The ''Los Angeles Limited'' was a named passenger train in the United States. It was 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 ...

from 1905 to 1954.

History

Beginning in 1905 the ''Los Angeles Limited'' was the flagship train of the Union Pacific between

Chicago (''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 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 ...

. (From Chicago to

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

the train was handled by the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states bef ...

). Union Pacific, which owned the train, completed the trip via

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, Ogden,

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Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

and San Bernardino. In early years the schedule was 68–74 hours; in November 1926 the schedule dropped to 63 hours each way to justify a $10 extra charge (which ended in June 1929).

Equipment

Union Pacific Railroad Los Angeles Limited 1909

Until 1948, the cars had a black roof, dark Pullman-green body with yellow lettering, and black trucks. In 1948 the Union Pacific painted all of its heavyweight fleet in a two-tone gray paint scheme to match Pullman's lease passenger car equipment which were also being painted in the two-tone gray paint scheme. By 1952, all of Union Pacific's heavyweight passenger cars were painted in the amour yellow and gray to match the rest of the railroad's streamlined passenger cars. During this time, many streamlined and heavyweight cars were seen mixed into the LA Limited's consist, while some of the two-tone gray paint scheme was visible; since it took some time to repaint all of the heavyweight equipment Union Pacific's large rail network. In the beginning the cars of the train were wood; after 1912 steel heavyweight cars started to replace the wooden cars. Until 1936 the ''Los Angeles Limited'' was the top train of the Union Pacific as a rival to other Chicago to Los Angeles trains such as Santa Fe's ''

California Limited The ''California Limited'' was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It carried train Nos. 3 & 4 and ran between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California. The line was conceived by company presid ...

'', De Luxe, ''

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

'', and the Southern Pacific's Rock Island '' Golden State Limited''. In 1930 the train started carrying coaches for the first time because of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. After the more economical secondary train Challenger was introduced in 1935, the train regained its all-Pullman status and once again became a very fine train; in 1936 it was the first Union Pacific heavyweight train to receive air conditioning. But in 1936 the Los Angeles Limited lost its prestigious premier status to the new ''

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 ...

'' streamliner, which became the new Union Pacific flagship train. The Los Angeles Limited became the secondary Chicago-to-Los Angeles train, but was the only Union Pacific all-Pullman train on that route (the City of Los Angeles streamliner always carried some coaches). After the City of Los Angeles went daily in 1947 the train resumed handling coaches, this time forever. In 1948 lightweight streamliner cars with four-wheel trucks began appearing, usually not more than five.

Ridership decline

In the 1950s ridership on the Los Angeles Limited declined rapidly. Sleeping car passengers could enjoy more modern streamlined sleeping cars on a faster schedule on the City of Los Angeles, which took 39-3/4 hours Chicago to LA while the Los Angeles Limited needed 45 hours. In January 1954 the once-proud flagship was replaced by a new Challenger with lightweight coaches and sleepers on a fast schedule.

Motive Power

In the early years of the Los Angeles Limited's service, the train's primary motive power was an

ALCO The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

4-6-2 Pacific type. In the early 1920s, the train was upgraded with newer steel, heavyweight passenger cars leased from Pullman, which caused troublesome for the Pacific types to keep schedule, especially through Echo Canyon and Cajon Pass. The Union Pacific responded by purchasing 39

4-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This type of steam locomotive is commonly know ...

Mountain types from ALCO. These locomotives exceeded UP's expectations. They became the primary motive power for the train until 1937, when UP began purchasing

4-8-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type w ...

Northern types, famously known as the FEF-1; to pull the train between Ogden and Omaha. The Mountain types maintained being the primary power between Ogden and Los Angeles until 1946 when the FEF's were all converted to oil in response to the coal strikes that broke out across the nation. Between Omaha and Chicago, the Chicago and North Western Railway pulled the train with an ALCO

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 ...

Hudson type.

A 1929 consist

*A 4-8-2 Mountain steam locomotive # Baggage Dormitory 2765 # 12-1 Sleeper "Dahlonega" # 12-1 Sleeper "Nolando" # 10-1-2 Sleeper "Lake Champlain" # 10-1-2 Sleeper "Lake Crystal" # 10-1-1 Sleeper "Columbia Gorge" # Diner 307 # 10-1-1 Sleeper "Crown Point" # 8-1-2 Sleeper "Centspur" # 8-1-2 Sleeper "Centgarde" # 6-3 Sleeper "Glen Campsie" # 6-3 Sleeper "Glen Dee" # Buffet Lounge Observation 1554

A consist between 1948 and 1950

*A 4-6-6-4 Challenger steam locomotive # Baggage # Coach # Coach # Café Lounge # 6-6-4 Sleeper (streamliner car) # 6-6-4 Sleeper (streamliner car) (Minneapolis - Los Angeles via Chicago & North Western train #203 to Omaha) # 6-6-4 Sleeper (streamliner car) (New York - Los Angeles via Pennsylvania Railroad Broadway Limited to Chicago) # 6-6-4 Sleeper (streamliner car) (New York - Los Angeles via Pennsylvania Railroad Broadway Limited to Chicago) # Diner # 4-4-4 Sleeper (streamliner car) # 12-1 Sleeper # 12-1 Sleeper # 10-2 Sleeper (Chicago - Omaha - Cedar City, summer season only) # 10-2 Sleeper (Chicago - Omaha - West Yellowstone, summer season only) # Buffet Lounge Observation

A consist from November 1950

*A 4-8-4 Northern steam locomotive # Baggage # Storage Mail # Storage Mail # Baggage Dormitory # Coach # Coach # Coach Lounge # Diner # Club Lounge # 4-4-2 Sleeper (streamliner car) # 12-4 Sleeper (streamliner car) # 10-6 Sleeper (streamliner car) (New York - Los Angeles via New York Central 20th Century Limited to Chicago) # 10-6 Sleeper (streamliner car) (New York - Los Angeles via Pennsylvania Railroad Broadway Limited to Chicago) # 6-6-4 Sleeper (streamliner car) (Minneapolis - Los Angeles via Chicago & North Western train #203 to Omaha) # 14 Section Sleeper

References

{{CNW named trains Passenger trains of the Union Pacific Railroad Passenger trains of the Chicago and North Western Railway Named passenger trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1905 1954 disestablishments in the United States Night trains of the United States Railway services discontinued in 1954