GN had a wide profusion of menus in the 1920s. In the early 1930s, perhaps due to the Depression, the railroad used rather plain menus, with little cover decoration. I won’t … Continue reading
Before World War II, Santa Fe menus were pretty plain, often displaying nothing on the cover but the railroad or train logo and name of the train. After the war, the railroad drew upon its huge collection of artworks, mostly … Continue reading
Southern Pacific probably had menu series before 1932, but the earliest I have date to that year. Many SP menus, particularly those in the Golden Gate Expo series and the Color Photo series, were flimsier and smaller that those used … Continue reading
Canadian National didn’t issue as many menus as Canadian Pacific and I haven’t tried to collect all of the ones it did issue. Many of the ones I have seem to fall into several series, though like Canadian Pacific menus … Continue reading
I’ve identified six different series issued by the Denver & Rio Grande Western going back to the mid-1930s. The Rio Grande had several menu series before then that featured black-and-white photos or drawings, but I haven’t yet systematically identified or … Continue reading
