Looking for Train Information (History)

[Anonymous]

In 1947, my mom and dad took a train from Lancaster, Coos County, New Hampshire, all the way to Merced, Calofonia. Where might I start looking for information concerning what trains, route, etc., that they may have taken?

Appreciate any and all guidance.

Thanks
Jeralyn

[Anonymous]

Jeralyn,

The Railway Official Passenger Guide for 1947 will list all passenger trains operating that year. The Guides were updated during the year so that sales agents and ticket clerks would have all the current schedules on passenger trains.

Most of the larger libraries will have back copies in their reference sections.

It was very hard to board a train in the northeast without traveling through Chicago on any venture to California. While I don't have enough knowledge of the eastern roads to give you any insight into the typical routing into Chicago I do have some info on what route your family likely took from Chicago to Merced.

The two most popular and efficient routes were Chicago to Sacramento on the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific Overland Route through Cheyenne & Salt Lake to Sacramento, then a transfer to one of the Southern Pacific's San Joaquin Valley trains to Merced. This would be the most direct route with only one transfer at Sacramento.

The second option would have been on the Santa Fe out of Chicago that traveled the southern route through New Mexico, Arizona, over the Tehachapi Mountains of California to Bakersfield, then north in the San Joaquin Valley to Merced. This route required no transfers, but was about 200 miles longer than the Overland Route. Pricing for either trip would have been similar.

Any other routes westward from Chicago would have required much longer mileage and more expensive ticketing. The Overland Route would have allowed your parents to travel over beautiful Donner Pass in California as well as the great plains of Nebraska and Wyoming. The Santa Fe southern route would have taken a route through Navajo Indian country and near the Grand Canyon.

The Railway Guide will provide all this information to you in addition to the options on what trains your family might have used on the trip into Chicago from their home.

There is an Official Railway Guide that lists every freight carrying railroad in the U.S, along with company information and data. It does not list passenger train routes. You specifically want to request the Passenger Guide for 1947.

[Anonymous]

Murrrieta,

Thank you so very much.

Jeralyn