Is it possible to find a more uninspiring photo of Olympic National Park, an area known for its glacially-carved peaks, giant old-growth trees, and stunning sea coast? Except for one tree on the left whose true size is unknown for … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Postcard
NP’s postcard of the Columbia River Gorge was taken from the same spot as, but several decades later than, the Union Pacific postcard presented here a few weeks ago. The two-lane highway visible on the cover of the 1959 UP … Continue reading
Timberline Lodge is an unforgettable building, so important to the Northwest that Southern Pacific even based the lounge car on the Shasta Daylight on the timber-framed structure’s interior. Northern Pacific tries to capture the place in this postcard, but whoever … Continue reading
The Columbine was a Union Pacific-Chicago & North Western train between Chicago and Denver that operated from 1929 to 1950. For a few years it was the premiere train on the route, but was eclipsed by the City of Denver … Continue reading
The Columbia River Highway has been built, which dates this postcard to 1917 or later. The fuzzy white thing on the rocky outcropping on the right is probably supposed to be the Vista House, which was built shortly after the … Continue reading
Most western national parks had short seasons of around June 15 through September 15. But Union Pacific could offer a winter destination as well: Death Valley, which had a “delightful climate,” at least after November 2, when the 1928 season … Continue reading
When Burlington inaugurated the vista-dome Twin Zephyrs in 1947, it moved the 1936 edition of the Twin Zephyrs to Chicago-Lincoln service, renaming them the Nebraska Zephyrs. The engines and cars were still named after Greek and Roman gods. The best … Continue reading
Back in 1951, the Union Pacific wanted potential passengers to know that coaches were comfortable and economical. The brochure especially emphasizes the streamliners, noting that coaches on the City of Los Angeles, City of Portland, and City of San Francisco … Continue reading
As previously noted, the Southern Pacific was the last of the three “overland” railroads to actually use the name Overland Limited, as Union Pacific and Chicago & North Western began using the name no later than 1895 while SP did … Continue reading
For more than three decades, the Great Big Baked Potato was a mainstay of Northern Pacific advertising. Many of the ads featured the same image of a potato on a plate (Garnet pattern of China), with a spoon on the … Continue reading