There is not a lot to say about this card, but I want to show it because I will be investigating my collection of post cards of Santa Fe trains. This is a map of the Santa Fe Route. I am not sure what year it was produced so I don’t even know how accurate the map is regarding how much more was to be added before they were absorbed by the Burlington Northern. It is worth pointing out that there is a subtle marketing ploy being used here to sell more post cards. Notice the little rectangle in the bottom left corner. It says, “I am at the place marked X today” then there is a space for the traveler to write the month and date then a “19” and another space for the traveler to fill in the year. Imagine buying a pocketful of these and sending them home or to a friend to allow them to follow your journey by train. It would have worked on me. In 1993 I took the train from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. I would have been a person who purchased these and sent them to family and friends so they could follow along my journey.

As you turn over the card, you see that this particular card was not a marketing ploy but a gift to the members of the Armed Forces who were travelling by train. They could then let their families know where they were as they were being shipped from one location to another. No guarantees, but this dates the card to probably the 1940s.