Hassayampa Flyer

Last updated

Hassayampa Flyer
Overview
Service type Passenger rail
StatusDiscontinued
Locale Arizona
Predecessor Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway
First service1955 (1955)
Last service1969 (1969)
Former operator(s) Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Route
Termini Ash Fork (1955–1961)
Williams Junction (1961–1968)
Phoenix
Train number(s)42 (Phoenix–Ash Fork/Williams Junction)
47 (Ash Fork/Williams Junction–Phoenix)
On-board services
Sleeping arrangementsSleeping car (during summer months only)
Catering facilitiesDiner-lounge car
Baggage facilitiesBaggage car
Route map
BSicon CONTg@G.svg
BSicon INT.svg
0
Williams Junction
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon ABZgr.svg
BSicon pHST.svg
3.6
Williams
BSicon HST.svg
29.9
Ash Fork
terminus
until c.1960
BSicon exCONTgq.svg
BSicon eABZgr.svg
BSicon pHST.svg
51.2
Drake
BSicon pHST.svg
96.1
Skull Valley
BSicon pHST.svg
102.3
Kirkland
BSicon pHST.svg
117.0
Hillsdale
BSicon pHST.svg
125.2
Date
BSicon pHST.svg
138.7
Congress
BSicon HST.svg
155.1
Wickensburg
BSicon pHST.svg
165.8
Castle Hot Springs
BSicon BHF(L)g.svg
192.2
Marinette
BSicon pHST.svg
195.4
Peoria
BSicon HST.svg
199.7
Glendale
BSicon KINTe.svg
209.2
Phoenix

The Hassayampa Flyer, also known as the Hassayampa Chief, was a passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway between Ash Fork (later Williams Junction) and Phoenix in Arizona, United States.

Contents

History

In 1955, the Santa Fe reduced its passenger operations on the Peavine route to a single daily train in either direction. Officially designated as train 42 (northbound) and train 47 (southbound), the service became known unofficially as the Hassayampa Flyer or the Hassayampa Chief, after the nearby Hassayampa River. The northern terminus was originally Ash Fork, to connect passengers from Phoenix with transcontinental trains between Chicago and the West Coast on the Southern Transcon main line. [1]

In 1960, the Santa Fe re-routed the Southern Transcon (via the Crookton Cutoff) to avoid the sharp curves and steep gradients between Williams and Ash Fork. [2] The new 44-mile (71 km) stretch of railroad took the main line out of the downtown depots in both towns, with a freshly-constructed station constructed at Williams Junction serving as the new northern terminus for the Hassayampa Flyer. [3]

The Santa Fe had already won planning approval for a further amendment to the route of the Peavine, creating a new cutoff that bypassed a tortuous section of track between Prescott and Skull Valley. Works began in 1961 and were completed the following year, leaving Prescott without any direct passenger services. A branch line to the town remained, but it was abandoned before the end of 1962. With passenger numbers on the route dwindling, through Pullman cars from Chicago to Phoenix were terminated in October 1967 and later that year the Santa Fe withdrew the Hassayampa Flyer from service. The Interstate Commerce Commission, the railroad regulatory body, ordered the train reinstated, but only a handful of passengers continued to use it. In April 1969, it was permanently removed from the timetable. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Schweiterman, Joseph P (2004). When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment, Volume 2. Truman State University Press. pp. 9, 10. ISBN   978-1-9311-1214-7.
  2. Trimble, Marshall (2008). Ash Fork. Arcadia Publishing. p. 8. ISBN   978-0-7385-4832-6.
  3. Gerber, Rudy J (1995). The Railroad and the Canyon. Pelican Publishing Company. p. 99. ISBN   978-1-4556-1086-0.