Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

Postcard US-3429537 to France shows a northbound San Diegan train, in the form of two Budd-built Rail Diesel Cars (RDC's), pulls out of Santa Ana, California. The photo was taken by Thomas H. Gildersleeve on July 3, 1952. Those cars were brand new and were placed in service on May 21, 1952.

According to Thomas H. Gildersleeve, "the first San Diegan was inaugurated as a diesel powered streamlined train on March 27, 1938, and it soon evolved into an entire fleet of Los Angeles - San Diego trains encompassing three sets of equipment, each of which made two daily round trips. After the RDC was introduced, Santa Fee purchased this one pair to replace one of the conventional streamliner sets in San Diegan service."

"The RDC San Diegans lasted until January of 1956, at which time they were reassigned to train No's 311 and 312 between Newton and Dodge City, Kansas, as it was felt they lacked sufficient seating capacity for continued service on the popular San Diego line. In their new assignment, the cars displayed a more conventional Santa Fe paint scheme with the usual red and yellow front end, and one of the cars sported a baggage section, making it similar in appearance to an RDC-2. The cars climaxed their career on the Santa Fe by operating out of Carlsbad, New Mexico."

The card features two of the five 1999 33-cent USPS commemorative stamps titled "All Aboard!" The original water color illustrations used on the stamps depict art deco-style passenger trains of the 1930s and 1940s. On the far left was the Super Chief, famous for carrying motion picture people between Chicago and Los Angeles, also known as the "Train of the Stars." On the second left was the Congressional which followed a route between New York and Washington, D.C. Its slogan was "Every Mile Electrified."

The stamp on the far right shows one of the five 2015 Forever USPS commemorative stamps with Mexican artist Martín Ramírez's drawings from circa 1960–1963, a gouache, colored pencil, and graphite drawing on pieced paper “Untitled (Trains on Inclined Tracks).”

I Left my Heart {at Hyde and Lombard Street} in San Francisco

As a captured audience inside the Terminal 2 at the SFO International Airport waiting for my return flight to Las Vegas, I found a rack full of "I left my heart in San Francisco" postcards. Outgoing postcard US-3373240 to Ukraine was one of those that I obligatorily purchased.

The card shows a section of Lombard Street in the Russian Hill neighborhood, a one-way block between Hyde Street and Leavenworth Street, known as the crookedest street in the world with eight sharp turns.

That section of Lombard Street used to be a straight, cobblestone street with a 27% grade which was too steep for most cars. The turns were built in 1922 so that people could drive up and down the hill, until the street was made one-way downhill in 1939. The street was paved with red bricks and about 250 steps were built on each side of the street to accommodate pedestrians.

Now, during the peak tourist season in summer, there are as many as 350 cars driving down the street each hour. However, it was not a popular tourist destination until the late 1950s. I drove down the street twice during my previous visit to San Francisco in 1999. This time, I took the Powell-Hyde cable car to the top of this block earlier today, and took the steps down to Leavenworth Street.

Volkswagen Samba Bus

Postcard US-3202842 from Los Angeles was a vintage travel postcard by Lantern Press showing a Volkswagen Samba Bus cruising along the Los Angeles coast. First produced in 1951, Samba-Bus, also known as Deluxe Microbus, was the most luxurious version of the Volkswagen Transporter T1 with panoramic windows and a fabric roof. It became popular as a hippie bus in the 1960s.

USPS Philatelic Truck

Postcard US-3154507 to Portugal was a maxi card showing a special USPS truck that traveled the U.S. between 1939 and 1941 to offer a mobile philatelic exhibit to the public promoting stamp collecting, operated by a three-man crew. The 22 cent stamp was one of the four Stamp Collecting commemorative designs showing a boy examining a stamp collection, issued in State College, Pennsylvania on January 23, 1986, as part of the first USPS commemorative stamp booklet.

Today, USPS is more gearing up to compete with Fedex and USPS in package delivery business. It has a booth at the 2015 CES to promote the packaging and shipping services. Visitors to the booth can get their pictures taken and printed as pre-paid postcards.

ЗиС-5 Soviet Truck

Postcard RU-2908071 from Russia shows a ZIS-5, was a 4x2 Soviet truck (Russian: ЗиС-5) produced by the ZIS factory in Moscow since October, 1933. It was widely used during World War II, appreciated for its remarkably simple and reliable construction. It had been used as cargo and troop transporters, light artillery tractors, and bases for refuellers, field workshops, ambulances, portee or Anti-aircraft gun platforms.

1934 Hudson at Palazzo

Outgoing postcard US-2886230 to Russia shows a 1934 Hudson, covered in succulents, lichen, moss, grapevine, and thousands other plants, at the Palazzo Hotel's Waterfall Atrium and Gardens as part of its fall display from September to November 10, 2013. The car symbolizes Venetian and Palazzo's efforts to promote alternative transportation program that rewards commuters for carpooling, biking, or taking public transportation to get to and from work. They offer a valet bicycle parking service with secure bike racks, and provide preferred parking spaces for hybrids, alternative fuel vehicles, and carpools in both garages. Other parts of the display include items representing Renewable Energy; Sustainable Food, Composting & Recycling; and Water Conservation.

Auto Train

Postcard US-2690034 from Florida shows that Auto Train, an 855-mile or 1,376-km scheduled service between Sanford, Florida near Orlando and Lorton, Virginia near Washington D.C. by Amtrak, transports passengers AND their cars. Trains depart daily at 4:00pm and arrive at the destinations at 9:30am next day. It is the only one of its kind in the US.

When I was a graduate student living in the east coast, I had chances to take the train. However, I ended up passing the opportunities, as the cost of driving was considerably lower when the gas costed lesss than two US dollars and if wear and tear of the car was not factored in. However, with the current average gas price at $3.50, an one-way trip from Orlando, Florida to Washington D.C. would take almost 12 hours and cost at least $120 using AAA's fuel cost calculator. In comparison, a least expensive one-way Auto Train ticket from Sanford, Florida to Lorton, Virginia on April 15, 2014 would cost $102 for a passenger plus $186 for an automobile or $131 for a motorcycle. While the fare is complex just like airlines ticket and not inexpensive, it may be worth a try just to eliminate stress from the 12-hour driving.

Model Car for Chicago "L" Train

Postcard US-2375509 has a template to make a 1:160 scale model car for the Chicago "L" Train - Red Line. Chicago's "L" Train was first built as an elevated steam line to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and later evolved into a public transit system with 1,100 cars and 290 miles of track. The Red Line is the busiest route in the city, running through Chicago from north to south and under a subway tunnel downtown.