First came the railroad, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, the Santa Fe for short. Meeting the need of train travelers, the Santa Fe RR entered into a business relationship with the entrepreneur Fred Harvey, who built and ran lunch rooms and hotels into new depots along the Santa Fe line. Then came the paved highways as automobile travel matured. Many of these highways followed the train tracks which connected the communities. As automobile travel increased, passenger trains declined. And as Route 66 in part caused the decline in passenger train travel, the Interstate System of Highways caused the decline and eventual decommissioning of Route 66.

As there are vestiges of Route 66 remaining, so too are vestiges of the Fred Harvey empire.