The ''Chief'' was a long-distance named

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 ...

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 larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

that ran between

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

and

Los Angeles, California 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 wo ...

. The Santa Fe initiated the ''Chief'' in 1926 to supplement the '' California Limited''. In 1936 the ''

Super Chief The ''Super Chief'' was one of the named passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The streamliner claimed to be "The Train of the Stars" because of the various celebrities it carried between Chicago, Il ...

'' was introduced, soon eclipsing the ''Chief'' as the standard bearer of the Santa Fe. The ''Chief'' was discontinued in 1968 due to high operating costs, competition from airlines, and the loss of Postal Office contracts.

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 ...

revived the ''Chief'' for three months in the summer of 1972 as a second daily Chicago–Los Angeles train (numbers 19 & 20). It complemented the combined ''Super Chief/

El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about from base to summit along its tallest ...

'' (numbers 3 & 4), running over the same route. Today, the ''

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 Flagstaf ...

'' remains the only train serving the former route of the ''Chief''.

History

In 1926 the

inaugurated the all- Pullman, extra-fare ''Chief'' as a supplement to the '' California Limited'' between Chicago and Los Angeles. From 1948 to 1967 the ''Chief'' provided a connection at Chicago with 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 all-Pullman overnight ''

Broadway Limited The ''Broadway Limited'' was a passenger train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) between New York City and Chicago. It operated from 1912 to 1995. It was the Pennsylvania's premier train, competing directly with the New York Central Ra ...

'' to Philadelphia and New York as well as the

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

's '' 20th Century Limited'' / ''

New England States The ''New England States'' was a passenger train operated by the New York Central Railroad and its successor Penn Central over the Water Level Route (predominantly alongside rivers and lake shores) between Chicago and Boston. It was launched in ...

'' to New York and Boston. The ''Chief'' left Chicago at 1.30pm from 1948 and at 10am from 1954 on an accelerated 37hr service with connecting sleepers from the ''20th Limited'' and ''Broadway Limited'' (carried on the evening Super Chief in 1954-58, as a one-hour transfer between the Century's arrival and the Chief's departure was too tight for a through-car transfer) for Los Angeles and also Kansas City, Denver and Phoenix. Reaching Los Angeles before midnight the following day, the ''Chief'' was the only US train offering one night transit Chicago-Los Angeles westbound from 1954 and two night, transcontinental travel from NY to Los Angeles. The ''Chief'' was inaugurated as an all- Pullman limited train to supplement the road's '' California Limited'', with a surcharge of USD $10.00 for an end-to-end trip. The

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

began its first run from both ends of the line, simultaneously, on November 14, 1926, scheduled 63 hours each way between Chicago and Los Angeles, five hours faster than the ''California Limited.'' (The ''

Overland Limited Overland Limited may refer to: Trains * Overland Limited (ATSF train), 1901–1915 * Overland Limited (UP train), 1895–1931 Films * ''The Overland Limited'' (1925) * Several short films made in 1899 and 1901: **''Overland Limited'' (1899) **''T ...

'' (

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 ...

), ''

Los Angeles Limited The ''Los Angeles Limited'' was a named passenger train in the United States. It was operated by the Union Pacific Railroad from 1905 to 1954. History Beginning in 1905 the ''Los Angeles Limited'' was the flagship train of the Union Pacific ...

'' (

) and '' Golden State Limited'' (

Rock Island Railroad The 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 the end ...

and Southern Pacific) began their extra-fare 63-hour schedules between Chicago and California the same day.) The ''Chief'' was a success, dubbed "Extra Fast-Extra Fine-Extra Fare" though it failed to relieve traffic on the ''California Limited''. The ''Chief'' became famous as a "rolling boudoir" for film stars and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

executives. In combination with the 2Oth Century Limited, the ''Chief'' was a favored mode of transcontinental travel for Hollywood. The stars and executives generally remained in their private room cars. Most of the ''Chief'''s patrons were middle class tourists or businessmen. In 1954, the ''Chief'' improved its schedule to 37 hours, equal to its cousins the ''

'' and ''

,'' and would ultimately drop the extra fare requirement as well. The quality of dining, drinking and sleeping car comfort The ''Chief'' offered at a substantial price was far superior to later Amtrak trains. The ''Chief'', leaving Chicago in the morning, ran through to Los Angeles in 2 days and 1 night. The ''Super Chief'' passed through Kansas and Missouri at night, leaving Chicago in the evening and running through two nights with the La Junta-Raton Pass Colorado section in daylight, arriving in Los Angeles in the morning. The last 60-mile run through the Los Angeles suburbs was slow, and many passengers concluded the trip unnoticed at San Bernardino or Pasadena. The ''Chief'' would have been the "crown jewel" of most railroads' passenger fleets. But it did not survive the national decline in passenger demand, due to the faster transport provided by the

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December ...

and

Douglas DC-8 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Jul ...

which overcame the airlines' previous inferior eight-hour Los Angeles-Chicago flights on propeller DC-6s, DC-7s and Constellations at , only 3 miles high with a turbulent and dangerous crossing of the Grand Canyon. Ironically, fear of the Grand Canyon kept many stars on the ''Chief'' in the 1950s and early 1960s. However, the impact of jet aircraft; the exorbitant cost of train crew (who operated under old union rules of a day's pay for each 150 miles traveled while the ''Chief'' traveled 450 miles every 8 hours) and the loss in 1967 of most US rail companies' contracts for carriage of first class US mail Postal Department created a crisis for all US railroads. Santa Fe recommended that all but its ''Super Chief,'' ''San Francisco Chief'', ''Texas Chief'' and ''San Diegans'' be discontinued. In particular, Santa Fe informed 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) to ensure fair rates, to elimina ...

that it could no longer afford to run four daily Chicago-California services. To Santa Fe's shock, the ICC ruled that the all-stops, common carrier ''Grand Canyon'' be continued rather than the ''Chief,'' which made its last run on May 15, 1968. The ''Grand Canyon'' was somewhat upgraded, leaving Chicago at 9 am on a 45-hour run to Los Angeles. The ''San Francisco Chief'' was rescheduled into the ''Chief'''s 10 am departure slot out of Chicago, running on the different Amarillo/Belen Cutoff route but offering 44-hour transit to Los Angeles or 41.5 hours to a shuttle transfer from San Bernardino or Bakersfield.

Timeline

* 1926: to supplement the '' California Limited'' Santa Fe inaugurates the all-Pullman, extra-fare ''Chief'', running between Chicago and Los Angeles. * November 14, 1926: The ''Chief'' makes its first departure from both ends of the line simultaneously. * March 1928: Eastward schedule drops to 61 1/4 hours. * June 1929: schedule both ways drops to 58 hours * 1937: The Santa Fe announces that the ''Chief'' will receive streamlined (lightweight) cars to replace the heavyweights and will run on a 50¾-hour schedule. * February 22, 1938: 10 new streamlined cars are placed into service. * 1942: Consist expands to 13 cars, and each averages 743 daily miles. * 1945: The train receives new cars and the schedule is reduced to 45 hours. * March 27, 1947:

Sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. The first such cars s ...

service direct to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

starts. * Ca. 1953: The trains from Los Angeles met in a timed connection at

La Junta, Colorado La Junta is a home rule municipality in , the county seat of, and the most populous municipality of Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States Census. La Junta is located on the Arkansas ...

, with coach trains bound for

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, with the reverse itinerary available. * January 10, 1954: The 45-hour schedule is cut to 39 hours, 45 minutes eastbound and 39 hours, 30 minutes westbound, with a morning departure from Chicago. The westbound train spends only one night in transit, leaving Chicago in the morning and arriving in Los Angeles in the late evening of the following day. The fare surcharge is dropped after the

introduces its competing '' Challenger'' train. * January 1954: Santa Fe transfers transcontinental sleeping car service to the ''Super Chief''. * 1954: Coaches are added to the ''Chief''; observation cars are removed for the first time since the train's inauguration. The cars are blunt-ended at Pullman's

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a city council.

, facility and returned to service in the new '' San Francisco Chief'' consists as Pullman lounges. Cafe observation cars are added to the coach train from La Junta to Denver. Through sleeping cars are introduced for the branch from La Junta to Denver. * September 5, 1956: A Santa Fe fireman from the waiting eastward ''Fast Mail Express'' throws a switch in front of the speeding ''Chief'' near

Springer, New Mexico Springer is a town in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 1,047 at the 2010 census. History In 1877, William T Thornton, representing the Maxwell Land Grand and Railway Company commissioned Melvin Whitson Mills to "s ...

, causing it to enter the siding occupied by the ''Fast Mail Express'' and collide head-on. Both engine crews (save for the hapless ''Fast Mail'' fireman) are killed; a total of 20 train crew and ''Chief'' dining car employees are killed in the collision. Thirty-five passengers and crew members are injured. * 1960: eastward ''Chief'' begins running via Topeka. * 1963-64: westward train begins running via Topeka. * May 15, 1968: The ''Chief'' ceases operations; Santa Fe will resurrect the name for a high-speed intermodal freight train. * Summer 1972:

revives the ''Chief'' for three months using Nos. 19 & 20 and the ''Chief''s morning departure from Chicago.

Competing trains

In summer 1926 the fastest schedules between Chicago and San Francisco/Los Angeles were 68 hours. That November four extra-fare ($10) all-Pullman trains started running on 63-hour schedules: the ''Chief'', the ''

'' via Salt Lake, the '' Golden State Limited'' via El Paso, and the ''Overland Limited'' to San Francisco. In 1928 the four eastward trains dropped to 61 hours 15 minutes to improve connections at Chicago. In June 1929 the ''Chief'' and ''Overland Limited'' schedules dropped to 58 hours each way, leaving Chicago at 11:15 AM/11:50 AM and Los Angeles/San Francisco at 9:45 PM/9:40 PM. The standard-fare schedule then became 63 hours westward and 61 1/4 hours eastward on seven routes from Chicago to the Coast (trains to Seattle now matching the standard-fare California trains). The ''Los Angeles Limited'' and ''Golden State Limited'' retained their 1928 schedules and so dropped their extra fares. In 1931 the ''Overland Limited'' dropped its extra fare and combined with the 63-hour train on its route; the ''Chief'' was the only extra fare trans-continental train thereafter, until the streamliners. In February 1936 it was scheduled at 53 hours 45 minutes to Los Angeles, compared to 61 hours for the ''Los Angeles Limited'', ''Golden State Limited'' and ''California Limited''. In May 1936

Union Pacific Railroad 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 ...

opened high speed Chicago - Los Angeles service with its ''

City of 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 ...

'' Diesel streamliner. In December 1937 the original ''City of Los Angeles'' train was replaced by a full-sized 14 car train. The schedule was doubled to 10 times monthly in July 1938. In 1954, for a continuous East Coast to Los Angeles trip (and the reverse), on the New York Central, Pennsylvania Railroad or Baltimore and Ohio trains, this opportunity was shifted from the ''Chief'' to the Santa Fe's ''

.''

Equipment used

Santa Fe streamlined steam locomotive the Chief

A typical

''Chief'' consist in Winter, 1937: *

4-6-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known as ...

" Hudson"-type Steam Locomotive #3451 * Express Mail #2041 *

Railway Post Office In Canada and the United States, a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly tr ...

#63 *

Baggage Baggage or luggage consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transit. A modern traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, small possessions, trip ...

-Club- Lounge #1304 ''Chief Manakaja'' * Lounge ''General Carr'' (10 sections, likely utilized as crew

Dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university ...

space) *

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 to cater to the growi ...

Diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a co ...

#1472 *

Sleeper A sleeper is a person who is sleeping. Sleeper may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Sleeper (Marvel Comics), a Nazi German robot utilized by the Red Skull in Marvel Comics * The Sleeper (Wild Cards), a character in the Wild Ca ...

''Glen Ewen'' (6 compartments, 3 drawing rooms) * Sleeper ''Laurel Wood'' (8 sections, 2 compartments, 1 drawing room) * Sleeper-

Observation Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data via the use of scientific instruments. Th ...

-Lounge ''Crystal Bay'' (3 compartments, 2 drawing rooms) A typical "mixed" ''Chief'' consist as of January 31, 1938 (the ''Chief'' regularly included heavyweight head-end cars in its consist, even into the late 1940s): *

"Hudson"-type Steam Locomotive #3460 (also known as the "Blue Goose") *

#79 (heavyweight) *

#1894 (heavyweight) * Baggage-Buffet- Lounge #1380 ''San Miguel'' (also included a barber shop) *

''Otowi'' (17 roomettes) * Sleeper ''Ganado'' (14 sections) * Sleeper ''Toreva'' (8 sections, 2 compartments, 2 double bedrooms) * Sleeper ''Mankoweap'' (4 compartments, 2 drawing rooms, 4 Dbl. Bdrm.) * Dormitory-Club-Lounge #1373 ''Tesuque'' *

#1477 * Sleeper ''Mohave'' (4 compartments, 2 drawing rooms, 4 double bedrooms) * Sleeper ''Sinyala'' (8 sections, 2 compartments, 2 double bedrooms) * Sleeper-

-Lounge ''Betahtakin'' (4 drawing rooms, 1 double bedroom) ''Transcontinental Sleeping Car Service'' was inaugurated in Spring 1946, and the ''Chief'' began regularly carrying three such cars in its consist: two originating in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, and the other in Washington, D.C. (most often these were smooth-sided cars painted two-tone Pullman grey). By the following summer, the ''Chief'' had retired all of its steam-driven motive power and was usually pulled behind A-B-B-A sets of EMD FT locomotives or A-B-A sets of the new ALCO PAs). The following is a typical all-

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight b ...

''Chief'' consist as of late 1947: * ALCO PA Locomotive #53L *

ALCO PB The ALCO PA was a family of A1A-A1A diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains. The locomotives were built in Schenectady, New York, in the United States, by a partnership of the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and General Electric (GE ...

Locomotive #53A * ALCO PA Locomotive #53B *

#3452 *

#88 * Baggage #3438 * Baggage-Buffet- Lounge #1381 ''San Marcial'' (also included a barber shop) *

''Maito'' (17 roomettes) * Sleeper ''Verde Valley'' (6 sections, 6 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms) * Sleeper ''Imperial Park'' (4 compartments, 2 drawing rooms, 4 double bedrooms) * Sleeper ''Tapacipa'' (4 compartments, 2 drawing rooms, 4 double bedrooms) * Dormitory-Club-Lounge #1372 ''Picuris'' *

#1497 * Sleeper ''Kayenta'' (4 compartments, 2 drawing rooms, 4 double bedrooms) * Sleeper ''Sinyala'' (8 sections, 2 compartments, 2 double bedrooms) * Sleeper ''Tolani'' (8 sections, 2 compartments, 2 double bedrooms) * Sleeper-

-Lounge ''Biltabito'' (4 drawing rooms, 1 double bedroom) San Francisco Chief

A typical ''Chief'' consist in the mid-1950s (note the absence of an

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

, which was eliminated as per Santa Fe policy): *

EMD F7 The EMD F7 is a model of diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1949 and December 1953 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) and General Motors Diesel (GMD). Although originally promoted by EMD as a freight- ...

A Locomotive #46C * EMD F7B Locomotive #46B * EMD F3B Locomotive #19B * EMD F7B Locomotive #301A * EMD F7A Locomotive #301L *

#3657 * Baggage #3442 * Baggage-Dormitory #1381 * "Chair" car /

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

(44 "leg-rest" seats) #2938 * "Chair" car / Coach (44 "leg-rest" seats) #2883 * "Chair" car / Coach (44 "leg-rest" seats) #2909 * Lunch Counter-

#1568 * "Chair" car / Coach (44 "leg-rest" seats) #2848 * "Chair" car / Coach (44 "leg-rest" seats) #2831 * " Big Dome"- Lounge #509 *

Diner #1491 *

''Blue Island'' (10 roomettes, 2 compartments, 3 double bedrooms)* * Sleeper ''Pine Dale'' (10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms) * Sleeper ''Palm Star'' (10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms) * Sleeper ''Citrus Valley'' (6 sections, 6 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms) (ran from Chicago, Illinois — Denver, Colorado; switched out at La Junta, Colorado). * Sleeper ''Estancia Valley'' (6 sections, 6 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms) (ran from Denver, Colorado — Los Angeles, California; switched in at La Junta, Colorado). :*NOTE: The nineteen "10-2-3" sleepers in the ''Blue'' series had a floorplan configuration unique to the Santa Fe.

References

* * * * * * * *

External links