California Limited
The California Limited was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and a true "workhorse" of the railroad. It was assigned train Nos. 3 & 4, and its route ran from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California. Operating seven sections of the Limited was common, and during peak travel periods as many as 23 westbound and 22 eastbound sections departed in a single day.
The line was conceived by company president Allen Manvel as a means to "signify completion of the basic Santa Fe system." Manvel felt he could attract business and enhance the prestige of the railroad by establishing daily, first-class service from Chicago to the West Coast. The California Limited, billed as the "Finest Train West of Chicago," made its first run on November 27, 1892, with five separate trainsets making continuous round trips on a 2½-day schedule each way.
The California Limited was the first of Santa Fe's name trains to feature Fred Harvey Company meal service en route. The later trains also offered all of the amenities of the day including air conditioning, an onboard barber, beautician, steam-operated clothing press, even a shower-bath. The Limited was also the first train in the Santa Fe system to have its observation cars fitted with illuminated drumheads, which bore the train's name juxtaposed over the company's logo.
The California Limited was permanently removed from service on June 15, 1954, giving it the distinction of having had the longest tenure of any train making the Chicago-Los Angeles run within the Santa Fe system.
History
Timeline
- October 1892: The Pullman Company delivers five six-car trainsets for the initiation of California Limited service.
- November 27, 1892: The Santa Fe inaugurates the westbound California Limited on a 2½-day schedule between Chicago and Los Angeles. Locomotives and crews were changed fifteen times en route.
- December 1, 1892: The first eastbound California Limited arrives in Chicago from Los Angeles.
- 1893: The train receives four new elegant dining cars designed by master car builders Barney & Smith.
- May 4, 1896: The train is temporarily taken out of service.
- November 1896: Regular service resumes on a 66-hour schedule.
- 1899: The Limited is reduced to four trains per week.
- 1902: The train resumes daily service on a 68-hour schedule.
- 1910: The train is completely re-equipped with new locomotives and passenger cars.
- December 12, 1911: The Limited loses some of its prestige to the Santa Fe's new, more opulent de Luxe service.
- November 14, 1926: The Limited is relegated to true second-class status following the inception of the Santa Fe's all-Pullman, extra-fare limited Chief.
- Early 1930s: The train’s dining car is removed midway between Chicago and Los Angeles as a cost-saving measure.
- April 1, 1938: The Limited is temporarily suspended.
- May 22, 1938: Regular service resumes.
- September 4, 1945: The second section of Train No. 4 enters a siding near milepost 126 in the City of Santa Anita at excessive speed and derails. Some 200 people are injured, five fatally. One cleanup worker dies the following day in a freak accident.
- June 15, 1954: The California Limited is withdrawn from service.
Equipment used
A wide variety of steam- and diesel-powered locomotives served the California Limited over the course of its lifetime.
In 1892, the rolling stock delivered for the California Limited consisted of all heavyweight cars built by the Pullman-Standard. The equipment used on each train was as follows:
- a compartment and drawing-room Sleeping car
- a Dining car that served "the best Fred Harvey meals on rails"
- a Club car / Parlor car
- a full-compartment Sleeping car
- a compartment drawing-room Sleeping car
- a combination 10-compartment Sleeping car / open-end Observation car
Though the cars would in time change to the all-steel heavyweight variety, followed eventually by stainless-steel lightweight construction, for years the consist of the California Limited remained at only six cars per section.
See also
References
- Duke, Donald (1997). Santa Fe: The Railroad Gateway to the American West, Volume Two. San Marino, CA: Golden West Books. ISBN 0-87095-110-6.
- Frailey, Fred W. (1974). A Quarter Century of Santa Fe Consists. Godfrey, IL: RPC Publications.
- Patterson, Clyde Q. (2005). "The Wreck of Second No. 4: The California Limited Tragedy at Santa Anita." The Warbonnet 11 (2) 6-13.
- Pelouze, Richard W. (1997). Trademarks of the Santa Fe Railway. The Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society, Inc., Highlands Ranch, CO.
- Strein, Robert, et al. (2001). Santa Fe: The Chief Way. New Mexico Magazine. ISBN 0-937206-71-7.
- Wayner, Robert J., ed. (1972). Car Names, Numbers and Consists. Wayner Publications, New York, NY.
- Zimmerman, Karl (1987). Santa Fe Streamliners: The Chiefs and Their Tribesman. Quadrant Press, Inc., New York, NY. ISBN 0-915276-41-0.
External links