If the Western Star was downgraded after 1967, its rival the Mainstreeter was never really upgraded. While the Star began in 1951 as a completely streamlined train, the Mainstreeter was inaugurated on November 16, 1952 with Diesels and streamlined coaches, … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Postcard
After the GN had painted one set of Empire Builder equipment Big Sky Blue, it ran a publicity train from Chicago to Seattle. After that, the newly painted cars were mixed in with the orange-and-green cars and it is difficult … Continue reading
In lieu of canceling train service (which generally required either federal or state approval), various ways that railroads attempted to save money in the face of declining ridership included: 1. Simplifying exterior paint schemes; 2. Simplifying dining car menus; 3. … Continue reading
In 1926, the Northern Pacific Railway became the first to use a 4-8-4 locomotive, which is why this wheel arrangement is often called a Northern. To publicize this achievement, the railway hired Austrian artist Gustav Krollmann to paint scenes along … Continue reading
Although Seaboard Airline was the first to offer a New York-Florida streamliner, Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) was the larger and healthier of the two competitors–Seaboard had gone bankrupt in 1907 and again in 1930. ACL was initially skeptical about streamliners, … Continue reading
On February 2, 1939, shortly after Dieselizing the Orange Blossom Special, Seaboard inaugurated the Silver Meteor, a Budd-built coach train between New York and Florida pulled by an E-4 locomotive. Initially, Seaboard purchased a single, seven-car train set, allowing service … Continue reading
The Orange Blossom Special was an all-Pullman, winter-only train between New York and Florida that the Seaboard Air Line began running in 1925. By 1941, the average speed of the New York-Miami trains was a respectable 57 mph. Like New … Continue reading
When the Burlington replaced the original Denver Zephyr with the vista-dome version, it transferred the old Denver Zephyr train to the Texas Zephyr route. The 1936 DZ was actually older than the 2937 TZ coaches and 2940 observation car, but … Continue reading
On August 22, 1940, Burlington began running the Texas Zephyr between Denver and Dallas. The route was a strange offshoot for the Burlington, which was mainly a Midwestern railroad, and went over Burlington subsidiaries Colorado & Southern and Fort Worth … Continue reading
The Santa Fe was unusual if not unique in that–at least until 1963–it didn’t operate its own dining cars. Instead, it contracted them out to Fred Harvey, who also operated restaurants in many Santa Fe train stations and hotels in … Continue reading