There was a time when most Class 1 and even Class 2 railroads maintained a network of off line sales offices to entice new business and to maintain important relationships with existing accounts. This was an era where trusted friendships were built with local offices and distant 800-Numbers to Corporate offices were rarely used. I was cleaning our hobby room today and found a number of old railroad business cards left from my career in transportation with a large industrial shipper. One was this card from a friend in the Milwaukee Road's Birmingham, AL office. I've erased his name for confidentiality, but he, like others I found from the AT&SF, SOU, B&M, Soo, FEC and CR helped me to recall a better time.
Oh yes. They even had one in Tokyo. Way back when the railroads had a force of real sales people, who went out and actively sought out any and all shippers. Not like today, where far, far less is done.
Didn't want to create a new thread for it, but a friend sent me this neat image of a 1926 Milwaukee menu. Interesting that it shows Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul without adding "Pacific" while referencing and illustrating the 1909 Pacific Coast Extension completion. Love the lit block signal illustrations too, a new and advanced technology for the day.
That menu is a thing of beauty! Thank you for sharing. I am hungry now, just looking at it. Going back to your earlier post about business cards and sales offices from the railroads...I also enjoy looking at those things, and trying to figure out which building the agents were in, depending on the city. Some buildings are still there, and some are not.
It may seem cliche but those were better times. Look at the bottom of the menu where it says, "Extra portions served on request - no extra charge". How often do you think you would ever see that, these days? I am now hungry, too. Doug
Those were different days - used to car pool with a Sales Manager - he was big into the three martini business lunch. Some days I don't know how we made it home. Must have been the Cadillac Eldorado, land yacht, he drove.
Over 40 years ago one of my college professors offered a different, unexpected sort of lecture one day in a Senior-level class in Railroad Management. It was on alcoholism. He'd seen alcoholism's toll in his long career and warned us against its dangers, especially if we found work in Sales or Traffic Mangement with a shipper. At the time, I didn't fully appreciate the importance of his message, but found its truth as I progressed in my career (though blessedly not with me personally). I look back and now so admire that professor for ranking a practical lesson in alcohol abuse as highly as others in rate making, system operations and managerial accounting.
Early in my career at Telex, I was an expediter for a little over a year (I didn't really like it as I am more of a hands-on technical/mechanical kind of guy). We always had vendors coming in to win contracts for the many parts used in the 8-track decks and books-for-the-blind cassette units. They would take us out for lunch and try to ply us with alcohol to wear down our resistance. I admit I got a bit tipsy a few times but never to the point of really being drunk and it never worked to win me over. DDoug
