The ''California Limited'' was one of the named

passenger trains A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

of 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 largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

. It carried train Nos. 3 & 4 and ran between

Chicago, Illinois 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 ...

, and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. 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 with

Fred Harvey Company The Fred Harvey Company was the owner of the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industry businesses alongside railroads in the Western United States. It was founded in 1876 by Fred Harvey (entrepreneur), Fred Harve ...

meal service. The later trains also offered air conditioning, a barber, beautician, steam-operated clothing press, even a shower-bath. The ''Limited'' was the first Santa Fe train with illuminated

drumhead A drumhead or drum skin is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands, so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum. Additionally outside of percus ...

on its

observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad Passenger car (rail), passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a plat ...

s, with the train's name over the company 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. During the summer, multiple

sections Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

were necessary to accommodate demand; reportedly 23 sections once operated eastbound on one day (including three groups of seven or eight sections, fresh out of Los Angeles, one day out, and two days out). The same day there were 22 westbound sections, for a total of 45 complete trains operating as the California Limited. The train carried just Pullman

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...

s (no coaches) until 1938. 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. 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 eclipsed the ''California Limited'', although the train ran for another three decades. In October 1953, it was scheduled to leave Los Angeles at 1815 with coaches and sleepers—no diner and no lounge. A breakfast stop was scheduled at Seligman, a lunch stop at Winslow, and a dinner stop at Albuquerque. Next morning, at La Junta, it would add a diner for the rest of the run to Chicago (scheduled arrival 0830). It ran via Pasadena, Great Bend and Topeka.

Timeline

* October 1892: The

Pullman Company 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 d ...

delivers five six-car trainsets for the ''California Limited''. * 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. * July 1923:

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

leaves Kansas City for Los Angeles aboard the ''California Limited'', arriving at La Grande Station. His brother,

Roy O. Disney Roy Oliver Disney ( ; June 24, 1893 – December 20, 1971) was an American entrepreneur who co-founded the Walt Disney Company with his younger brother, Walt Disney. He also served as the company's first CEO and was the father of Roy E. Di ...

, was then living at a veteran's hospital in Sawtell, Calif., west of Los Angeles. * 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. * January 10, 1954: The ''California Limited'' is rerouted from the northern mainline (via La Junta) to the southern mainline via Amarillo. * June 15, 1954: The ''California Limited'' is discontinued and replaced by the '' San Francisco Chief''. Unnamed trains 3/4 continued to operate between Kansas City and Belen, connecting with the ''Kansas City Chief'' at Kansas City * September 26, 1954: Trains 3/4 rerouted in New Mexico, becoming Kansas City–Carlsbad trains * April 24, 1955: Trains 3/4 rerouted again, becoming Kansas City–Los Angeles trains The trains were cut back to Gallup–Kansas City in 1957 or 1958 * October 19, 1967: Trains 3/4, by then primarily mail trains carrying a single coach, are discontinued. The

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

later withdrew permission to discontinue the trains because the Santa Fe did not wait the required 30 days; however, the trains were not reinstated. Currently the ''

Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and American Southwest ...

'' operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, a descendant of the famous and legendary Santa Fe's ''Chief'' trains, uses the #3 (westbound) and #4 (eastbound) numbers originally assigned to ''California Limited''.

Equipment

A variety of steam and diesel locomotives pulled the ''California Limited''. In 1892, the ''California Limited'' consisted of

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

cars 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 d ...

. Each train contained: * a compartment and drawing-room

Sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...

* a

Dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a passenger railroad car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. These cars provide the highest level of service of any rai ...

that served "''the best Fred Harvey meals on rails''" * a Club car /

Parlor car A parlor car (or parlour car outside the U.S.) is a type of passenger car (rail), passenger coach that provides superior comforts and amenities compared to a standard coach. History Parlor cars came about on United States railroads to address ...

* a full-compartment Sleeping car * a compartment drawing-room Sleeping car * a combination 10-compartment Sleeping car / open-end

Observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad Passenger car (rail), passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a plat ...

References

* * * Patterson, Clyde Q. (2005). "The Wreck of Second No. 4: The California Limited Tragedy at Santa Anita." ''The Warbonnet'' 11 (2) 6–13. * * * *

External links

California State Railway MuseumSanta Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society
— photos and short history of a ''California Limited'' Sleeping Car built in 1942.
Scanned copy of the 1900-1901 brochure for the California Limited.
{{ATSF named trains Passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Named passenger trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1892 Night trains of the United States Railway services discontinued in 1954

History

Timeline

Equipment

See also

References

External links