Chief (train)

The ''Chief'' was an American long-distance named passenger train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway that ran between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California. The Santa Fe initiated the ''Chief'' in 1926 to supplement the '' California Limited''. In 1936 the ''Super Chief'' was introduced, after the Super Chief was relaunched in 1948 with daily departures from LA and Chicago it gradually eclipsed the ''Chief'' as the standard bearer of the Santa Fe because of its timetable oriented to the Raton Pass transit. For some the Chief and San Francisco Chief ( which inherited the Chief, Turquoise lounge and other features in 1968) as deluxe integrated trains with both Pullman sleepers and fully reclining coach seating with all facilities; lounges and pleasure domes, available to all passengers were at least equal flagships better suited to the business and executive market. From the mid 1960s the super Chief was only a small entirely separate section of the El Capitan seated vista train, the El Capitan passengers having no access to the Super Chiefs expensive eateries and bars which selling point was exclusion and service. The ''Chief'' was discontinued in 1968 due to high operating costs, competition from airlines, and the loss of Postal Office contracts.

Amtrak 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'' (numbers 3 & 4), running over the same route. Today, the ''Southwest Chief'' remains the only train serving the former route of the ''Chief''.

History

In 1926 the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 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's all-Pullman overnight ''Broadway Limited'' to Philadelphia and New York as well as the New York Central's ''20th Century Limited'' / '' New England States'' 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 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'' (Union Pacific), '' Los Angeles Limited'' (Union Pacific) and '' Golden State Limited'' (Rock Island Railroad 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 executives. In combination with the 20th 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 ''Super Chief'' and ''El Capitan'' 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 just 1 night, arriving at San Bernardino by 9pm and LA around 11 pm. The Westbound chief transited the Dodge City- Albuquerque section in darkness, missing the tourist vista of other Santa Fe trains. 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 and Douglas DC-8 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 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'', the 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: The eastward schedule drops to 61 and a 1/4 hours.
* June 1929: The schedule both ways drop 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: About 10 new streamlined cars are placed into service.
* 1942: The consist of expands to 13 cars, and each average 743 daily miles.
* 1945: The train receives new cars, and the schedule is reduced to 45 hours.
* March 27, 1947: A sleeping car service direct to San Diego begins.
* Ca. 1953: The trains from Los Angeles met in a timed connection at La Junta, Colorado, with coach trains bound for Denver, 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 Union Pacific introduces its competing '' Challenger'' train.
* January 1954: The 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, 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, 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: The eastward ''Chief'' begins running via Topeka.
* 1963-64: The westward train begins running via Topeka.
* May 15, 1968: The ''Chief'' ceases operations; the Santa Fe resurrects the name for a high-speed intermodal freight train: the ''Super C''.
* Summer 1972: Amtrak 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 '' Los Angeles Limited'' 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 to 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 opened high speed Chicago - Los Angeles service with its '' City of Los Angeles'' 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 ''Super Chief.''

Equipment used

A typical heavyweight ''Chief'' consist in Winter, 1937:

* 4-6-4 "Hudson"-type Steam Locomotive #3451
* Express Mail #2041
* Railway Post Office #63
* Baggage-Club-Lounge #1304 ''Chief Manakaja''
* Lounge ''General Carr'' (10 sections, likely utilized as crew Dormitory space)
* Fred Harvey Company Diner #1472
* Sleeper ''Glen Ewen'' (6 compartments, 3 drawing rooms)
* Sleeper ''Laurel Wood'' (8 sections, 2 compartments, 1 drawing room)
* Sleeper-Observation-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):

* 4-6-4 "Hudson"-type Steam Locomotive #3460 (also known as the "Blue Goose")
* Railway Post Office #79 (heavyweight)
* Baggage #1894 (heavyweight)
* Baggage-Buffet-Lounge #1380 ''San Miguel'' (also included a barber shop)
* Sleeper ''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''
* Fred Harvey Company Diner #1477
* Sleeper ''Mohave'' (4 compartments, 2 drawing rooms, 4 double bedrooms)
* Sleeper ''Sinyala'' (8 sections, 2 compartments, 2 double bedrooms)
* Sleeper-Observation-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, 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 ''Chief'' consist as of late 1947:

* ALCO PA Locomotive #53L
* ALCO PB Locomotive #53A
* ALCO PA Locomotive #53B
* Baggage #3452
* Railway Post Office #88
* Baggage #3438
* Baggage-Buffet-Lounge #1381 ''San Marcial'' (also included a barber shop)
* Sleeper ''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''
* Fred Harvey Company Diner #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-Observation-Lounge ''Biltabito'' (4 drawing rooms, 1 double bedroom)

A typical ''Chief'' consist in the mid-1950s (note the absence of an observation car, which was eliminated as per Santa Fe policy):

* EMD F7A Locomotive #46C
* EMD F7B Locomotive #46B
* EMD F3B Locomotive #19B
* EMD F7B Locomotive #301A
* EMD F7A Locomotive #301L
* Baggage #3657
* Baggage #3442
* Baggage-Dormitory #1381
* "Chair" car / Coach (44 "leg-rest" seats) #2938
* "Chair" car / Coach (44 "leg-rest" seats) #2883
* "Chair" car / Coach (44 "leg-rest" seats) #2909
* Lunch Counter-Diner #1568
* "Chair" car / Coach (44 "leg-rest" seats) #2848
* "Chair" car / Coach (44 "leg-rest" seats) #2831
* " Big Dome"-Lounge #509
* Fred Harvey Company Diner #1491
* Sleeper ''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.

See also

* Passenger train service on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

References

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External links

California State Railway Museum

Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society
* illustrated account of the train and its route

Final accident report of September 5, 1956 train collision
- Interstate Commerce Commission
PDF

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chief (Train)
Passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Named passenger trains of the United States
Railway services introduced in 1926
Night trains of the United States
Railway services discontinued in 1968
Passenger rail transportation in Illinois
Passenger rail transportation in Missouri
Passenger rail transportation in Kansas
Passenger rail transportation in Colorado
Passenger rail transportation in New Mexico
Passenger rail transportation in Arizona
Passenger rail transportation in California
Former long distance Amtrak routes