Now THIS is amazing. You are about to see a 1950s era promotional film for the famed Santa Fe Super Chief. This was the country’s first diesel-electric cross country locomotive and the service had been running for about a decade by the time this video was made. It s fascinating to see how you could travel on these trains. How the experience was tailored to the passengers, and how it was still the most comfortable and relaxing way to get from coast to coast at this point in history.
The Super Chief is an iconic piece of American transportation that “crossed over” into popular culture. It wasn’t just the train enthusiasts who thought it was cool, it was the kids with their Super Chief train sets, and anyone who aspired to ride the “train to the stars” on a family vacation or a romantic getaway. It was, during a time of great American growth and prosperity, a shining beacon of what this new super power was going to be like for decades and decades to come. Forward thinking, fast as hell, and effectively unstoppable.
We dig everything about this film. From the dining car footage to the wide open expanses of the American west, it is great. As much “fun” as it is to wing coast to coast in six hours or so, there’s no comparing it to how people used to travel. Boy did they do it right!
