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Author Archives: Michael Grace

PRIVATE TRAIN CARS: A look inside!

President Donald Trump’s “Mar-a-Lago” may be the closest proximity you might have to the illustrious society history of Post Cereals Heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post unless you charter her former private railway car. Originally christened Hussar, the car was built in 1922 for Post and her husband E.F. Hutton. The car ... Read More »

New York’s 20th CENTURY LIMITED – the greatest train in the world!

20TH CENUTRY

Have you wondered where the much-overused phrase “the red carpet treatment” originated? It all started with the 20th Century Limited. The train of tycoons and movie stars. The “Century” was an express all-Pullman passenger train operated by the New York Central nightly from New York to Chicago. From 1938 until ... Read More »

Part 1 – The LURLINE was HAWAII

ss lurline

70 Years ago this week, Matson Line’s refurbished SS LURLINE  sailed from San Francisco and Los Angeles on her maiden post-WW 2 voyage to Hawaii. The flagship of Matson’s passenger fleet had just emerged from a stunning $18-million makeover, following six years as a troop carrier with her white ship ... Read More »

On the threshold of fame, ELVIS PRESLEY took the train from New York to Memphis in 1956.

ELVIS PRESLEY, PENN STATION

“Elvis who?” Photographer Alfred Wertheimer recalls uttering that very question in early 1956. A publicist from RCA Victor Records had contacted him, asking if he was available to photograph a young singer named Elvis Presley. “I’d never heard of the man,” Wertheimer told TIME Magazine in an article 40 years ... Read More »

JUDY GARLAND aboard the SS UNITED STATES sailing from New York to Europe.

JUDY GARLAND, SS UNITED STATES

Judy Garland is sailing today on the SS United States. Everyone knew the famous star was on board because they had a First Class Passenger List. They also read that Marlon Brando, Salvidor Dali along with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were other celebrities sailing to Europe on America’s ... Read More »

Mid-Century – JANET LEIGH travels on the Super Chief – Train of the Stars

Janet Leigh, Super Chief

Star of Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO, Janet Leigh is ready to board the famous SUPER CHIEF and Virginia Leith, star of A KISS BEFORE DYING shows us the all-Pullman train during the 1950s in a promotional film. Even the characters from TV’s MAD MEN may have been aboard the train all ... Read More »

THE “LOVE BOAT” alive and well aboard P&O Lines

A national survey conducted by P&O Cruises Australia has confirmed that love, exciting and new, can be rekindled aboard a cruise ship. 74 percent of those questioned recommended taking a cruise to put the spark back into a relationship. LOVE BOAT FOLLIES with Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, and Ann Miller. ... Read More »

Matson Line’s SS LURLINE sailed to Hawaii.

In the 1950s, a cruise to Hawaii was sailing round-trip from California to Honolulu (alternating between San Francisco and Los Angeles) on Matson Line’s SS Lurline. All First Class LURLINE made the crossing in 4 and 1/2 days – 4 days at sea.   Most passengers spent 9 days in Hawaii before returning to ... Read More »

Home Lines SS Homeric Cruising to Cuba in the 1950s

SS HOMERIC, FIRST CLASS, CUBA CRUISE

In October 1959, Ruth and Harry Hotz boarded the SS Homeric in New York and sailed south on a seven-day voyage that would turn out to be one of the last cruises to the island until briefly in the late 1970s and then recently. SS Independence, SS Homeric, SS Constitution ... Read More »

The popular “4 Aces” elegant liners sailed in luxury to the Mediterranean.

American Export Line, "4 Aces", Excalibur, Excambion, Exeter, Exochorda, Henry Dreyfuss, American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, cruise ships, cruise lines, michael l grace, cruising the past, cruise line history, it's the love boat

The Excalibur, Excambion, Exeter, and Exochorda were four of the most successful U.S.-flag combination passenger-cargo ships. They were put into service following World War 2 for the New York to Mediterranean service. The “4 Aces” had beautiful public rooms and an outdoor pool, and all the staterooms had a private ... Read More »