TRAINS

“Elvis who?” On the threshold of fame, Elvis took the train. 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,” ... Read More »

The Southern Pacific’s Streamliner Coast Daylight was the West’s finest train in the 1940s, 50s, and early 1960s. It hugged the Pacific Ocean with great views. Linking Los Angeles and San Francisco on a glorious daylight trip, streaking along the edge of the Pacific Ocean for more than a hundred ... Read More »

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 »

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 »

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 Pittsburgher was a premiere passenger train operated between New York City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania over the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Main Line. The PPR’s overnight all Pullman service-connected the Steel City with New York via the railroad’s mainline. It was initially launched during the mid-1920s, for many years the train pampered ... Read More »

Southern Pacific’s deluxe streamliner Lark was the premiere overnight passenger between San Francisco and Los Angeles. A favorite of businessmen and movie stars. The Oakland Lark connected with the Lark at San Jose then via San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara to Southern California along the coast route. The Lark rivaled ... Read More »

The Super Chief in “Warbonnet” colors calls at Pasadena just before heading into Los Angeles Union Station. To the palm trees’ right, we can see the seventh floor of Castle Green above the engine. The Moorish Colonial and Spanish Hotel was across the street from Pasadena’s Santa Fe Station. Pasadena ... Read More »

The Santa Fe launched the San Francisco Chief in June 1954. The new California Express streamliner ran daily between San Francisco, the Bay Area, and Chicago.  Pullman and Chair Car accommodations were featured, plus Dining Cars, Dome and Pullman Lounge cars traveling via Stockton, Fresno, Bakersfield, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Kansas City, ... Read More »

Messageries Maritimes’ flag-ship ended up like mini-Titanic…                    MM ship leaving Saigon Dating from 1862, Messageries Maritimes’ “Orient & Indo China” route was its premier route, serving as it did the Jewel in France’s Crown in the East: Indo-China. Saigon during the ... Read More »

Southern Pacific’s deluxe streamliner Lark was the premiere overnight passenger between San Francisco and Los Angeles. A favorite of businessmen and movie stars. The Oakland Lark connected with the Lark at San Jose then via San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara to Southern California along the coast route. The Lark rivaled ... Read More »

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 throughout ... Read More »