Southern Pacific Passenger Trains (Great Passenger Trains)

Brian Solomon. Well into the 1950s, the Southern Pacific operated an extensive fleet of colorful (a color scheme nicknamed "daylight") and highly-regarded passenger trains that became the preferred mode of travel for the West Coast's nouveau riche film stars and businesspeople. This authoritative illustrated history covers the various forms of motive power used, the rolling stock and the SP's services. Archival photographs depict the trains on their routes from Portland to the Bay Area, Los Angeles and on through the desert Southwest to Texas and New Orleans. Also depicted are SP uniforms, dinnerware, stations and terminals, and interior views of cars. Also featured are period advertisements, timetables, and route maps, and coverage of the SP's cooperative efforts with Chicago & North Western, Union Pacific, and Rock Island in forwarding trains overland to Utah, Chicago and St. Louis. Read more