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No. 23—Daily (Grand Canyon
Limited).
No Extra Fare.
Completely Air-Conditioned.
(Valet and bath,
Radio. Daily market reports.)
Dormitory Lounge Car...Chicago to
Los Angeles.
Sleeping Car...Chicago to Los
Angeles—10-Section, Drawing-room, 2-Compartments.
Houston
to Oakland—10-Section, Drawing-room, 2-Compartments. (On No. 6-75-92-97
to Clovis.)
Tourist Sleeper...Chicago to Los
Angeles.
Dining Car...Chicago to Los Angeles.
(Fred Harvey service.)
Cafe-Observation Car...Bakersfield
to Oakland.
Chair Car...Chicago to Los Angeles.
(Free Reclining Seats.)
Bus...Williams to Grand Canyon.
Smoker-Chair Car...Barstow to
Oakland.
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No. 24—Daily (Grand Canyon
Limited).
No Extra Fare.
Completely Air-Conditioned.
(Valet and Bath,
Radio. Daily market reports.)
Dormitory Lounge Car...Los Angeles
to Chicago.
Sleeping Car...Los Angeles to
Chicago—10-Section, Drawing-room, 2-Compartments.
Oakland
to Houston—10-Section, Drawing-room, 2-Compartments. (On No.
98-91-76-5.)
Tourist Sleeper...Los Angeles to
Chicago.
Dining Car...Los Angeles to Chicago.
Oakland to Bakersfield. (Fred Harvey service.)
Santa Fe Parlor Lounge Car...San
Diego to Los Angeles.
Chair Car...Los Angeles to Chicago.
(Free Reclining Seats.)
Bus...Williams to Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon to Williams.
Smoker-Chair Car...Oakland to
Barstow.
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These days we send "text messages" without a thought. During the heyday of the passenger train, text messages were widely used, too—except they were known as "telegrams". Telegrams were fast, but expensive...a telegram from New York to Chicago might cost 6 cents a word with a 10-word minimum, in a time in which 60 cents would buy you a nice dinner in a café. Fortunately, the address on the telegram was free. Should a telephone number be specified, the receiving office would call you with the message—back in the day, this was cheaper than a long-distance phone call—but most telegrams were hand-delivered by Western Union messenger boys; usually local kids with bicycles earning spending money. Let us not go into the state of child labor laws....
The Grand Canyon Limited was never one of Santa Fe's top-line trains. However, at least in this wartime edition, it certainly carried some premium amenities. Valet service, so that you could have your suit pressed on board (suits were de rigueur for [civilian] male travelers); shower bath; and "daily market reports". Should a business man hear some interesting gossip on board and choose to skirt the rules on insider trading, he could have a telegram sent to his broker from the next station with a buy or sell order. Telegrams could be sent to passengers en route, as well...as this excerpt from a 1928 handbook makes clear:
"Messages for Persons on Trains -- A message addressed to a passenger on a train should show the name of the railroad, train number or name or time due, place where the message is to be delivered, and also the point for which the passenger is bound. If the train is run in sections, the section should be specified if known. A sample address is: "John Smith, en route Los Angeles, Care Conductor, Southern Pacific, Train 103, El Paso, Texas." Even though when the train stop at El Paso and John Smith is paged, he may be pacing the Platform for fresh air and exercise, the conductor will strive hard to effect delivery. If you expect to have occasion to telegraph a friend setting out on a journey, it is a good idea to get from him his Pullman berth and car number, so that you will be able to indicate this on your telegram. Telegraph clerks generally will be found to be courteous in aiding you to determine the progress of the train and station where it most likely can be intercepted."[*]
It also appears, from this and other trains in the timetables, that leisure travel was not entirely shut down during the war years...although leisure travelers had to be prepared to be "bumped" by someone with a higher priority. But the National Parks such as Carlsbad Caverns and the Grand Canyon were still operating and running advertisements soliciting business, although I expect that a great deal of their customers were in fact servicemen on leave.