I can see a Zephyr article coming from this series of posts IF we could also
get some photos of these "RR Hotels" in CB&Q days. It's no coincidence that
for well over a century, hotels and rooming houses were built near depots or on
a street car line connecting to the depot areas. And of course the term
'station wagon' in the auto industry came from such vehicles transporting
passengers & luggage from stations to hotels. (a great example existing today
are the vintage touring cars that meet EPB passengers @ East Glacier station to
take them to the nearby GN-built Lodge). CB&Q did the same at Cody, WY "in the
day" when they promoted "the Cody Road to Yellowstone".
My best memory of staying in a former RR hotel was paying a 50 cent deposit on
the room key! As RR's had 'suggested' daily limits for food & lodging for
Mgrs, it was worthwhile to have a plain room in an old hotel and use the
savings to have steak dinners! As Tom Beaudette (sp?) would say, I did not
need french-milled soap or a shower cap. I used such a hotel in Hot Springs.
SD where the former grand hotels developed for the therapeutic springs trade
that had become virtually extinct along with the CB&Q/C&NW pass trains that
once used the 'union' station (still there as Chbr of Commerce office). Made a
lot more sense than having a fancy room and meatloaf for dinner!
I had a co-worker who really knew how to 'work the system' - would stay in the
old rooming houses/RR hotels and buy a loaf of bread & a jar of peanut butter
to handle half his meals (was a thin guy anyway) and impress his boss as to how
thrifty he was while still pocketing a few dollars as a 'bonus'.
Gerald
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