6-773: The Grand Canyon Limited was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway . It was train Nos. 23 & 24 between Chicago , Illinois , and Los Angeles , California . In 1901 the Santa Fe Railroad completed a 64-mile (103-km) branch from Williams, Arizona , to "Grand Canyon Village" at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park . The first scheduled train arrived from Williams on September 17 of that year; branch line trains and excursions from Southern California , Chicago, and Texas could run directly to
12-651: The Limited often ran in two or three sections carrying troops. In later years the train lost passengers to the railroad's newer trains such as the Super Chief with its streamlined cars. The Grand Canyon train lost its name in early 1968 when the railway petitioned the ICC to drop service to Grand Canyon National Park ; the train would continue as Trains 23 and 24 until the May 1, 1971, handover of all passenger service to Amtrak . While
18-604: The Rim. On June 29, 1929, service commenced on the Grand Canyon Limited , which became a celebrated vacation train. The westward train split at Barstow , one section running to San Francisco ( Oakland - Richmond ) via the Tehachapi Loop while the other continued to Los Angeles. In 1938 it began running via Amarillo instead of La Junta; in 1950 it became two trains west of Kansas City, one by each route. During World War II
24-658: The Santa Fe continued this scheduling model in order to more efficiently deliver mail parcels. However, when the Post Office abruptly pulled its mail contracts in 1967, the Grand Canyon became a particularly large albatross around the Santa Fe's neck, especially when the ICC turned down requests to withdraw the train. A variety of steam- and diesel-powered locomotives pulled the Grand Canyon Limited . The original rolling stock delivered for
30-466: The Santa Fe had been willing to continue operating its famed Chiefs and the San Diegan , the prospect of having to operate its less successful routes until at least 1976 led it to hand its passenger routes to Amtrak. The Grand Canyon had been an anachronism for some time. It remained a mostly whistle stop train long after the automobile made such scheduling obsolete for passenger service. Despite this,
36-458: The second-class Grand Canyon Limited was heavyweight cars built by Pullman-Standard . Train length varied; the train often ran in two or three sections during the summer months. Near the end of its career, in 1968, a typical consist from Chicago to Kansas City was: List of named passenger trains In the history of rail transport , dating back to the 19th century, there have been hundreds of named passenger trains . The following
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