View source for Challenger (train)

{{Short description|Former passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad}}
{{About||the Union Pacific locomotive|Union Pacific Challenger|the general class of locomotive|4-6-6-4}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox rail service
| name            = ''Challenger''
| color           = 
| logo            = 
| logo_width      = 
| image           = Streamline diesel powered Challenger 1953.JPG
| image_width     = 300px
| caption         = Diesel-powered, streamlined version of the Union Pacific  ''Challenger'' as it prepared to return to service in 1954
| type            = [[Inter-city rail]]
| status          = Discontinued
| locale          = [[Central United States|Central]] and [[Western United States]]
| predecessor     = 
| first           = May 1936
| last            = May 1, 1971
| successor       = ''[[Desert Wind]]''
| formeroperator  = {{plainlist|
* [[Union Pacific Railroad|UP]] and [[Chicago and North Western Railway|CNW]]
* UP and [[Southern Pacific Railroad|SP]]
* UP and [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad|MILW]]
}}
| ridership       = 
| ridership2      = 
| start           = [[Chicago, Illinois]]
| stops           = 
| end             = {{plainlist|
* [[Los Angeles, California]]
* [[Oakland, California]]
}}
| distance        = {{convert|2225|mi|km}} (Chicago-Los Angeles, 1954)
| journeytime     = 
| frequency       = 
| trainnumber     = {{plainlist|
* 107 (westbound)
* 108 (eastbound)
}}
| line_used       = [[Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)|Overland Route]]
| class           = 
| access          = 
| seating         = [[Passenger car (rail)#Coach|Reclining seat coaches]]<br />Women-Children's coach<br /> (1946)
| sleeping        = [[Sleeping car#Open-section accommodation|Open sections]]
| catering        = [[Dining car]]
| observation     = 
| entertainment   = 
| baggage         = 
| otherfacilities = 
| stock           = 
| gauge           = {{track gauge|ussg}}
| speed           = 
| owners          = 
| map             = 
| map_state       = 
}}
The '''''Challengers''''' were [[List of named passenger trains|named]] passenger trains on the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] and the [[Chicago and North Western Railway]] (which was replaced in 1955 by [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad|the Milwaukee Road]]). The economy service ran between [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], and the West Coast of the United States. The trains had full Pullman service and coach seating and were an attempt to draw [[Great Depression|Depression]]-Era riders back to the rails. Food service was advertised as "''three meals for under a dollar a day''."<ref name=UP>{{cite web|url=http://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/documents/up_pdf_nativedocs/pdf_challenger.pdf|title=The Challenger|publisher=Union Pacific Railroad|accessdate=30 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109193738/http://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/documents/up_pdf_nativedocs/pdf_challenger.pdf|archive-date=9 November 2013|url-status=dead}} ([[PDF]])</ref>

During the late 1930s the ''Challenger'' fleet was among the highest-patronized of American trains, and the best revenue producers of the UP passenger fleet. Discontinued in 1947, the ''Challenger'' name reappeared in 1954 on a streamliner. When [[Amtrak]] took over the nation's passenger service in 1971, it ended the ''Challenger'' once and for all.<ref name=UP/>

==History==
In early June 1935 the Union Pacific transferred the heavyweight [[Coach (rail)|coaches]] and tourist [[sleeping car]]s of its ''[[Los Angeles Limited]]'' to a second [[Section (rail transport)|section]], the ''Challenger''. The new train met with such success that the UP ordered 68 cars rebuilt, including 47 coaches, 16 Pullman [[sleeping car]]s, and 5 [[dining car]]s. The coaches had large reclining chairs and a new color scheme to make the interior more attractive, especially to women passengers. A lounge car was added in April of the following year.

[[File:Union Pacific Railroad Challenger sleeping car.JPG|thumb|left|A sleeping car in day mode; the berths are folded above the seats]]
In May 1936 the train commenced operation between Chicago and [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], on its own schedule. 1937 saw the UP partnering with the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] to add a train from Chicago to [[Oakland, California]], a line that would take the name ''San Francisco Challenger'' (the original then became the ''Los Angeles Challenger'').

Lounge cars were designed for single, double, and table seating. Porter service was available throughout the train, and most stations had agents on duty to assist passengers. Rare in the railroad industry, two coaches at the head of the train carried only women, one of these tailored for women with children. A registered nurse-stewardess was carried, another first. The women received $125 per month plus expenses {{USDCY|125|1936}}.<ref name=UP/>

Coach passengers had free pillows and tickets were pouched to avoid having to waken passengers during the night. Station calls were eliminated during sleeping hours, and short-haul passengers were wakened by train crews before their destinations. All bright lights were extinguished during the night (only blue lighting was used after 10:00&nbsp;p.m.). Lounge rooms at the ends of the coaches were provided for those who wished to remain awake.

Increased traffic during [[World War II]] led the UP to add the ''Furloughee Challenger'' to its roster on December&nbsp;31, 1944; the train's name was changed to ''Military Challenger'' on December&nbsp;23, 1945, and then to ''Advance Challenger'' on April&nbsp;14, 1946. The train was discontinued on June&nbsp;2, 1946; the entire ''Challenger'' fleet would be taken out of service the next year after the establishment of daily service for the entire ''City'' fleet. On December&nbsp;8, 1953, the C&NW and UP announced that a ''Challenger'' between Chicago and Los Angeles would return with all-streamlined equipment, and on January&nbsp;10 the first lightweight trainset hit the rails. The westbound ''Challenger'' completed its run in 39&nbsp;hours 30&nbsp;minutes, while eastbound ran 39&nbsp;hours 45&nbsp;minutes. Train 107 departed Chicago at 9:00&nbsp;a.m. CST and arrived Los Angeles at 10:30&nbsp;p.m. PST the next day; train 108 left L.A. at 2:00&nbsp;p.m. PST and arrived Chicago 7:45 CST on the morning of the second day. In February 1955 [[dome car|dome coaches]] were added to the ''Challenger'', the first on any UP train.

Disagreement with CNW over divisions of passenger revenues led UP to switch to the [[Milwaukee Road]] (MILW) for service to Chicago's [[Union Station (Chicago)|Union Station]] (the trains had terminated at [[Ogilvie Transportation Center|North Western Station]]) beginning November 1955. The Milwaukee Road embarked upon a repainting program and all its passenger rolling stock received Union Pacific's ''Armour Yellow'' and ''Harbor Mist Gray'' colors (the MILW retained its traditional orange-and-black livery for freight units). The Milwaukee Road received that portion of the operating revenue generated between Omaha and Chicago, and furnished 25% of the equipment used on the line.

The ''Challenger'' was combined between Chicago and Omaha with the Milwaukee Road's ''[[Midwest Hiawatha]]'' and appeared in timetables as the ''Challenger-Midwest Hiawatha'';<ref name="murray">{{cite book | title=The Milwaukee Road | first=Tom | last=Murray | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iR2tl2StrpkC | publisher=[[Voyageur Press]] | year=2005| isbn=9780760320723 }}</ref>{{rp|91–92}} the departure from Los Angeles switched to 10&nbsp;PM to allow a day trip east of Omaha. This ended in Spring 1956 when, in a cost-cutting measure, the ''Challenger'' and the [[City of Los Angeles (train)|''City of Los Angeles'']] were combined on the ''City of Los Angeles'' schedule. The ''Challenger'' reappeared as a separate train (with its morning departure from Chicago and 2&nbsp;PM departure from Los Angeles) in the summer and holiday seasons of 1957 and 1958, but after summer 1960 it ran on the ''City of Los Angeles'' schedule year-round.

Further consolidations occurred in the 1960s and by 1970 the ''Challenger'', ''[[City of Denver (train)|City of Denver]]'', ''City of Los Angeles'', ''[[City of Portland (train)|City of Portland]]'', and ''[[City of San Francisco (train)|City of San Francisco]]'' were combined into one giant train across Wyoming, called by some the "City of Everywhere".{{sfn|Frailey|1998|p=25}}

The dome diners were removed from the ''City of Portland'' in 1968 and the ''City of Los Angeles'' by 1970,{{sfn|Frailey|1998|p=31}} the dome coaches and dome lounge cars remained until the coming of Amtrak. Amtrak discontinued all UP trains, save for a modified ''City of San Francisco'' (via BN to Denver, thence via UP's Overland Route to Ogden and SP to Oakland/San Francisco), when it assumed long-distance passenger rail service throughout the United States on May&nbsp;1, 1971.

===Timeline===
* May 1936: The ''Challenger'' makes its first run between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.
* 1937: A second train, the ''[[San Francisco Challenger]]'', with service between Chicago and [[Oakland, California]] is added to the lineup in cooperation with the Southern Pacific Railroad; the original train is now designated as the ''Los Angeles Challenger''.
* November&nbsp;8, 1944: The westward ''San Francisco Challenger'' jumps the tracks on a curve at 5:15&nbsp;a.m. and piles into a ditch three miles west of [[Colfax, California]]. Nine people are killed and 93 injured.
* 1947: The ''Challenger'' fleet is withdrawn from service.
* October&nbsp;19, 1947: ''San Francisco Challenger'' is discontinued when renamed ''Gold Coast''
* December&nbsp;8, 1953: The CNW / UP announces that the ''Challenger'' service between Chicago and Los Angeles will resume, and will employ all streamlined equipment.
* January&nbsp;10, 1954: The first lightweight ''Challenger'' enters service.
* February 1955: a dome coach is added to the ''Challenger''; a dome lounge and dome diner were added to the ''City of Los Angeles'' and ''City of Portland''.
* November 1955: The Milwaukee Road assumes operation of the ''Challenger'' between [[Council Bluffs, Iowa]] and Chicago, operating out of Union Station.
* 1956: The ''Challenger'' and ''City of Los Angeles'' are combined during the off-season.
* 1970: Dome diners are removed from all UP passenger trains, including the ''Challenger''. The ''Challenger'' is combined with the entire ''City'' fleet into one train.
* May&nbsp;1, 1971: UP ends the ''Challenger'' train service as [[Amtrak]] takes over long-distance passenger operations in the [[United States]].

==Equipment==

The consist of the last train No. 107 to travel over the CNW (westbound) on October&nbsp;29, 1955 included:

* [[EMD E8]]A Locomotive CNW #5029B
* [[Baggage car|Baggage]] UP #5648
* [[Sleeping Car|Sleeper]] UP ''Alpine View'' (14 sections)
* [[Pacific-series (railcar)|Pacific-series]] sleeper UP ''Pacific Beauty'' (10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms)
* [[Dining car|Diner]] (48 seats) CNW #6956
* [[Coach (rail)|Coach]] (48 seats) CNW #3418
* Coach (44 seats) UP #5486
* [[Dome car|Dome]]-Coach UP #7000
* Coach (44 seats) UP #5470

The last train No. 108 over the CNW (eastbound) consisted of:
[[File:Union Pacific Railroad Challenger club lounge.JPG|thumb|The ''Challenger'' lounge car {{circa|1950s}}]]
* 2-[[EMD E-unit]] Locomotives (UP pair replaced with CNW units at Omaha)
* [[Baggage car|Baggage]] UP #5640
* [[Sleeping Car|Sleeper]] UP ''Alpine Camp'' (14 sections)
* [[Pacific-series (railcar)|Pacific-series]] sleeper UP ''Pacific Mist'' (10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms)
* 2-unit (articulated) Dormitory-Kitchen-[[Dining car|Diner]] (48 seats) UP #5101 (taken off at Omaha)
* [[Lounge car]] UP #1517 (taken off at Omaha)
* Coach (44 seats) UP #5484 (taken off at Omaha)
* [[Dining car|Diner]] (48 seats) CNW #6956 (taken on at Omaha)
* [[Dome car|Dome]]-Coach UP #7002
* Coach (44 seats) UP #5478

==Dining aboard the ''Challenger''==
[[File:Union Pacific Railroad Challenger dining car.JPG|thumb|The diner, 1930s]]
The meals served in the ''Challenger''{{'}}s dining cars, while basic (definitely not the first-class fare found aboard the UP's streamliners, where a single meal might cost as much as $1.25) were ample, served on distinctive china and in portions large enough to satisfy even the heartiest traveler's appetite. Even as late as 1954 the meal selections were priced with the budget-conscious traveler in mind: breakfast cost 65¢, lunch was 85¢, and dinner could be had for $1.00.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}

==Other railroad uses of the name ''Challenger''==
The ''Challenger'' name has also been applied to the [[4-6-6-4]] type steam-driven [[locomotive]]s, the first of which were designed by the UP and built by the [[American Locomotive Company]] between 1936 and 1943. Best known among these is [[Union Pacific 3985]], one of 105 ''Challengers'' built for the railroad. Originally a part of the Union Pacific Heritage Fleet, it was taken out of service in 2010 and subsequently retired in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Keefe|first=Kevin|title=The Challenger at high tide|url=http://cs.trains.com/ctr/b/mileposts/archive/2020/01/17/the-challenger-at-high-tide.aspx|work=Classic Trains}}</ref> In November 2022, it was donated to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America, where it is now being restored to operational condition.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Railroading Heritage of Midwest America - official website|url=https://rrhma.com/|publisher=Railroading Heritage of Midwest America|access-date=April 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428204715/https://rrhma.com/|archive-date=April 28, 2022}}</ref><ref name="3985Donated">{{Cite web|last=Glischinski|first=Steve|date=April 28, 2022|title=Railroading Heritage of Midwest America, Union Pacific agree to donation of Challenger, other locomotives, cars|url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/railroading-heritage-of-midwest-america-union-pacific-agree-to-donation-of-challenger-other-locomotives-cars/|work=Trains|publisher=Kalmbach Publishing|access-date=April 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428191606/https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/railroading-heritage-of-midwest-america-union-pacific-agree-to-donation-of-challenger-other-locomotives-cars/|archive-date=April 28, 2022}}</ref>

The [[dome car]] now called ''Challenger'' was built in 1958 by [[Pullman Company|Pullman-Standard]] as UP dome coach #7015, the last such car built. It was reacquired by Union Pacific in 1989 and today operates as part of employee and other special trains.<ref name=UP/>

==See also==
* [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad#Passenger train service|Passenger train service]] on the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
* [[Chicago and North Western Railway#Passenger train service|Passenger train service]] on the Chicago and North Western Railway
* [[Southern Pacific Railroad#Passenger train service|Passenger train service]] on the Southern Pacific Railroad
* [[Union Pacific Railroad#Passenger service|Passenger train service]] on the Union Pacific Railroad

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{cite book| last=Frailey| first=Fred W.| year=1998| title=Twilight of the Great Trains| location=Waukesha, WI| publisher=Kalmbach Publishing| isbn=0-89024-178-3| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/twilightofgreatt0000frai}}
* {{Schafer-Classic}}
* {{cite journal|title=Union Pacific/Milwaukee Road timetables|journal=The Official Guide of the Railways|volume=103|issue=11|date=April 1971|publisher=National Railway Publication Company}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|author=Dorin, Patrick C.|title=Union Pacific's Challenger: A Distinctive Passenger Train '35-'71|publisher=TLC Publishing, Lynchburg, VA|year=2002|isbn=1-883089-64-6}}
* {{Solomon-UP}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060314102552/http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/histequp/domcoach.shtml The ''Challenger''] at the [http://www.up.com Union Pacific Railroad's] official website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060617232613/http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/001/138fddcg.asp Passenger trains operating on the eve of Amtrak]

{{UP Passenger}}
{{CNW named trains}}
{{Milwaukee Road named trains}}
{{SP named trains}}

[[Category:Passenger trains of the Union Pacific Railroad]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Chicago and North Western Railway]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Milwaukee Road]]
[[Category:Named passenger trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Railway services introduced in 1936]]
[[Category:Night trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Railway services discontinued in 1971]]

[[id:Union Pacific 3985]]