The “Overland” railroad route between San Francisco and Chicago is one of the most-storied passages in US railroad history.

After an intercontinental railroad line was first completed in 1869, the Overland route was conducted by three different railroad companies: the Southern Pacific carried travelers from San Francisco to Ogden, Utah, the Union Pacific carried the cars to Omaha, Nebraska, and the Chicago & Northwestern carried the train on to Chicago.

(The last third of the journey was conducted by several railroad companies during the long history of this route.)

Initially, the trip took 102 hours; by 1913, the Overland Limited had reduced the journey to 64 hours, and the train offered amenities including a barber, manicurist, and stenographer. The first class service included a library, buffet, full dining car, and a smoking parlor.

Many fascinating details about the name of the train (a nod to the Western writer, Brett Harte) and about the rise and fall of the US railroad empires are included in histories that can be found on-line.

I believe that the postcard photograph was made before 1920 and reprinted on this postcard circa 1930.

Train travel remains an exciting and comfortable way to tour the United States (and may improve further with new investment provided in the Infrastructure Bill approved in 2021.)

Nevertheless, I would like to have experienced the Overland Limited in the “golden age” of railroads.