View source for Texas Chief

{{short description|Passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox rail service
| box_width       = 
| name            = ''Texas Chief''
| color           = FF0000
| logo            = 
| logo_width      = 
| image           = Texas Chief (15032008214).jpg
| image_width     = 300px
| caption         = The Dallas section of the ''Texas Chief'' in 1964
| type            = [[Inter-city rail]]
| status          = 
| locale          = 
| predecessor     = 
| first           = April 3, 1948
| last            = May 19, 1974
| successor       = ''[[Lone Star (Amtrak train)|Lone Star]]''
| operator        = 
| formeroperator  = {{Plainlist|
* [[Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway]] (1948–1971)
* [[Amtrak]] (1971–1974)}}
| ridership       = 
| ridership2      = 
| website         = 
| start           = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]
| stops           = 
| end             = [[Galveston]], [[Texas]]
| distance        = {{convert|1410|mi|km}} 
| journeytime     = 
| frequency       = Daily
| trainnumber     = 15 (west), 16 (east)
| line_used       = 
| class           = 
| access          = 
| seating         = Chair cars (also: ladies lounge and men's dressing room) (1950)
| sleeping        = [[open-section (sleeper)|Sections]], [[roomette]]s, double bedroom, drawing rooms, compartment
| autorack        = 
| catering        = [[Dining car]]
| observation     = [[Lounge car]]
| entertainment   = 
| baggage         = 
| otherfacilities = 
| stock           = 
| gauge           = 
| el              = 
| speed           = 
| owners          = 
| routenumber     = 
| map             = {{Texas Chief|inline=y}}
| map_state       = 
}}
The '''''Texas Chief''''' was a [[passenger train]] operated by the [[Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway]] between [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]] and [[Galveston]], [[Texas]]. It was the first Santa Fe "Chief" outside the Chicago–[[Los Angeles]] routes. The Santa Fe conveyed the ''Texas Chief'' to [[Amtrak]] in 1971, which renamed it the ''[[Lone Star (Amtrak train)|Lone Star]]'' in 1974.  The train was discontinued in 1979.

== History ==
=== Santa Fe ===
The Santa Fe introduced the ''Texas Chief'' on April 3, 1948.<ref name=NewSchedules>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38696055/the_atchison_daily_globe/| title=New Schedules (advertisement)| author=Santa Fe Railroad| newspaper=[[Atchison Globe]]| location=Atchison, Kansas| date=April 2, 1948| page=5| via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> The train competed with the ''[[Texas Eagle (MP train)|Texas Eagle]]'' ([[Missouri Pacific Railroad]]) and the ''[[Texas Special]]'' ([[Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad]]/[[St. Louis–San Francisco Railway]]). The journey from [[Chicago]] to [[Galveston]] took 26 hours 15 minutes, ten hours faster the previous service on the route.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38695922/the_ponca_city_news/| title=New Texas Chief Due Here Sunday On Its First Trip| newspaper=The Ponca City News| location=Ponca City, Oklahoma| date=April 2, 1948| page=10| via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> Service to [[Dallas, Texas]], began on December 5, 1955. Patronage was strong; historian Keith L. Bryant Jr. credited the ''Texas Chief'' with causing the withdrawal of the ''Texas Special''.<ref name="Bryant-1974-350">{{Harvnb|Bryant|1974|p=350}}</ref> The ''Texas Chief'' was the first major train outside the Chicago–Los Angeles route to carry the "Chief" moniker popularized by the ''[[Chief (train)|Chief]]'' and ''[[Super Chief]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Yenne|2005|p=93}}</ref>

=== Amtrak ===
{{seealso|Lone Star (Amtrak train)}}
The general decline in passenger traffic in the 1960s led to cutbacks on the ''Texas Chief''. Service south of [[Houston]], Texas, ended in April 1967. The Dallas [[Section (rail transport)|section]] ended on August 4, 1968.<ref name="Sanders-2006-107" />

Amtrak retained the ''Texas Chief'' between Chicago and Houston.<ref name="Sanders-2006-107">{{Harvnb|Sanders|2006|p=107}}</ref> Santa Fe was planning to discontinue the service unless it was included in the new national system.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38696140/the_corpus_christi_callertimes/| agency=Associated Press| title=Need of Texas Chief in System Stressed| newspaper=The Corpus Christi Caller-Times| location=Corpus Christi, Texas| date=December 2, 1970| page=55| via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> In 1973 Amtrak proposed re-routing the ''Texas Chief'' to serve Dallas. This new route would use the [[Southern Pacific]] between Dallas and Houston.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38695831/waco_tribuneherald/| title=No Sense Switching Chief's Path| newspaper=[[Waco Tribune-Herald]]| location=Waco, Texas| date=June 16, 1973| page=1C| via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38695879/austin_americanstatesman/| title=Dallas Included in Rerouting Of Amtrak Railroad Service| agency=Associated Press| newspaper=[[Austin American-Statesman]]| location=Austin, Texas| date=February 24, 1973| page=16| via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38696219/the_waco_newstribune/| title=No Decision on Texas Chief Route| newspaper=Waco News-Tribune| location=Waco, Texas| date=June 8, 1973| page=6| via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> Opposition from the SP killed the plan.<ref>{{Harvnb|Smith|1974|p=83}}</ref> In 1974 the Santa Fe withdrew permission to use the name due to a perceived decline in service, so Amtrak renamed it the ''[[Lone Star (Amtrak train)|Lone Star]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sanders|2006|p=109}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=RIP Super Chief |magazine=[[Railway Age]] |date=March 25, 1974 |page=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite newsletter |title=Train Name Changes: The Real Story |magazine=[[Amtrak News]] |date=June 1, 1974 |page=9}}</ref>

== Rolling stock ==
The ''Texas Chief'' debuted with new equipment, including coaches, [[Pullman Company|Pullman]] [[sleeping car]]s, a [[dining car]], and a lounge.<ref name=NewSchedules /><ref name="Bryant-1974-350" /> In 1966 the Santa Fe assigned its 10 new [[GE U28CG]] diesel locomotives to the ''Texas Chief''.<ref>{{Harvnb|EuDaly|2009|p=218}}</ref> After 1968 excess [[Hi-Level]] coaches from the ''[[El Capitan (train)|El Capitan]]'' and ''[[San Francisco Chief]]'' could be found on the ''Texas Chief'', along with [[Big Dome]] full-length [[dome lounge]]s from the discontinued ''Chief''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flick|Kogan|1999|p=22}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Wayner|1972|p=196}}</ref>

The ''Texas Chief'' featured a wide variety of equipment during its short Amtrak tenure. In addition to ex-Santa Fe equipment such as Hi-Level coaches and Big Domes, Amtrak assigned Vista-Dome dormitory-buffet-lounge-observation cars from the former ''[[California Zephyr]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sanders|2006|p=119}}</ref>

== References ==
;Footnotes
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
;Sources
* {{cite book | last=Bryant, Jr. | first=Keith L. | title=History of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]] | location=Lincoln, NE | year=1974 | isbn=0-8032-6066-0 | ref={{Harvid|Bryant|1974}} }}
* {{Complete Book of North American Railroading|display-authors=1|ref={{harvid|EuDaly|2009}} }}
* {{cite journal | last1=Flick | first1=Michael W. | last2=Kogan | first2=Dennis | title=Santa Fe's Hi-Level Passenger Cars | journal=Warbonnet | volume=5 | issue=3 | date=1999 }}
* {{Sanders-Heartland}}
* {{cite journal | last=Smith, Jr. | first=Griffin | title=Waiting For The Train | journal=[[Texas Monthly]] | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TCwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA79 | volume=2 | issue=8 | date=August 1974 | ref={{Harvid|Smith|1974}} }}
* {{Wayner - Car names, numbers, consists}}
* {{Yenne-Chiefs}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book | last=Farrington | first=S. Kip Jr. | author-link=S. Kip Farrington | title=Railroads of the Hour | year=1958 | publisher=[[Coward-McCann]] | oclc=1226241 }}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Texas Chief}}
*[http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track9/texchief194812.html 1948 timetable]

{{ATSF named trains}}
{{Former Amtrak routes}}

[[Category:Former Amtrak routes]]
[[Category:Former long distance Amtrak routes]]
[[Category:Named passenger trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Night trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Illinois]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Missouri]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Kansas]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Texas]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]
[[Category:Railway services introduced in 1948]]
[[Category:Railway services discontinued in 1974]]
[[Category:1948 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1974 disestablishments in the United States]]