View source for California Limited

{{short description|Named passenger train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway}}
{{more footnotes|date=April 2011}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox rail service
| box_width       = 
| name            = ''California Limited''
| color           = FF0000
| logo            = ATSF California Limited combined.png
| logo_width      = 200px
| image           = ATSF California Limited at Los Angeles circa 1899 William Henry Jackson photo.jpg
| image_width     = 300px
| caption         = ''California Limited'' in [[Los Angeles, California]], with engine No. 53 at the [[La Grande Station]] circa 1899
| type            = 
| status          = 
| locale          = 
| predecessor     = 
| first           = November 27, 1892
| last            = June 15, 1954
| successor       = ''[[San Francisco Chief]]''
| operator        = 
| formeroperator  = [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]
| ridership       = 
| website         = 
| start           = [[Chicago, Illinois]]
| stops           = 
| end             = [[Los Angeles, California]]<br/>[[San Diego, California]]<br/>[[Oakland, California]]
| distance        = 
| journeytime     = 
| frequency       = 
| trainnumber     = 3 and 4
| line_used       = 
| class           = 
| access          = 
| seating         = 
| sleeping        = 
| autorack        = 
| catering        = 
| observation     = 
| entertainment   = 
| baggage         = 
| otherfacilities = 
| stock           = 
| gauge           = 
| el              = 
| speed           = 
| owners          = 
| routenumber     = 
| map             = 
| map_state       = 
}}
The '''''California Limited''''' was one of the [[List of named passenger trains|named]] [[train|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 president [[Allen Manvel]] as a means to "signify completion of the basic [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|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]] 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 [[drumhead (sign)|drumhead]] on its [[observation car]]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==
[[File:Santa Fe California Limited ad 1910.jpg|thumb|right|1910 magazine advertisement for the ''California Limited''.]]
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 [[Section (rail transport)|sections]] were necessary to accommodate demand; reportedly 23 sections once operated eastbound on one day (including three groups of seven or eight sections, fresh out of Los Angeles, one day out, and two days out).  The same day there were 22 westbound sections, for a total of 45 complete trains operating as the California Limited.  The train carried just [[Pullman (car or coach)|Pullman]] [[sleeping car]]s (no coaches) until 1938.<ref>{{Yenne-Chiefs}}</ref>{{rp|35–36}}

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.<ref name="cars">{{cite book | title=The Cars of Pullman | first=Joe | last=Welsh |author2=Bill Howes |author3=Kevin J Holland  | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GhEwO0dn__AC | year=2010 | publisher=[[Voyageur Press]]| isbn=9781610601177 }}</ref>{{rp|73}}<ref name="schafer" />{{rp|41}} 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 (train)|Chief]]'' in 1926 eclipsed the ''California Limited'', although the train ran for another three decades.<ref name="schafer" />{{rp|17}}

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]] leaves Kansas City for Los Angeles aboard the ''California Limited'', arriving at La Grande Station. His brother, [[Roy O. Disney]], 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]] at excessive speed and derails.  Some 200 people are injured, five fatally.  One cleanup worker dies the following day in a freak accident.
* January 10, 1954: The ''California Limited'' is rerouted from the northern mainline (via La Junta) to the [[Southern Transcon|southern mainline]] via Amarillo.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-eagle/127994699/ |title=Big Passenger Changes Effective January 10, 1954 [Advertisement] |newspaper=The Wichita Eagle |date=January 9, 1954 |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
* June 15, 1954:  The ''California Limited'' is discontinued and replaced by the ''[[San Francisco Chief]]''. Unnamed trains 3/4 continued to operate between Kansas City and Belen, connecting with the ''Kansas City Chief'' at Kansas City<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-times/127995301/ |title=New Passenger Services [Advertisement] |newspaper=The Kansas City Times |date=June 2, 1954 |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/needles-desert-star/127991955/ |title=California Limited Disappears From Santa Fe Service |newspaper=Needles Desert Star |date=June 10, 1954 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
* September 26, 1954: Trains 3/4 rerouted in New Mexico, becoming Kansas City–Carlsbad trains<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-albuquerque-tribune/127997516/ |title=Time Changed On Two Trains |newspaper=The Albuquerque Tribune |date=September 29, 1954 |page=14 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/clovis-news-journal/127997555/ |title=New Train Schedules Announced By Santa Fe |newspaper=Clovis News-Journal |date=September 28, 1954 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
* April 24, 1955: Trains 3/4 rerouted again, becoming Kansas City–Los Angeles trains<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/clovis-news-journal/127994928/ |title=Santa Fe Railway Announces Several Changes In Schedule |newspaper=Clovis News-Journal |date=April 19, 1955 |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/clovis-news-journal/127994994/ 9] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The trains were cut back to Gallup–Kansas City in 1957 or 1958
* October 19, 1967: Trains 3/4, by then primarily mail trains carrying a single coach, are discontinued. The [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] later withdrew permission to discontinue the trains because the Santa Fe did not wait the required 30 days; however, the trains were not reinstated.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-modesto-bee/128001963/ |title=Railroad Files Bid To Drop Night Trains |newspaper=The Modesto Bee |date=October 20, 1967 |page=23 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-beacon/128001994/ |title=4 Mail Trains Off Santa Fe |newspaper=The Wichita Beacon |date=October 21, 1967|page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-parsons-sun/128001908/ |title=Santa Fe Given Slap from ICC |newspaper=The Parsons Sun |date=November 1, 1967 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Currently the ''[[Southwest Chief]]'' operated by [[Amtrak]], a descendant of the famous and legendary Santa Fe's ''Chief'' trains, uses the #3 (westbound) and #4 (eastbound) numbers originally assigned to ''California Limited''.

==Equipment==
[[File:California Limited at Cajon Summit.jpg|thumb|right|The ''California Limited'' pauses at the summit of [[Cajon Pass]] in 1908.]]
A variety of steam and diesel locomotives pulled the ''California Limited''.

In 1892, the ''California Limited'' consisted of [[Passenger car (rail)#Car types|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 (entrepreneur)|Fred Harvey]] meals on rails''"
* a [[Bar car|Club car]] / [[Parlor car]]
* a full-compartment Sleeping car
* a compartment drawing-room Sleeping car
* a combination 10-compartment Sleeping car / open-end [[Observation car]]

==See also==
* [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway#Passenger service|Passenger train service]] on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="schafer">{{Schafer-American passenger train}}</ref>
}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|author=Duke, Donald |author-link=Donald Norman Duke|year=1997|title=Santa Fe: The Railroad Gateway to the American West, Volume Two|publisher=[[Golden West Books]] |location=[[San Marino, CA]]|isbn=0-87095-110-6}}
* {{cite book|author=Frailey, Fred W.|year=1974|title=A Quarter Century of Santa Fe Consists|publisher=RPC Publications |location=[[Godfrey, IL]]}}
* Patterson, Clyde Q. (2005). "The Wreck of Second No. 4: The California Limited Tragedy at Santa Anita." ''The Warbonnet'' '''11''' (2) 6–13.
* {{cite book|author=Pelouze, Richard W.|year=1997|title=Trademarks of the Santa Fe Railway|publisher=The Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society, Inc., Highlands Ranch, CO}}
* {{cite book|author=Strein, Robert|year=2001|title=Santa Fe: The Chief Way|publisher=New Mexico Magazine|isbn=0-937206-71-7|display-authors=etal}}
* {{Wayner - Car names, numbers, consists}}
* {{Zimmermann-Santa Fe}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.csrmf.org/ California State Railway Museum]
*[http://www.atsfrr.com/ Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050529075458/http://www.kingswayrc.com/gcst/roster/valley.html Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ''Verde Valley''] &mdash;  photos and short history of a ''California Limited'' Sleeping Car built in 1942.
* [https://archive.org/stream/californialimite00atch#page/n3/mode/2up Scanned copy of the 1900-1901 brochure for the California Limited.]

{{ATSF named trains}}

[[Category:Passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]
[[Category:Named passenger trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Railway services introduced in 1892]]
[[Category:Night trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Railway services discontinued in 1954]]