If the all-Pullman Broadway Limited was a basket case before the war, the all-coach Trail Blazer was Pennsylvania’s success story. Inaugurated on July 28, 1939, the same day as New York Central’s all-coach Pacemaker, the Trail Blazer attracted 16 percent … Continue reading
In the mid-1930s, passenger service on the Pennsylvania Railroad was in trouble. The Pennsy was the largest railroad with the largest fleet of passenger trains in the world. Like all railroads, the Pennsylvania was hurt by the Depression, but as … Continue reading
Milwaukee introduced its full-length domes to the Olympian Hiawatha with a 16-page booklet in 1953. By 1960, the year before it cancelled the train, it was still advertising them but with this six-panel brochure. Click image to download a 1.7-MB … Continue reading
Although this brochure was published by Santa Fe and mentions the California Limited, it was really an ad for Pullman. One side of the brochure has five large interior photos (plus the cover photo) showing Pullman accommodations. The other side … Continue reading
In 1934, even before the introduction of the Burlington Zephyr and Union Pacific’s M-10000, New York Central decided to jump on the streamlining bandwagon by putting a shroud on one of its Hudson locomotives. Carl Kantola, a civil engineer who … Continue reading
“Beginning June 18, the twin trains of the City of Denver will provide the only 16-hour, streamline train service between Chicago and Denver,” says this brochure. That dates it to 1936, the year the train began operation. Click image to … Continue reading
This has to be one of the lamest railroad brochures I have ever seen. The passive opening headline, “Concerning the new advantages. . .,” absolutely would not inspire me to open it. Why is it about “train 14” and not … Continue reading
The North Coast Limited (trains #1 & 2) traditionally went between Seattle and Spokane at night in both directions. In the 1930s, the secondary Alaskan went at night westbound but during the day eastbound. The unnamed #5 & 6, which … Continue reading
In 1926, Northern Pacific became the first railroad to order a 4-8-4 locomotive, which is usually called a “Northern” in the NP’s honor. Other railroads had successfully used 4-8-2 locomotives, but NP needed four wheels to carry an extra large … Continue reading
This brochure advertises Canadian National’s “two great transcontinental trains,” which were in reality one pretty good train and one not-so-great train. In addition to coaches, the Super Continental had both “standard” sleepers (roomettes, double bedrooms, and sections) and “tourist” sleepers … Continue reading
