Grand Canyon Train
During the boom of 1929
The Grand Canyon Limited was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was assigned train Nos. 23 & 24, and its route stretched between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California.
Grand Canyon Depot
the morning train
In 1901, the Santa Fe Railroad completed a 64-mile (103-km) long branch line from Williams, Arizona to "Grand Canyon Village" at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The first scheduled train of the Grand Canyon Railway to convey paying passengers arrived from Williams on September 17 of that year.
train yard in Williams
Branch line trains as well as special excursions departing from Southern California, Chicago, and Texas and traveling directly to the Rim were often schedule as a part of the Santa Fe's Southwestern promotional strategy. Finally, on June 29, 1929, service commenced on the Grand Canyon Limited, named for the railroad's most popular tourist attraction. It quickly became one of America's most celebrated vacation trains.
purchasing a ticket at the Grand Canyon Depot
Under typical operation the westward trains were split in two sections upon
arrival at Barstow, in order that one section could travel directly to San
Francisco (Oakland-Richmond) via the Tehachapi Loop, while the other continued
on to Los Angeles. During World War II, the Limited was often run in two or
three sections to transport troops between Chicago-Los Angeles and San
Francisco. In its later years, the train steadily lost passengers to the
railroad's flashier, more-modern name trains such as the Super Chief and its
streamlined passenger cars.
Text from Wikipedia
All Aboard to return to Williams!
