[1937 SANTA FE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE TRAIN TRIP TO NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA & CALIFORNIA]

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1937

Description:

This early Kodachrome, silent 16mm home movie dates to 1937. It shows a trip West made by an American tourist by Santa Fe passenger train. These type of trips were widely promoted by the railroad and serviced by Fred Harvey hotels. At 1:00 the Castaneda Hotel in Las Vegas, where Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders once held a reunion, is shown. The Castaneda was one of the so-called Railroad Hotels. At 1:08 the train station and Western Union office are visible, followed by shots out the train window including the Glorieta station. At 1:53 a very distinctive building is shown, possibly another train station (perhaps you can ID it?), and at 2:11 the Lamy station is shown. At 2:47 kids pose by the train and at 2:54 a mission style church is shown. At 3:12 a pueblo, possibly at Acoma, is shown. At 3:42 a Santa Fe Railroad bus is shown by the tracks as a train approaches. At 4:30 a locomotive approaches the camera straight on. Hard to make out the number but it does end in 69, and it might be the 369 a 2-8-0 steam engine in service until the 1950s.

At 4:41 the Grand Canyon is seen. At 6:00 there is a visit to the Hermit's Rest viewing area and at 7:00 the Watchtower is shown. At 7:11 Native Americans, most likely from the Navajo Nation, perform for the tourists. At 7:30 the fllm shows Santa Monica, California and if you look at 7:30 you can see the present-day Annenberg Beach House, which at this time was part of William Randolph Hearst's beach house. Marion Davie's home is visible at 7:34 followed by sweeping shots of Santa Monica and the bluffs. Downtown L.A. is seen at 8:30. At 8:50 a newspaper boy sells papers with the headline "L.A. Bound Flyers Lost", too bad we cannot read the precise date! At 8:54 a football game is shown at the Rose Bowl or possibly the Cal Football Stadium At 10:30 are views in the Bay Area, including shots of San Francisco and Coit Tower as well as the Bay Bridge. At 1:18 Fisherman's Wharf is shown and at 11:50 a distant view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. At 12:17 a shipwreck is seen. Appears to be an oil tanker or freighter. At 12:25 a freighter is shown beached. It's unclear the names of these ships but someone out there will certainly know (leave in the comments!) At 12:44 Golden Gate Park and its windmills and the Gjoa Expedition boat are seen as well as rare views of the buffalo herd. At 13:30 a botanical garden is shown probably in the Berkeley Hills.

Complete Record: This early Kodachrome, silent 16mm home movie dates to 1937. It shows a trip West made by an American tourist by Santa Fe passenger train. These type of trips were widely promoted by the railroad and serviced by Fred Harvey hotels. At 1:00 the Castaneda Hotel in Las Vegas, where Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders once held a reunion, is shown. The Castaneda was one of the so-called Railroad Hotels. At 1:08 the train station and Western Union office are visible, followed by shots out the train window including the Glorieta station. At 1:53 a very distinctive building is shown, possibly another train station (perhaps you can ID it?), and at 2:11 the Lamy station is shown. At 2:47 kids pose by the train and at 2:54 a mission style church is shown. At 3:12 a pueblo, possibly at Acoma, is shown. At 3:42 a Santa Fe Railroad bus is shown by the tracks as a train approaches. At 4:30 a locomotive approaches the camera straight on. Hard to make out the number but it does end in 69, and it might be the 369 a 2-8-0 steam engine in service until the 1950s. At 4:41 the Grand Canyon is seen. At 6:00 there is a visit to the Hermit's Rest viewing area and at 7:00 the Watchtower is shown. At 7:11 Native Americans, most likely from the Navajo Nation, perform for the tourists. At 7:30 the fllm shows Santa Monica, California and if you look at 7:30 you can see the present-day Annenberg Beach House, which at this time was part of William Randolph Hearst's beach house. Marion Davie's home is visible at 7:34 followed by sweeping shots of Santa Monica and the bluffs. Downtown L.A. is seen at 8:30. At 8:50 a newspaper boy sells papers with the headline "L.A. Bound Flyers Lost", too bad we cannot read the precise date! At 8:54 a football game is shown at the Rose Bowl or possibly the Cal Football Stadium At 10:30 are views in the Bay Area, including shots of San Francisco and Coit Tower as well as the Bay Bridge. At 1:18 Fisherman's Wharf is shown and at 11:50 a distant view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. At 12:17 a shipwreck is seen. Appears to be an oil tanker or freighter. At 12:25 a freighter is shown beached. It's unclear the names of these ships but someone out there will certainly know (leave in the comments!) At 12:44 Golden Gate Park and its windmills and the Gjoa Expedition boat are seen as well as rare views of the buffalo herd. At 13:30 a botanical garden is shown probably in the Berkeley Hills.