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

passenger trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

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, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

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

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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' ...

. 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 to cater to the growing ...

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

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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, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a platform on the rear of ...

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 The ''California Limited'' was withdrawn on June 15, 1954, giving it the longest tenure of any train on the Chicago-Los Angeles run of the Santa Fe.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 were necessary to accommodate demand; reportedly 23 sections once operated from Chicago on one day. The train carried just Pullman sleeping cars (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 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 and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

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 businessman and co-founder of The Walt Disney Company. He was the older brother of Walt Disney and the father of Roy E. Disney. Biography Early life Disney was bor ...

, 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 Santa Anita is a USGS place name within the city of Arcadia in Los Angeles County, California. Formerly within Rancho Santa Anita Rancho Santa Anita was a land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given to naturalized Scottish imm ...

at excessive speed and derails. Some 200 people are injured, five fatally. One cleanup worker dies the following day in a freak accident. * June 15, 1954: The ''California Limited'' is withdrawn.

Equipment

A variety of steam and diesel locomotives pulled the ''California Limited''. In 1892, the ''California Limited'' consisted of heavyweight cars built by Pullman-Standard. Each train contained: * a compartment and drawing-room Sleeping car * a Dining car that served "''the best Fred Harvey meals on rails''" * a

Club car Club Car is an American company that manufactures electric and gas-powered golf carts and small utility vehicles for personal and commercial use. It is currently owned by Platinum Equity after being acquired in 2021. Before that, the company wa ...

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

* 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, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a platform on the rear of ...

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