California Limited
 California Limited | |
|---|---|
 A view of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's California Limited in Los Angeles, California shows engine No. 53 at the La Grande Station, circa 1899. | |
| Overview | |
| First service | November 27, 1892 |
| Last service | June 15, 1954 |
| Former operator(s) | Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway |
The California Limited was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and a workhorse of the railroad. It carried train Nos. 3 & 4 and ran between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California.
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 with 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.
The California Limited was the first Santa Fe train to feature Fred Harvey Company meal service. The later trains also offered air conditioning, a 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 over the company's logo.
The California Limited was withdrawn on June 15, 1954, giving it the longest tenure of any train on the Chicago-Los Angeles run of the Santa Fe.
History
The Santa Fe introduced the California Limited on November 27, 1892. The journey took 83 hours and 50 minutes and required fifteen locomotive changes. Santa Fe heavily promoted the train, and it quickly became one of the railroad's most popular. During the summer multiple sections were necessary to accommodate demand; reportedly no less than 23 separate sections once operated from Chicago in a single day. The train carried first-class Pullman sleeping cars only.[1]:35–36 The California Limited was the Santa Fe's first true named train.[2]:17
The Santa Fe re-equipped the California Limited in 1910 with a club-lounge, a twin-unit dining car, and new 7-2 (7 compartments, 2 drawing rooms) sleeping cars from Pullman.[3]:73[2]:41 The introduction of the weekly extra-fare Santa Fe de Luxe in 1911 overshadowed the California Limited, but it remained a popular train. The introduction of the Chief in 1926 permanently eclipsed the California Limited, although the train would remain in operation another three decades.[2]:17
Timeline
- October 1892: The Pullman Company delivers five six-car trainsets for California Limited service.
- November 27, 1892: Regular service begins.
- 1893: The train receives four new dining cars designed by Barney & Smith.
- May 4, 1896: Service suspended.
- November 1896: Regular service resumes.
- November 1898: Westward schedule drops to 67 hr 50 min, about as good as it ever did until it dropped to 63 hours in June 1929.
- 1899: The Limited is reduced to four trains per week.
- 1902: The train resumes daily service on a 68-hour schedule.
- April 1, 1938: The Limited is 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, California 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.
Equipment
A variety of steam and diesel locomotives pulled the California Limited.
In 1892 the California Limited consisted of heavyweight cars built by Pullman-Standard. Each train had:
- 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 change to the all-steel heavyweight variety, followed eventually by lightweight construction, for years the consist of the California Limited remained six cars per section.
See also
- Passenger train service on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
References
- ↑ Yenne, Bill (2005). Santa Fe Chiefs. Saint Paul, MN: MBI. ISBN 0760318484. OCLC 60557521.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Schafer, Mike; Joe Welsh, Kevin J. Holland (2001). The American Passenger Train. Saint Paul, MN: MBI. ISBN 0760308969. OCLC 48693895.
- ↑ Welsh, Joe; Bill Howes, Kevin J Holland (2010). The Cars of Pullman. Voyageur Press.
- 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. New York: Wayner Publications. OCLC 8848690.
- Zimmermann, Karl R. (1987). Santa Fe Streamliners: The Chiefs and their Tribesmen. New York: Quadrant Press. ISBN 0915276410. OCLC 19005401.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to California Limited. |
- California State Railway Museum
- Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society
- Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Verde Valley — photos and short history of a California Limited Sleeping Car built in 1942.
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