If the iconic Pan Am dominated the skies not only with its planes and history, but also with its blue-dressed beauties and their equally famous "Pan Am smile", on land there were the Zephyrettes - the stewardesses of the railroad, but not any railroad - the California Zephyr Railroad.
Those beauties riding the iron horse had blue uniforms, a lovely smile and like stewardesses had to meet certain requirements: single women and either a college graduate or a registered nurse, age between 24 and 28 years old and between 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) and 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall. After the selected girls became part of the Zephyrettes, they had to conduct themselves with dignity and poise and also refrain from smoking or drinking while in uniform, among other requirements. They also if needed had to perform the roles of tour guides, nurses or baby sitters, making announcements on the train's public address system, sending telegrams, and taking dinner reservations. Zephyrettes were also responsible for communicating with the conductors to ensure that passengers boarding at intermediate stations were not neglected, providing for parlor games such as bridge or canasta, and sometimes even taking care of pets
While the Zephyrettes performed their duties between1949 and 1970, their golden age was during the 1950s.
As a fun piece of trivia: in 1955, Zephyrette Helen Schwartz, with the assistance of porter Roosevelt Williams and two female passengers, successfully delivered a baby on the train outside of Grand Junction, Colorado.
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