1950s

In the late 1940s, the Milwaukee Road introduced the Olympian Hiawatha, the transcontinental version of the railroad’s very modern fleet of Hiawatha passenger trains. The original version of the train was the Twin Cities Hiawatha, which began operating between Chicago and the Twin Cities on May 29, 1935, one of the first streamlined trains ever to be introduced in the ... Read More »

Raymond Loewy, whose modern concept of everything from fountain pens to airplanes, ships, and railroad trains won him the title of America’s foremost industrial designer. His basic design philosophy was behind the creation of the interiors for Matson’s luxury liner Lurline and modern ticket office in downtown Los Angeles in 1948. These were the ultimate in mid-century design. “We translated ... Read More »

The Southern Pacific’s Streamliner Coast Daylight was the West’s finest train in the 1940s, 50s and early 1960s, linking Los Angeles and San Francisco in a glorious daylight trip, streaking along the edge of the Pacific Ocean for more than a hundred breathless mile. Chair car passengers had full access to the Coffee Shop, Diner, and Tavern cars. The two ... Read More »

Horseracing was popular on liners and cruise ships during the 20th Century. The following is from a young man’s diary who sailed with his parents First Class from San Francisco to London via the Suez on board the RMS Oransay in the 1960s. A NIGHT AT THE RACES Tonight, there is the gala event: The “Pacific Winding Race Meeting.” On ... Read More »

In the 1950s pioneer shipping executive Arnold Bernstein wanted to offer superior Economy Class steamship liner services from New York to Europe offering all staterooms with private facilities aboard the SS Atlantic. Bernstein had chartered in the summer of 1948 a passenger ship the CONTINENTAL (ex ANCON of 1902) for four round voyages from New York to Plymouth and Antwerp. ... Read More »

The Delta Line was cruising to South America from New Orleans in the 1950s. The steamship company introduced three revolutionary passenger-cargo ships to its South American services in the post-war years of the 1940s. In keeping with the trade name of the company, “Delta Line”, the three vessels were given “Del” names DEL NORTE, DEL SUD, and DEL MAR. The ... Read More »

The GORDON C. GREENE sailed south on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers – from Cincinnati to New Orleans and back. Nearly 70 years ago.  When times were much different. The cruise cost $220 or about ten dollars a day  Capt. Mary Greene – co-owner of the Greene Line, and for 50 years the only woman pilot on the river.  She ... Read More »

Greene Line Steamers originated as a family-owned and operated business established by Captain Gordon C. Greene and his wife, Captain Mary Greene. After working his way from deckhand to captain, Gordon Greene purchased his first steamboat with his own savings in 1890. The last years of the 19th century and first years of the 20th were prosperous for steamship lines, ... Read More »