The ''Grand Canyon 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 was train Nos. 23 & 24 between

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, and

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 ...

History

In 1901 the Santa Fe Railroad completed a 64-mile (103-km) branch from

Williams, Arizona Williams ( yuf-x-hav, Wii Gvʼul) is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, located west of Flagstaff. Its population was 3,023 at the 2010 census. It lies on the routes of Historic Route 66 and Interstate 40. It is also the souther ...

, to "Grand Canyon Village" at the South Rim of

Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often consider ...

. The first scheduled train arrived from Williams on September 17 of that year; branch line trains and excursions from

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, Chicago, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

could run directly to the Rim. On June 29, 1929, service commenced on the ''Grand Canyon Limited'', which became a celebrated vacation train. The westward train split at Barstow, one

section 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 sign ...

running to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

(

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

) via the

Tehachapi Loop The Tehachapi Loop is a long spiral, or helix, on the Union Pacific Railroad Mojave Subdivision through Tehachapi Pass, of the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, south-central California. The line connects Bakersfield and the San Joaquin V ...

while the other continued to Los Angeles. In 1938 it began running via Amarillo instead of La Junta; in 1950 it became two trains west of Kansas City, one by each route. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the ''Limited'' often ran in two or three

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 ...

carrying troops. In later years the train lost passengers to the railroad's newer trains such as 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, Ill ...

'' with its

streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the framework of ...

cars. The ''Grand Canyon'' train lost its name in early 1968 when the railway petitioned the ICC to drop service to

; the train would continue as Trains 23 and 24 until the May 1, 1971, handover of all passenger service to

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 ...

. While the Santa Fe had been willing to continue operating its famed ''Chiefs'' and the '' San Diegan,'' the prospect of having to operate its less successful routes until at least 1976 led it to hand its passenger routes to Amtrak. The ''Grand Canyon'' had been an anachronism for some time. It remained a mostly

whistle stop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...

train long after the automobile made such scheduling obsolete for passenger service. Despite this, the Santa Fe continued this scheduling model in order to more efficiently deliver mail parcels. However, when the Post Office abruptly pulled its mail contracts in 1967, the ''Grand Canyon'' became a particularly large albatross around the Santa Fe's neck, especially when the ICC turned down requests to withdraw the train.

Timeline

* September 17, 1901: The Santa Fe inaugurates service on the

Grand Canyon Railway The Grand Canyon Railway is a heritage railroad which carries passengers between Williams, Arizona, and the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The railroad, built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, was completed on September 1 ...

, running between Williams, Arizona, and the South Rim of Grand Canyon. * January 1905: The Santa Fe-built

El Tovar Hotel The El Tovar Hotel, also known simply as El Tovar, is a former Harvey House hotel situated directly on the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, United States. The hotel was designed by Charles Whittlesey, Chief Architect for the Atchison ...

opens its doors. The luxurious destination resort is situated just from the canyon rim. * June 29, 1929: The ''Grand Canyon Limited'' enters service; schedule 66 hours each way between Chicago and Los Angeles. * June 4, 1938: the ''Grand Canyon Limited'' is rerouted over the Belen Cutoff through

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

. Transit time is reduced to 60 hr 15 min westward and 58 hr 35 min eastward. * June 2, 1946: The ''Grand Canyon Limited'' begins running via

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

- Fullerton) instead of

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

. * June 8, 1947: The train receives its first diesel locomotives and

stainless-steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's resis ...

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 boxe ...

passenger cars. The train is broken into two sections and the name is shortened to the ''Grand Canyon''; the schedule is reduced to 48 hours, 45 minutes. * July 1968: The Santa Fe discontinues all passenger service to the Grand Canyon National Park although the tracks are retained for freight service; the ''Grand Canyon'' train is stripped of its name becoming simply Trains 23 and 24. *May 1, 1971: Amtrak takes over passenger service from the Santa Fe; 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 Flagstaff ...

'' begins service over much of the route. * May 2, 1971: The final Train 24 that left

on April 30 arrives at

Dearborn Station Dearborn Station (also referred to as Polk Street Depot) was, beginning in the late 1800s, one of six intercity train stations serving downtown Chicago, Illinois. It remained in operation until May 1, 1971. Built in 1883, it is located at ...

in Chicago, ending Santa Fe revenue passenger service. *1974: The Santa Fe abandons the Grand Canyon Railway. *September 17, 1989: Passenger service on the Grand Canyon Railway resumes after being purchased by private owners, independent from the Santa Fe in 1988. *2002:

Santa Fe 3751 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 3751 is a class 3751 4-8-4 steam locomotive built in 1927 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone (Philadelphia), Pennsylvania for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (ATSF). 3751 was the first 4-8-4 steam loc ...

, a preserved steam locomotive, runs on the line as part of the 2002 NRHS Convention. It briefly operated over the Grand Canyon Railway alongside the railroad's steam locomotives 18 and 4960. *May 16, 2012: As part of the State of Arizona's centennial celebration, a 5-day journey to the Grand Canyon took place on a special excursion train of the same name. Santa Fe 3751 and Grand Canyon Railway 4960 pulled the train with the help of an Amtrak heritage unit over the Grand Canyon Railway route.

Equipment used

A variety of steam- and diesel-powered locomotives pulled the ''Grand Canyon Limited''. The original rolling stock delivered for the second-class ''Grand Canyon Limited'' was

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 Wo ...

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 ...

. * One

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 ...

-dormitory-buffet smoking car * Two "chair" cars (

coaches 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 * Coac ...

) * One

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 ...

* Three compartment and drawing-room

sleepers ''Sleepers'' is a 1996 American legal crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's 1995 book of the same name. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin H ...

* One full open-end

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. The ...

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 ...

Train length varied; the train often ran in two or three sections during the summer months. Near the end of its career, in 1968, a typical consist from Chicago to Kansas City was: * Two

ALCO PA 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 ...

s * One streamline baggage car * Two coaches

Notable incidents

* July 7, 1945: Combined train No. 2 ('' The Scout'') and No. 24, powered by locomotive #3733, strikes a "

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

" shovel. The locomotive's pilot, headlight, and cylinders are damaged. *December 27, 1949: Train No. 23 collides with an automobile at a grade crossing in

Highland Park, California Highland Park is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, located in the city's Northeast region. It was one of the first subdivisions of Los Angeles and is inhabited by a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups. History The area was set ...

, which flattens the wheels on the locomotives. * May 31, 1951: Combined train is sideswiped by train No. 123 in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

, derailing cars #RSX 287, express #2558, baggage #1634, and "chair" cars #3108 and #3070. No. 123 cars baggage #1791 and #1601, "chair" cars #3087, #3158, and #1169, diner #1461, lounge #136, and sleepers ''L.S. Hungerford'', ''Tonelea'', ''Toreva'', and ''Centgate'' also sustain damage. * April 5, 1964: Train No. 123 with five diesel locomotives and 16 cars hits a rockslide at near Doublea, Arizona, which derails the locomotives, ten baggage cars, and a passenger car.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * *

External links