"Chief is Back" advertisement, 1972.
Printed paper insertion proof of an advertisement created to announce the addition of the Amtrak Chief (Chicago-Los Angeles) to the national schedule for summer 1972.
- Advertisement Details
-
- Date Archived:
- March 20, 2015
- Geography:
- West
- Decade:
- 1970s
- Data Format:
- Image
- Route:
- Chief
- Date Created:
- June 11, 1972
- Download the full-sized version of this photo
This advertisement was one in a series created for Amtrak between 1971 and 1973 by the Ted Bates agency of New York City. In a letter to Amtrak, the agency noted that advertising was placed in newspapers, radio, television and magazines, but the first two were preferred "because of their ability to present local information and immediate impact."
From June 11 - September 10, 1972, the peak summer season, Amtrak ran an additional train on the Chicago-Los Angeles route to supplement the existing Super Chief-El Capitan. Known as the Chief in a nod to its Santa Fe Railway predecessor, the extra train departed Chicago in the morning and Los Angeles in the early afternoon. Due to the scheduling, passengers only spent one night on the Chief, whereas passengers on the Super Chief-El Capitan spent two.
The advertisement also notes expansion of the City of San Francisco (Chicago-San Francisco) from a thrice-weekly train to daily; subsequently, it was renamed the San Francisco Zephyr. Underneath the arrow is one of the company's early slogans: "We're making the trains worth traveling again."
From the Amtrak Corporate Collection.
