The ''Arizona Limited'' was an extra-fare

streamliner A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor " bullet trains". Less commonly, the term i ...

train operated by the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

and

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...

from 1940 until 1942 on the Golden State route from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, via

Tucumcari, New Mexico Tucumcari (; ) is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,278 at the 2020 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay County was established. History In 1901, the Chicag ...

. It was aimed at travelers wanting to get away from winter weather conditions. Like the Santa Fe

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 boat ...

, the ''Arizona Limited'' was streamlined in steam on the Southern Pacific. The Rock Island used both pre-war

EMD E6 The EMC E6 was a , A1A-A1A, streamlined passenger train locomotive manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation, and its corporate successor, General Motors Electro-Motive Division, of La Grange, Illinois. The cab version, E6A, was manufactured ...

and Alco-GE DL103b, DL-105, and DL-107 locomotives out of Chicago. These had the maroon and silver "Rocket" liveries. The train itself was painted in the pre-war Pullman two-tone gray livery. The train was an all-Pullman extra fare limited assembled prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

for the specialized purpose of providing winter Pullman sleeping car service to Phoenix, Arizona. The Rock Island-Southern Pacific Golden State, traveling the "low altitude route", had also serviced Arizona and the southern California (Palm Springs) resort areas since its inception on 2 November 1902. The first run of the ''Arizona Limited'' left Chicago on 15 December 1940 and provided two-night out service to Tucson and Phoenix. The train ran every-other-day. Its consist was semi-streamlined. The Rock Island refurbished heavyweight baggage dormitory cars (6014 and 6015) and diners (8028 and 8031) for the train. These cars ran at the front of the train, with the streamlined sleeping cars and observation car trailing. During its two seasons, December to April, 1940–41 and 1941–42, the ''Arizona Limited'' carried four to six streamlined Pullmans from the "Cascade" (pre-war 10-roomette, five-double bedroom car) and "Imperial" series (pre-war four double bedroom, four compartment, two drawing room car) Pullman pool. Lounge and observation space on the ''Arizona Limited'' was provided during the first season by two special Pullman cars, both having an observation-lounge, two double bedrooms, one-compartment and one-drawing room; the ''American Milemaster'', which had been on display at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

, and the ''Muskingum River'', the all-

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

sister car to the ''American Milemaster''. During the second season, the 1936 articulated two-car Pullman combination, originally named ''Advance'' and ''Progress'', alternated with ''Muskingum River''. This unique set provided both experimental duplex (staggered two-level) rooms as well as double bedrooms. The set had previously run on the

Treasure Island Special Treasure (from from Greek ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions legally define what constit ...

, a combined

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

/Southern Pacific Company Chicago – Los Angeles once-a-week train to the 1939–1940

Golden Gate International Exposition The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) was a World's Fair held at Treasure Island in San Francisco, California, U.S. The exposition operated from February 18, 1939, through October 29, 1939, and from May 25, 1940, through September 29, ...

. At that time, their names were changed to ''Bear Flag'' and ''California Republic'', which they retained in the service during the second and final season of the ''Arizona Limited''. After the discontinuance of the train, both of the original two single observation cars were transferred to the streamlined Southern Pacific Los Angeles – San Francisco ''

Lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occ ...

'' as both of its observation cars had been wrecked in 1942. The American Milemaster, renamed as simply EMD ET800, exists today as an EMD test car. The ''Muskingum River'' car was unique in that it was constructed of flat-paneled stainless steel; that is, there was no fluting, as was the case on virtually all other stainless steel streamlined cars. The car was wrecked in 1959. Both cars has their trademark tear-drop Pullman-Standard observation ends "squared off" in the middle 1950s to make them flexible for switching and mid-train use. The ''Arizona Limited'' made its final run in 1942 following

US Federal Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

restrictions on seasonal train operations.

References

External links

The Arizona Limited - December, 1940 - Streamliner Schedules
{{CRIP named trains Passenger trains of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company Passenger trains of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Named passenger trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1940 Night trains of the United States Railway services discontinued in 1942