As previously noted here, the Union Pacific made the City of Denver a domeliner in 1957 and 1958 by adding Milwaukee Road full-length domes. This 1958 brochure updates an earlier one by adding the word “Domeliner” to the cover. Click … Continue reading
The Great Northern introduced 58-seat semi-streamlined coaches to the Empire Builder in 1937. Though they had the same shape as streamlined cars, they were built with rivets and rolled on six-wheel trucks, suggesting they were as heavy or nearly as … Continue reading
We’ve seen the Rock Island’s booklet about the Golden State. Here is Southern Pacific’s brochure about the same train. Perhaps it is a brochure rather than a 16-page booklet because SP was less enthusiastic about running the train. Click image … Continue reading
The first revenue run of the hi-level El Capitan took place on July 8, 1956. A few weeks before, Santa Fe invited a select group of people — probably travel agents, writers, and possibly some elected officials — to take … Continue reading
The Midwest Hiawatha connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with a few cars diverging at Manilla, Iowa to got to Omaha. It began operating in December, 1940, with hand-me-down equipment from the Twin Cities Hiawatha. … Continue reading
This brochure from the Bill Hough collection describes the fourth and finest iteration of the Milwaukee Road Twin Cities Hiawatha. The first, introduced in 1935, had an observation car with tiny windows in the rear. In 1937, a new train … Continue reading
This brochure advertises the third version of the Milwaukee Hiawatha, the first two appearing in 1935 and 1937. The railroad was able to make such rapid upgrades because it could assign the older trains to other routes begging for faster, … Continue reading
The City of Kansas City commenced operating between St. Louis and its namesake city on November 26, 1947. This ACF-built train started out with seven cars: baggage, baggage/RPO, two coaches, a coach/cafe car, a diner, and a parlor observation car … Continue reading
The Empire State Express began operating on September 14, 1891, and this otherwise undated brochure says it celebrates the train’s golden jubilee. That dates it to 1941. Specifically, on December 7, 1941, the New York Central inaugurated streamlined, Budd-built trains … Continue reading
This brochure presents the Californian as a direct competitor to the Challenger, Union Pacific’s budget alternative to the Los Angeles Limited and Overland Limited. The Challengers operated at approximately the same schedules as their higher-priced counterparts, leaving Chicago or the … Continue reading
