![]() An EMD SDP45 and two FP7s lead the Cascade into Berkeley, California, in April 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Service type | Inter-city rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Discontinued | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Northern California and Oregon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First service | April 17, 1927 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last service | April 30, 1971 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Successor | Coast Starlight | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former operator(s) | Southern Pacific | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | Oakland, California Portland, Oregon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stops | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Cascade was a passenger train of the Southern Pacific on its route between Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon, with a sleeping car to Seattle, Washington. The Southern Pacific started the train on April 17, 1927, soon after the opening of its Cascade Line between Black Butte, California, and Springfield, Oregon.
At first the train offered first class service and a $3.00 extra fare; it became an all-Pullman train in 1937. On August 13, 1950, the Cascade became a streamlined coach/Pullman train with a triple-unit diner and cars painted in two shades of gray. The next 21 years saw a decline. The Seattle sleeper was discontinued in 1966, the triple-unit diner came off a year later. By 1970 the train was down to five or six cars and ran only three days per week. Amtrak would take over the Cascade on May 1, 1971, and would combine it with the San Francisco–Los Angeles Coast Daylight routing the train through Oakland and eventually renaming it the Coast Starlight . [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
The Shasta Route into Oregon was completed on December 17, 1887, connecting California points to Portland, Seattle, and the Pacific Northwest. The Oregon and California Express was the first passenger service; it later gained fame as the Shasta Limited. But the route over the Siskiyou Mountains of Southern Oregon was difficult with steep grades, sharp curves, and subject to landslides and washouts. During the reign of Edward H. Harriman Southern Pacific began building a better route via Klamath Falls. Government involvement in the affairs of Harriman and the SP would delay completion for 18 years. [1]
Trains began using the new Natron Cutoff or Cascade Line in 1926, but passenger service began several months later after the old Weed Lumber Company line south of Grass Lake was replaced. The Cascade would offer better service than the Shasta Limited (which in 1926 was scheduled 27 hours Portland to San Francisco). At first the train had a $3.00 extra fare and numbers 17 and 18. [1]
This train would survive the depression through consolidations and a change of numbers (19 and 20). The extra fare was dropped. With the better economy Southern Pacific re-equipped the Cascade and by 1937 it was an all-Pullman train with numbers 23 and 24 and a schedule under 20 hours. [1]
For three years during World War II the Cascade was combined with the Beaver . After the war the train got new equipment and a faster schedule. On June 5, 1950, the first streamlined Pullman was placed in service on the route. Southern Pacific was also experimenting with diesel power. The result would be the greatest presentation of this train; a faster, dieselized, streamlined, all-Pullman, daily overnight service second-to-none.
The streamlined Cascade became the SP's overnight train between Oakland and Portland with through sleeping cars to and from Seattle. It was the second all room sleeping car train along the west coast. The new thirteen car Pullman Standard built consists were initially powered by A-B-B sets of EMD E7 diesels but were replaced in weeks by A-B-A sets of ALCO PA passenger diesels painted in daylight colors. The Cascade cars painted in the two tone Gray of the Lark and San Francisco Overland trains. The Southern Pacific streamlined Cascade began service on August 13, 1950, and was an all Pullman train for the shortest length of time, for beginning October 11, 1950, the Cascade began to carry coaches between Oakland and Portland. The through sleepers to Seattle numbered four and traveled north from Portland in the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) pool train to Seattle Union Station. Upon arrival in Seattle the four sleeping cars were switched out and transferred to the Northern Pacific Railway (NP) on the other side of Fourth Avenue viaduct at the King Street Station. The next morning these four through sleeping cars would depart Seattle in the NP pool train and transfer to the Cascade that afternoon in Portland for the trip to Oakland.
Sleeping cars 9118, 9031, 9032 and 9301 originated in Seattle and were carried by NP pool train from there to Portland.
Sleeping cars 9119, 9034, 9035 and 9303 were Oakland – Seattle cars forwarded in the UP pool train to Seattle. After arrival in Seattle at Union Station they were turned over to the NP under the 4th Ave. viaduct and went to the NP-GN coach yard for cleaning and servicing for the next mornings departure in the NP pool train from King Street Station to Portland.
The streamlined Cascade was an all – Pullman train only until October 10, 1950, when coaches were added to the train sets. Coaches 2425 and 2431 operated in one consist and 2433 and 2437 operated in the other consist. No coaches were through cars to Seattle; all Coach travelers crossed the platform in Portland to the waiting UP pool train northbound to Seattle. Southbound coach passengers from Seattle arrived in Portland on the NP pool train and again crossed the platform to the waiting Cascade.
Through sleeping car service to and from Seattle ended January 9, 1966. The triple-unit diner came off a year later. Southern Pacific tried to replace it with an automat service but the Oregon Public Utility Commission balked, forcing the railroad to place a regular diner on the train. The two-tone gray colors were already gone, replaced by SP's new passenger color scheme of Sunset -style aluminum mist with red letterboard. Yellow sleeping cars from the City of San Francisco and San Francisco Overland trains were also seen in the nightly consist. By 1970, after trying for two years to discontinue the service, Southern Pacific was allowed to trim the Cascade to triweekly. By this time, the train had a later departure time allowing daylight viewing of the Willamette Valley and part of the Cascade Mountains. [5]
A quasi-government agency, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation – or Amtrak – took over the remains of America's passenger train system on May 1, 1971. The Cascade was included but was combined with the San Francisco to Los Angeles Coast Daylight. With service rerouted through Oakland, the train was rechristened as the Coast Starlight. It continued to run triweekly north of Oakland, but its popularity would lead to restoration of daily service in 1973.
The Broadway Limited was a passenger train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) between New York City and Chicago. It operated from 1912 to 1995. It was the Pennsylvania's premier train, competing directly with the New York Central Railroad's 20th Century Limited. The Broadway Limited continued operating after the formation of Penn Central (PC) in February 1968, one of the few long-distance trains to do so. PC conveyed the train to Amtrak in 1971, who operated it until 1995. The train's name referred not to Broadway in Manhattan, but rather to the "broad way" of PRR's four-track right-of-way along the majority of its route.
The Super Chief was one of the named passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The then-modern streamliner was touted in its heyday as "The Train of the Stars" because it often carried celebrities between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.
The City of Denver was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado. It operated between 1936 and 1971. From 1936–1955 the Chicago and North Western Railway handled the train east of Omaha, Nebraska; the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad handled it thereafter. The train was the fastest long-distance train in the United States when it debuted in 1936, covering 1,048 miles (1,687 km) in 16 hours. For almost its entire career its principal competitor was the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's Denver Zephyr. When Amtrak assumed operation of most intercity trains in the United States in 1971, it discontinued the City of Denver, preferring to use the Burlington's route between Chicago and Denver.
The City of Los Angeles was a streamlined passenger train between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California via Omaha, Nebraska, and Ogden, Utah. Between Omaha and Los Angeles it ran on the Union Pacific Railroad; east of Omaha it ran on the Chicago and North Western Railway until October 1955 and on the Milwaukee Road thereafter. The train had number 103 westbound and number 104 eastbound.
The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10001 was a diesel-electric streamlined train built in 1934 by Pullman-Standard with a power system developed by General Motors Electro-Motive Corporation using a Winton 201A Diesel engine and General Electric generator, control equipment and traction motors. It was the UP's second streamliner after the M-10000, their first equipped with a diesel engine and was a longer train than its three-car predecessor. All cars were articulated—trucks were shared between each car. It was delivered on October 2, 1934, and was used for display, test and record-setting runs for the next two months before being returned to Pullman-Standard for an increase in power and capacity, following which it was placed into service as the City of Portland train. It has been nicknamed "The Banana".
The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10002 was a diesel-electric streamliner train built in 1936 by Pullman-Standard, with prime movers from the Winton Engine division of General Motors Corporation and General Electric generator, control equipment and traction motors. It was the UP's third streamliner, and the last turret-cab streamliner.
The North Coast Limited was a named passenger train operated by the Northern Pacific Railway between Chicago and Seattle via Bismarck, North Dakota. It started on April 29, 1900, and continued as a Burlington Northern Railroad train after the merger on March 2, 1970 with Great Northern Railway and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The next year, it ceased operations after the trains which left their originating stations on April 30, 1971, the day before Amtrak began service, arrived at their destinations.
The Chief was an American 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, after the Super Chief was relaunched in 1948 with daily departures from LA and Chicago it gradually eclipsed the Chief as the standard bearer of the Santa Fe because of its timetable oriented to the Raton Pass transit. For some the Chief and San Francisco Chief as deluxe integrated trains with both Pullman sleepers and fully reclining coach seating with all facilities; lounges and pleasure domes, available to all passengers were at least equal flagships better suited to the business and executive market. From the mid 1960s the super Chief was only a small entirely separate section of the El Capitan seated vista train, the El Capitan passengers having no access to the Super Chiefs expensive eateries and bars which selling point was exclusion and service. 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.
The Golden State was a named passenger train between Chicago and Los Angeles from 1902–1968 on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad and the Southern Pacific Company (SP) and predecessors. It was named for California, the “Golden State”.
The City of San Francisco was a streamlined through passenger train which ran from 1936 to 1971 on the Overland Route between Chicago, Illinois and Oakland, California, with a ferry connection on to San Francisco. It was owned and operated jointly by the Chicago and North Western Railway (1936–55), Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (1955–71), the Union Pacific Railroad, and the Southern Pacific Railroad. It provided premium extra fare service from Chicago to San Francisco when introduced in 1936 with a running time of 39 hours and 45 minutes each way.
The Slumbercoach is an 85-foot-long, 24 single room, eight double room streamlined sleeping car. Built in 1956 by the Budd Company for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad for service on the Denver Zephyr, subsequent orders were placed in 1958 and 1959 by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Missouri Pacific Railroad for the Texas Eagle/National Limited, then in 1959 by the Northern Pacific Railway for its North Coast Limited and also the New York Central Railroad for use on the 20th Century Limited.
The Challengers were named passenger trains on the Union Pacific Railroad and the Chicago and North Western Railway. 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 Depression-Era riders back to the rails. Food service was advertised as "three meals for under a dollar a day."
The City of St. Louis was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Wabash Railroad between St. Louis, Missouri, and Los Angeles, California. It operated from 1946 to 1971.
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 Arizona Limited was an extra-fare streamliner train operated by the Southern Pacific and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad from 1940 until 1942 on the Golden State route from Chicago, Illinois, to Phoenix, Arizona, via Tucumcari, New Mexico. It was aimed at travelers wanting to get away from winter weather conditions. Like the Santa Fe Chief, the Arizona Limited was streamlined in steam on the Southern Pacific. The Rock Island used both pre-war EMD E6 and Alco-GE DL103b, DL-105, and DL-107 locomotives out of Chicago. These had the maroon and silver "Rocket" liveries. The train itself was painted in the pre-war Pullman two-tone gray livery.
The San Joaquin Daylight was a Southern Pacific passenger train inaugurated between Los Angeles and San Francisco's Oakland Pier by way of the San Joaquin Valley and Tehachapi Pass on July 4, 1941. Travel times were between 12 hours (1970) and 14 hours (1944). It operated until the advent of Amtrak in 1971.
The Winnipeg Limited was an overnight named passenger train operated by the Great Northern Railway 457 miles (735 km) between St. Paul-Minneapolis and Winnipeg, Manitoba. It competed on the route with the overnight Winnipeger of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway, and the Northern Pacific Railway's unnamed daytime passenger train. The service was truncated to run between Manitoba and Grand Forks after February 2, 1970.
The Shasta Daylight was a Southern Pacific Railroad passenger train between Oakland Pier in Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon. It started on July 10, 1949, and was SP's third "Daylight" streamliner; it had a fast 15-hour-30-minute schedule in either direction for the 713-mile (1,147 km) trip through some of the most beautiful mountain scenery of any train in North America. The Shasta Daylight replaced heavyweight trains on the same route that had taken nearly a day and night to complete the run. The Shasta Daylight was the first diesel powered Daylight and the only Daylight to run beyond California. The scenic route of the Shasta Daylight passed its namesake Mount Shasta in daylight hours.
The Gulf Coast Rebel was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad (GM&O) between St. Louis, Missouri and Mobile, Alabama. It operated from 1940 to 1958. Unlike the similarly named Rebels, the Gulf Coast Rebel used conventional locomotive-pulled equipment. The train was the last GM&O service south of St. Louis, Missouri when it was discontinued in 1958.