Author Archives: Michael Grace
RED CARPET treatment started with the 20TH CENTURY LIMITED
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 the ... Read More »
The Italian Line’s S.S. REX and Cary Grant’s S.S. REX…
Besides the fabulous Italian ocean liner S.S. REX launched in 1931, there was another S.S. REX. The gambling ship off the coast of California in the 1930s and 1940s. The far lesser (but profitable)REX was operated as a gambling ship off Los Angeles by Anthony Cornero. Gary Grant made a ... Read More »
THE SS MANHATTAN… created the “Manhattan” cocktail… right out of Prohibition…
At the time of their construction, the Manhattan and her sister ship, Washington, also built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, were the largest liners ever built in the United States, and Manhattan was the first large liner built in the US since 1905. The Manhattan and Washington were two of ... Read More »
Labor Day Cruises from New York in 1933 aboard famous trans-Atlantic Liners.
There were a large variety of cruises out of New York in 1933 celebrating the Labor Day weekend. They were designed to fit every kind of pocketbook, bulging or slim. They were aboard grand liners. CUNARD LINE The Cunarder RMS Aquitania offered a week-end to Nova Scotia, leaving New York ... Read More »
The Panama Limited – All-Pullman Chicago and New Orleans
The Panama Limited was a first class passenger train operated by the Illinois Central Railroad between Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. It operated from 1911 to 1971. Offering the best in American railway deluxe services. The Panama Limited took its name from the Panama Canal, then under construction and ... Read More »
The USS WILLIAMSBURG… President Harry Truman’s presidential yacht…
The steel-hulled, diesel-powered yacht Aras was laid down on March 19, 1930, by the Bath Iron Works; launched on December 8, 1930; and delivered to wood-pulp magnate Hugh J. Chisholm on January 15, 1931. The Aras, a long graceful steel ship, was sold in April 1941 to the US Navy ... Read More »
Matson Lines to Hawaii and the South Pacific during the early 1960s…
Imagine you’re planning a cruise to the South Pacific during the 1960s. Last Ocean Liners provides all the information of scheduling your trip along with the cost. A great way to cruise the past. MARIPOSA and MONTEREY Matson Line’s Mariposa and Monterey carried only First class guests and promised regal ... Read More »
FRANK SINATRA starring in PAL JOEY heads to San Francisco on a Southern Pacific train and ferry boat…
In the 1957 musical film Pal Joey, Frank Sinatra gets off a Southern Pacific train and then heads across the bay to San Francisco aboard one of the SP Ferry Boats. Oakland Long Wharf was the western terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad. From there, ferries carried both commuters and ... Read More »
RMS Titanic artifact surfaces: Gold cigarette case ‘with a hint of scandal’
A storied gold cigarette case that once belonged to a controversial wealthy couple that survived the Titanic disaster is up for auction. The extremely rare artifact, which belonged to Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff-Gordon, comes “with a hint of scandal,” according to Hansons Auctioneers. The Duff-Gordons were accused of bribing ... Read More »