The ''City of St. Louis'' 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 pr ...

operated by the

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 Paci ...

and the

Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...

between

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

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 world' ...

. It operated from 1946 to 1971.

History

The ''City of St. Louis'' began operating on June 2, 1946 between

and

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

, where its cars were switched to other Union Pacific trains to continue west to the Pacific coast. In April 1951 it became a separate train from St. Louis to

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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, skipping Cheyenne; it still carried some cars to switch to trains to other coast cities. In 1964 it was combined with the ''City of Los Angeles'' west of

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

, and in 1968 with the ''City of San Francisco'' from Cheyenne to Ogden. Between St. Louis and Kansas City the train ran on the

, then on the Norfolk & Western which leased the Wabash in 1964. This part of the run became a separate train on June 19, 1968, retaining the ''City of St Louis'' name until its discontinuance in April 1969; after June 1968 the Union Pacific train was the '' City of Kansas City'', which lasted until

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 inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

took over on May 1, 1971.

Major stations, 1951

*St. LouisUnion Pacific timetable, September 1951 https://streamlinermemories.info/UP/UP9-51TT.pdf *Kansas City *Topeka, Kansas *Denver *Ogden **Branch to Oakland/San Francisco via the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) 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 ...

: *Reno *Sacramento *Oakland (ferry connection to San Francisco) **Branch to Los Angeles: *Salt Lake City *San Bernandino *Riverside *Los Angeles **Branch to Portland & Seattle: *Pocatello *Boise *Nampa *Portland *Tacoma *Seattle

Equipment

The original 1946 version of the train required three consists to protect its schedule. The consists contained a mix of heavyweight and lightweight equipment: * Heavyweight baggage-mail (UP #5808-#5810) * Three lightweight 48-seat coaches (UP #5331-#5365) * Heavyweight

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that ...

(UP #4627, UP #4629, or WAB #32) * Heavyweight club-lounge (UP #1540, #1543, or #1544) * Heavyweight 10-section, 1-drawing room, 1-compartment

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 American innovator of the sleeper car. ...

* Lightweight 4-compartment, 2-drawing room, 4-double bedroom sleeping car (UP ''Lakeside'', ''Palos Verdes'', or ''Verdugo'') * Lightweight 6-section, 6-roomette, 4-double bedroom sleeping car (UP ''American Army'', ''American Monitor'', or ''American Trooper'') * Heavyweight postal car (UP 2200-series) The 10-1-1 sleeping car operated through to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

; cars used in this service included ''Balsam Fir'', ''Douglas Fir'', ''Inland Empire'', ''Pinion Pine'', ''Poudre Lake'' and ''Silver Spruce''. The 6-4-4 sleeping car operated through to Los Angeles. The 2200-series postal car was added in

Denver, Colorado 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 Unit ...

for Cheyenne.

References

* Kratville, William W. and Ranks, Harold E., ''The Union Pacific Streamliners.'' Kratville Publications, 1974. * Stout, Greg, ''Route of the Eagles: Missouri Pacific in the Streamlined Era.'' Kansas City, White River Productions, 1995. * Thomas, Lawrence, "Going to California on the Overland Route", ''TRRA Historical Society magazine'', Spring/Summer 1996. {{NW named trains Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Passenger rail transportation in Missouri Passenger trains of the Norfolk and Western Railway Passenger trains of the Union Pacific Railroad Passenger trains of the Wabash Railroad Railway services introduced in 1946 Railway services discontinued in 1971