The discovery of gold in California precipitated the Gold Rush of 1849 and forever changed the West. In just over a decade, California was transformed from a sleepy paradise of 14,000 souls to a state with over 300,000 inhabitants. Nearly a century later, the Golden State still had the aura of the Promised Land, and three railroads teamed up in 1937 to inaugurate a train named after the event that started it all. Hauled between Chicago and San Francisco by the Chicago & North Western, Union Pacific, and Southern Pacific Railroads, the Forty Niner was a way to arrive at the Coast in style. Operating on a 49-hour schedule, the train featured its own dedicated air conditioned, streamlined, all-Pullman trainset, with valet and stewardess services as well as a shower and a barber shop. The entire train was finished in gunmetal grey, accented by black and gold striping above and below the windows.