Overview | |
---|---|
Service type | Inter-city rail |
Status | Discontinued |
Locale | Southwestern United States / Western United States |
First service | 1926 | to 1936, 1938
Last service | 1958 |
Former operator(s) | Southern Pacific |
Route | |
Termini | New Orleans, Louisiana Los Angeles, California |
Distance travelled | 1,996 miles (3,212 km) |
Service frequency | Daily |
Train number(s) | 5 (westbound), 6 (eastbound) |
On-board services | |
Seating arrangements | Chair cars |
Sleeping arrangements | Open sections, double bedrooms, drawing rooms and compartments |
Catering facilities | Dining car |
Observation facilities | Lounge car (1952) |
The Argonaut was the Southern Pacific Railroad's secondary passenger train between New Orleans and Los Angeles via Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso, Texas; Tucson, Arizona; and Palm Springs, California. It started in 1926 on a 61 hr 35 min schedule Los Angeles to New Orleans, five hours slower than the Sunset Limited; it was discontinued west of Houston in 1958. (It was also dropped from May 1932 until May 1936.) In earlier years it carried sleeping cars from New Orleans to Yuma that would continue to San Diego via San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway, a SP subsidiary. [1] Westbound trains carried sleeping cars from New Orleans and Houston to San Antonio.
The Sunset Limited was the premiere SP train on the "Sunset Route" — and probably on the whole SP system — and the Argonaut was a slower secondary train. The Argonaut needed 50 hours between New Orleans and Los Angeles, while after 1950 the Sunset Limited needed 42. The Argonaut ran Tucson to El Paso via Deming; the westward train usually ran on the EP&SW line via Douglas. [2]
Unlike the first-class Sunset Limited the Argonaut was always a train for economy travel, carrying standard coaches and few standard sleepers, allowing people to travel at moderate prices but with full dining and sleeping car service. [3]
Another counterpart was the Imperial, which had Los Angeles and San Diego branches. The latter had a route which would twice cross the Mexico–United States border. [2]
Through its life the train had olive green and black heavyweight passenger cars, pulled by steam locomotives like the GS-1 4-8-4 or MT-4 4-8-2, sometimes even a Cab Forward 4-8-8-2. In its last years the train was pulled by EMD F7 or ALCO PA/PB diesel locomotives.
By its final year its route was shortened to have El Paso as its western terminus. [4]
The Southern Pacific was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Company and Southern Pacific Transportation Company.
The Texas Eagle is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a 1,306-mile (2,102 km) route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, the train joins the Sunset Limited in San Antonio and continues to Los Angeles via El Paso and Tucson. The combined 2,728-mile (4,390 km) route is the longest in the United States and the second-longest in the Americas, after the Canadian.
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The railroad reached the Kansas–Colorado border in 1873 and Pueblo, Colorado, in 1876. To create a demand for its services, the railroad set up real estate offices and sold farmland from the land grants that it was awarded by Congress.
The Coast Starlight is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, which has operated continuously since Amtrak's formation in 1971, was the first to offer direct service between Seattle and Los Angeles. Its name is a combination of two prior Southern Pacific (SP) trains, the Coast Daylight and the Starlight.
The Sunset Limited is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 1,995-mile (3,211 km) route between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Los Angeles, California, with major stops in Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, and Tucson. Introduced in 1894 by the Southern Pacific Railroad, it is the oldest continuously operating named train in the United States.
The Chief was a 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, soon eclipsing the Chief as the standard bearer of the Santa Fe. The Chief was discontinued in 1968 due to high operating costs, competition from airlines, and the loss of Postal Office contracts.
The Coast Daylight, originally known as the Daylight Limited, was a passenger train on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via SP's Coast Line. It was advertised as the "most beautiful passenger train in the world," carrying a particular red, orange, and black color scheme. The train operated from 1937 until 1974, being retained by Amtrak in 1971. Amtrak merged it with the Coast Starlight in 1974.
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Southern Pacific 6051 is an EMD E9 diesel locomotive. It was one of nine E9s built for SP by EMD in December 1954 for the Southern Pacific (SP). It entered service on January 4, 1955, at Los Angeles. These nine locomotives allowed the dieselization of the Coast Daylight and Lark passenger trains. The units operated with E7s, ALCO PAs, and other passenger equipped diesels as required. Assigned to the Los Angeles passenger pool for its entire career, it worked north via the Coast Line to San Francisco or east on the Sunset Route to El Paso or New Orleans. When SP and Rock Island began pooling locomotives on the Chicago to Los Angeles Golden State in 1967, it also worked those trains until they were discontinued the following year, often in mixed SP/Rock Island consists. SP 6051 is the only surviving Southern Pacific passenger-dedicated diesel locomotive, and it currently resides at the California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) in Sacramento, California. It is also used for train excursions.
Southern Pacific 2479 is one of six 4-6-2 heavy "Pacific" type steam locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1923 for the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), designated the P-10 class. No. 2479 was retired from service in 1956. The locomotive is currently undergoing restoration to operating condition by the Pacific Locomotive Association at Brightside, California.
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The Texas and New Orleans Railroad was a railroad in Texas and Louisiana. It operated 3,713 miles (5,975 km) of railroad in 1934; by 1961, 3,385 miles (5,448 km) remained when it merged with parent company Southern Pacific.
The Lark was an overnight passenger train of the Southern Pacific Company on the 470-mile (760 km) run between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It became a streamliner in 1941 and was discontinued on April 8, 1968. The Lark ran along the same route as the Coast Daylight and was often pulled by a locomotive wearing the famous Daylight paint scheme of orange, red, and black.
The Texas Chief was a passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and 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 in 1974. The train was discontinued in 1979.
Southern Pacific Railroad 2467 is a preserved 4-6-2 “Pacific” type steam locomotive. Built by Baldwin in 1921, it was used by the Southern Pacific Railroad to pull passenger trains until it was retired from service in 1956. On July 25, 1960, it was donated to the city of Oakland, California, who had it placed on display at the Harrison Railroad Park. In July 1990 a restoration began by the Friends of the 2467, which later merged into the Pacific Locomotive Association. In June 1999 it was returned to operation and made an appearance at Railfair 1999. Although serviceable, SP 2467 is currently on static display while on loan from its operator, Pacific Locomotive Association, Inc., to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California.
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The history of the Southern Pacific ("SP") stretched from 1865 to 1998.