Introduced in 1930 as Burlington’s premiere train in the hotly competitive Chicago-Denver market, the Aristocrat lasted barely more than a decade. While the Aristocrat required 26 hours to go from Chicago to Denver, the Denver Zephyr, which began operating in … Continue reading
In January, 1930, the Burlington added three new luxury trains to its schedules: the Chicago-Lincoln Ak-Sar-Ben, the Chicago-Denver Aristocrat, and the Chicago-Twin Cities Blackhawk. The timing was obviously poor: the trains had been ordered before the stock market crash and … Continue reading
Passenger and freight are given equal billing on this Burlington Route note pad. The vista-dome train shown most closely resembles the Twin Cities Zephyr, as the California Zephyr would have more head-end cars and While ED may very well be … Continue reading
In 1933, the Burlington claimed to be 83 years old, which would mean it was born in 1850. But later the company decided its centennial would be in 1949, based on when its earliest predecessor received its charter. It is … Continue reading
As previously described, the first Burlington streamlined trains to operate between Chicago and the Twin Cities were three-car trains nearly identical to the original Zephyr. When they entered service on April 21, 1935, demand greatly exceeded their capacity. So in … Continue reading
WordPress says this is my 500th post. The first 365 posts were about streamlined trains, and the last 135 have been about heavyweight trains. Today I am going to ease back into streamlined trains with several posts about the transition … 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
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
Here’s a 1966 dinner menu that might have been used on the same train as yesterday’s lunch menu. Unlike the lunch menu, this is a folder but made of the same glossy paper stock. Click image to download a 1.3-MB … Continue reading
Here’s a Texas Zephyr lunch menu from 1966, the last year the train was in operation. The menu is only a card instead of a folder, reflecting declining patronage, and it is made of glossy paper, which sounds fancy but … Continue reading
