This is an update of the 1884 timetable shown here a month ago. At that time, I noted that the timetable was “peculiar” because it focused on connections with other railroads rather than displaying the Southern Pacific’s own timetables. The … Continue reading
In its 1884 timetable, Southern Pacific included condensed schedules of the Houston and Texas Central. At the time, this was part of the Charles Morgan family of railroads in the Gulf Coast area, but in 1927 it would become part … Continue reading
Today’s timetable is peculiar in several ways. Like several we have seen before, it mainly has westbound schedules, probably because its goal is to entice people to emigrate west. (It does have one very brief eastbound schedule.) Also like several … Continue reading
Here are two more Union Pacific-style menus that were actually used on the Southern Pacific. Like other menus with photos of the San Francisco Bay Area, these two were usually used on the City of San Francisco or San Francisco … Continue reading
At least three Union Pacific menus showed San Francisco’s Nob Hill. I’ve previously presented two of them, including one dated 1957 (though I’ve seen this photo on a 1950 menu) and one dated 1963 (whose photo I’ve seen on a … Continue reading
Having lost the speed race when UP and Santa Fe reduced the times of their premiere Chicago-Los Angeles trains to 39-3/4 hours, Southern Pacific/Rock Island’s Golden State was a distinctly third-rate train in the 1950s. So this six-panel welcome-aboard brochure … Continue reading
This issue of West, the first I’ve seen dated later than 1942, celebrates the 75th anniversary of the completion of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific transcontinental railroad. The cover drawing shows Chinese workers being “lowered in baskets to chip … Continue reading
The 1939 Golden Gate Expo was supposed to be a “Pageant of the Pacific,” celebrating the diverse cultures represented in the United States, Latin America, and Asia. This is shown in the two buildings on the cover of this menu. … Continue reading
The Californian was Southern Pacific’s Chicago-Los Angeles economy train, operating from 1936 to 1947 in competition with Union Pacific’s Challenger. This 1938 menu folder is fancier than the ones used on the pre-war Challenger, which were usually just cards. But … Continue reading
We’ve previously seen a name-train booklet for the first Daylight train. This one is much fancier, with full color illustrations of train interiors and exteriors. It wasn’t unusual for railroads to produce two booklets to introduce new trains, one for … Continue reading
