As always, thank you for your hard work, a work of love to be sure. My observation about dining service, comparing say the Santa Fe to the Rock's should mention who were their passengers. The Super Chief carried the movie stars, who were no doubt used to better food than say, the shoe store managers and community college teachers who rode the Rock. The Rock Island ran through many working class and lower to middle class cities and towns where the meat, potato, vegetable meal was the default (I know; I grew up here in the 1960s and 1970s and believe me, my diet has MUCH improved over the years). Notwithstanding, the Rock Island's diner food was palatable until the very end (January, 1975). I still miss their blueberry muffins for breakfast and the nutmeg they added to the apple sauce (they would heat it and stir in the nutmeg, just because that's the way the cook would have done it at home). Keep up the great research and by the way, your presentations are well measured and clear. Cheers.
The Santa Fe also had much higher standards in general. This will come up when the Texas Chief videos gets released. It's menu in the 50s was more substantive than even Empire Builder around the same time. And the Texas Chief was considered a secondary train.
@@thetrainhopper8992 Cool! You just enlightened me about the Texas Chief. I don't think I've ever run across one of their menus. I did have some Super Chief and Chief ones at one time (lost some valuables from flooding over the years). Looking forward to that video. Thanks again.
Also by "substantive" I'm talking about the dinner entree options. The Santa Fe and the Fred Harvey Company seemed to have the highest standards for service in the US at the time.
@@thetrainhopper8992 Agreed, in terms of west of Chicago lines. Now the Broadway and Century were certainly at the top of their respective games going east. Also, from what I've learned, the B&O was masterful and in the mid west there were fans who would ride the GM&O from Chicago to Bloomington or Springfield and return just to enjoy the diner's offerings.
Good video, one of the biggest reasons for passenger trains dying in the 66-69 years was the U.S. Postal service switching from trains to planes and trucks. This killed more trains than anything else, as some trains even with low passenger count still made money.
Also Rock Island trains only went to Phoenix and Los Angeles. Santa Fe provided service to both (from Chicago) San Francisco bay area and Los Angeles (as well as San Diego). UP had trains from Chicago to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. Milwaukee Road only went to Seattle. The Hill routes (CB&Q, NP, GN, and Spokane Portland and Seattle) went to both Portland and Seattle.
Rock Island's problem was they went everywhere on others track. California on the SP. Oregon & Washington on either UP or Hill lines(CB&Q to GN or NP), Kansas City (from Colorado) on Missouri Pacific (I think). Houston shared with Burlington. Memphis, on the Cotton Belt (I think). In the end it was the failed merger with UP that killed the railroad. In the end it was worth more in pieces then as a continuous railroad. SP ended up with the Golden State route to Kansas City. Chicago to Omaha Iowa Pacific. Minneapolis to Kansas City to Canadian Pacific, etc. As a railroad they were constantly in and out of bankruptcy. Most of the granger railroads were poor man operations. The list is long. All either merged if lucky or broken up in bankruptcy.
Nicely done. When I drive from Denver to Newton KS I parallel the old Rock Island Route along I 70. Now the line is mostly short lines hauling grain or used for rail car storage. Sad, but Darwin is at work even at the RR level.
The coolest thing on the rocky mt rocket was the switch in limon and the B units they had for the trip to the springs
As always, thank you for your hard work, a work of love to be sure. My observation about dining service, comparing say the Santa Fe to the Rock's should mention who were their passengers. The Super Chief carried the movie stars, who were no doubt used to better food than say, the shoe store managers and community college teachers who rode the Rock. The Rock Island ran through many working class and lower to middle class cities and towns where the meat, potato, vegetable meal was the default (I know; I grew up here in the 1960s and 1970s and believe me, my diet has MUCH improved over the years). Notwithstanding, the Rock Island's diner food was palatable until the very end (January, 1975). I still miss their blueberry muffins for breakfast and the nutmeg they added to the apple sauce (they would heat it and stir in the nutmeg, just because that's the way the cook would have done it at home). Keep up the great research and by the way, your presentations are well measured and clear. Cheers.
The Santa Fe also had much higher standards in general. This will come up when the Texas Chief videos gets released. It's menu in the 50s was more substantive than even Empire Builder around the same time. And the Texas Chief was considered a secondary train.
@@thetrainhopper8992 Cool! You just enlightened me about the Texas Chief. I don't think I've ever run across one of their menus. I did have some Super Chief and Chief ones at one time (lost some valuables from flooding over the years). Looking forward to that video. Thanks again.
Also by "substantive" I'm talking about the dinner entree options. The Santa Fe and the Fred Harvey Company seemed to have the highest standards for service in the US at the time.
@@thetrainhopper8992 Agreed, in terms of west of Chicago lines. Now the Broadway and Century were certainly at the top of their respective games going east. Also, from what I've learned, the B&O was masterful and in the mid west there were fans who would ride the GM&O from Chicago to Bloomington or Springfield and return just to enjoy the diner's offerings.
Good video, one of the biggest reasons for passenger trains dying in the 66-69 years was the U.S. Postal service switching from trains to planes and trucks. This killed more trains than anything else, as some trains even with low passenger count still made money.
Agree. Dropping first-class mail downgraded pretty good service on the NP Mainstreeter, and later, the train itself.
Also Rock Island trains only went to Phoenix and Los Angeles. Santa Fe provided service to both (from Chicago) San Francisco bay area and Los Angeles (as well as San Diego). UP had trains from Chicago to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. Milwaukee Road only went to Seattle. The Hill routes (CB&Q, NP, GN, and Spokane Portland and Seattle) went to both Portland and Seattle.
Rock Island's problem was they went everywhere on others track. California on the SP. Oregon & Washington on either UP or Hill lines(CB&Q to GN or NP), Kansas City (from Colorado) on Missouri Pacific (I think). Houston shared with Burlington. Memphis, on the Cotton Belt (I think).
In the end it was the failed merger with UP that killed the railroad. In the end it was worth more in pieces then as a continuous railroad. SP ended up with the Golden State route to Kansas City. Chicago to Omaha Iowa Pacific. Minneapolis to Kansas City to Canadian Pacific, etc.
As a railroad they were constantly in and out of bankruptcy.
Most of the granger railroads were poor man operations. The list is long. All either merged if lucky or broken up in bankruptcy.
The fact that most of the RI routes survive today is a testament to their viability.
Nicely done. When I drive from Denver to Newton KS I parallel the old Rock Island Route along I 70. Now the line is mostly short lines hauling grain or used for rail car storage. Sad, but Darwin is at work even at the RR level.