California Zephyr passengers were greeted with this card on their tables when they sat down to eat in the dining car. Note that the printing uses green ink but they took the trouble to print one letter in red, giving … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Miscellany
This is a menu cover we’ve seen before, but it’s not a menu. Instead, it’s the passenger list for the 10th annual convention of the American Association of Railroad Ticket Agents. Coincidentally, we’ve also seen a Canadian National menu used … Continue reading
As noted here a couple of days ago, in 1929 Canadian Pacific acquired twenty 2-10-4 locomotives, which it called Selkirks, from Montreal Locomotive Works, the Canadian subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). At 78,000 pounds of tractive effort, these … Continue reading
As I’ve noted before, in 1961 Canadian National changed its colors from drab black and green (with yellow locomotive noses) to even drabber black and dirty white (with red locomotive noses). This was at the same time that it updated … Continue reading
Yesterday, I wrote that most of the Forty-Niner menu covers used images taken from the heart of Southern Pacific territory, so of course today would be the exception: an engraving of Colonel Fremont speaking with Indians at Fort Laramie, Wyoming. … Continue reading
The first cover today commemorates the 30th anniversary of the first run of the California Zephyr. Postmarked March 17, 1979, in Bond, Colorado, the envelope includes a printed note saying that it was carried from Denver to Bond on the … Continue reading
Someone took a round trip on the Rio Grande Zephyr in February, 1978 and mailed out these covers. Unlike yesterday’s covers, there’s no indication on the envelopes of which was westbound and which was eastbound. Both were contributed by John … Continue reading
The Postal Service ended most railway post office contracts in 1967, which brought about the end of the Silver Age of passenger trains as most railroads ran RPOs with passenger trains and depended on the income from RPOs to supplement … Continue reading
The White Pass & Yukon, truly one of the most scenic narrow-gauge lines in the world, was completed in July, 1900 and celebrated its 75th anniversary with this cover. Although the railway begins in Skagway, Alaska, it is mostly a … Continue reading
In September, 1948, New York Central invited General Dwight Eisenhower to inaugurate the postwar 20th Century Limited, which consisted of all-new passenger cars pulled by nearly new Diesel locomotives. The railroad printed up this “First Trip” envelope to be hand … Continue reading