The ''El Capitan'' was a streamlined

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self p ...

operated by the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

("Santa Fe") between

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It operated from 1938 to 1971;

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

retained the name until 1973. The ''El Capitan'' was the only all-coach or "chair car" (non- Pullman sleeper) to operate on the Santa Fe main line between Chicago and Los Angeles on the same fast schedule as the railroad's premier all-Pullman '' Super Chief''. It was also the first train to receive the pioneering Hi-Level equipment with which it would become synonymous.

History

The ''El Capitan'' debuted on February 22, 1938, on a twice-weekly schedule, using two five-car sets of streamlined equipment built by the

Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products ...

. Like the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

's '' Trail Blazer'', it offered "low-cost passage with high-speed convenience". The fare from Chicago to Los Angeles was $5.00 above the $39.50 regular coach fare in 1938. Originally conceived as the ''Economy Chief'', the name 'El Capitan' was chosen to commemorate the Spanish

conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, ...

; it competed for passenger traffic with

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

's ''

Challenger Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to: Entertainment Comics and manga * Challenger (character), comic book character * ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga Film and TV * ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 197 ...

''. Unique in charging an extra fare despite being a coach train, it pioneered such features as "RideMaster" seats optimized for sleeping. On its inaugural run the ''El Capitan'' left the main line at Williams and traveled up the Grand Canyon Railway to Grand Canyon Depot. In regular operation passengers bound for the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

would connect at Williams. In its first year and a half the ''El Capitan'' ran at 80% capacity, superior to similar services. Reservations had to be made weeks in advance. In 1942 the consist expanded to 12 cars. Heavy traffic during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

forced the Santa Fe to lengthen the train's schedule by two hours in July 1942; it restored the old schedule on June 2, 1946. On September 29, 1946, the ''El Capitan'' began running every other day, departing Los Angeles and Chicago on odd-numbered days (except the 31st). Together with the ''Super Chief'' on even-numbered days, the two trains formed what the Santa Fe billed as "the first and only daily hour service between Chicago and California". On January 25, 1948, one of the locomotives assigned to the ''El Capitan'' crashed through a steel bumper post and concrete wall at Los Angeles' Union Passenger Terminal, ending with the locomotive dangling about 20 feet above Aliso Street. In 1948 the Santa Fe received additional equipment which permitted the ''Super Chief'' and ''El Capitan'' to start operating daily; the new schedules went into effect on February 29. The extra-fare charges were dropped from both ''El Capitan'' and the ''Chief'' on December 14, 1953. ''El Capitan'' was one of the first Santa Fe trains to use the Budd-built " Big Dome"- Lounge cars. These were soon given to the ''

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

'' (another AT&SF Chicago-to-Los Angeles special), and replaced by new double-decker " Hi-Level" chair cars (coaches) developed by Budd and the railroad in 1954–1956. These experimental cars had a quieter ride, increased seating capacities, and better views. The Santa Fe combined the ''Super Chief'' and ''El Capitan'' on January 12, 1958. The combined train used the ''Super Chiefs numbers, 17 and 18, but the Santa Fe continued to use both names. On its formation

continued the combined ''Super Chief''/''El Capitan'' designation until April 29, 1973, when it dropped the ''El Capitan'' portion. Today the route of the ''El Capitan'' is served by

's ''

Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and Southwest via Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Flags ...

''. Many Amtrak trains used a combination of refurbished former Santa Fe Hi-Level cars with newer Superliner railcars until the early 2000s.

Equipment

The ''El Capitan'' debuted in February 1938 with two all-lightweight consists manufactured by the

. Each included a baggage-dormitory-coach, two coaches, a lunch counter-dining car, and coach- observation car. The baggage-dormitory-coach had a small baggage area forward, followed by bunks for the train's crew and 32 coach seats. Both coaches seated 52 and featured men's and women's restrooms at opposite ends. In the observation car the restrooms were located forward, followed by 50 coach seats. During periods of high demand additional cars were added from the ''

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

s pool. The Santa Fe also employed its experimental pendulum car. Between 1946 and 1948 the Santa Fe increased the length of the ''El Capitan'' and added new cars built during and after

. The new ''El Capitan'' included a storage mail car, baggage-dormitory, eight 44-seat "leg-rest" coaches, two lunch counter-dining cars, a club-lounge, and a coach-observation car. Most of the coaches were built by

Pullman-Standard The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century ...

. The reduced seating in the coaches was given over to improved leg room for passengers. Between 1954 and 1956 the El Capitan's consist included the " Big Dome"-Lounge that replaced the mid-train club-lounge car. On July 15, 1956, the new, " Hi-Level" streamliner consist debuted. Santa Fe purchased enough "Hi-Level" equipment for five nine-car consists. Six of the railroad's older baggage-dormitory cars had a cosmetic fairing applied to the rear roofline to create the distinctive "transition" cars and maintain a streamlined appearance on ''El Capitan''. The real transition cars were the 68-seat step down chair cars, which had a regular-height diaphragm at one end and a high-level at the other. The dining cars rode on six-wheel trucks due to their massive weight (all other cars rode on four-wheel trucks). The "Big Domes" were transferred to the ''Chief'' pool. As on many "named" long haul trains of the era, the rear of the observation car bore a lighted "Drumhead". These signs included "El Capitan" in a distinctive logotype with the railroad's logo. File:El Capitan diner Santa Fe Railroad.JPG, Pre-1956 ''El Capitan'' diner File:Santa Fe big dome observation car 1954.JPG, The Big Dome car, 1954 File:Sante Fe Railroad El Capitan.JPG, The Hi-Level cars

Notes

References

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External links

* Timetables
1938
an

{{Former Amtrak routes Former Amtrak routes Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Railway services introduced in 1938 Railway services discontinued in 1973 Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Passenger rail transportation in Missouri Passenger rail transportation in Kansas Passenger rail transportation in Colorado Passenger rail transportation in New Mexico Passenger rail transportation in Arizona Passenger rail transportation in California Former long distance Amtrak routes

History

Equipment

See also

Notes

References

External links