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Faced with the likely loss of the 1948 presidential elections, President Harry S. Truman set out from Washington on September 17 on a twelve-day cross-country political barnstorming trip aboard the “Truman Special” from Washington Union Station. The barnstorming “Truman Special” makes a whistle-stop. At the last minute, wealthy Democrats had come ... Read More »

The Germans (Nazis) developed the VW, created the first cruise line and built the first ships designed exclusively for cruising. The first cruise line… The Germans operated the first steamship line with ships exclusively devoted to cruising. The Kdf – Kroft durch Freude (Strength through Joy) leisure organization, a part ... Read More »

Once upon a time, flying was fun, comfortable, and glamorous. And this was flying in coach or what we call economy class today. But this all ended on Oct. 24, 1978, when President Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act, the airline industry changed forever, and it can be argued ... Read More »

Traverse the full distance between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from Sydney to Perth, in a 2,700-mile odyssey. One of the world’s great long-distance trains. The Indian Pacific rolls across this vast continent like a miniature city on wheels, illuminating the colorful, quirky history, cultures and countryside of Australia as ... Read More »

The TSS Awatea was one of the most beautifully designed compact liners to be built in the mid-thirties and was, without doubt, the ultimate statement in luxurious service. The Awatea followed the Art Deco trend of the day. The interiors were distinguished by fluorescent lighting, aluminum motifs, and gentle pastels ... Read More »

As the SS LIBERTE, the liner became the stop gap flagship for CGT French Line as a replacement for the legendary SS NORMANDIE that had been lost during the Second World War. If the time before the Second World War is indexed within the annals of history for its aspirations ... Read More »

The album belonged to Louis M Ogden, a New York socialite aboard the RMS Carpathia – the ship that rescued survivors of the Titanic. Carpathia passenger’s scrapbook of the Titanic rescue – including a photo of the Unsinkable Molly Brown’s lifeboat New York socialite Louis M. Ogden’s scrapbook includes several pictures ... Read More »

Onboard the Ward Line’s SS MORRO CASTLE, in the early morning hours of September 7, 1934, a deadly fire erupted in two places on the cruise/liner en route from Havana Cuba to New York City. After wonderful days at sea and a wonderful time in Havana, the cruise turned into ... Read More »

Chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr.’s twin interests in baseball and Catalina Island – he bought Catalina in 1919 and gained a controlling interest in the Chicago Cubs in 1921 – dovetailed nicely when he made the decision to have the Cubs train on Catalina starting in 1921.  In doing ... Read More »

EARLY CRUISING The earliest ocean-going vessels were not primarily concerned with passengers, but rather with the cargo that they could carry. Black Ball Line in New York, in 1818, was the first shipping company to offer regularly scheduled service from the United States to England and to be concerned with ... Read More »