Santa Fe Super Chief

The Santa Fe Super Chief was the flagship passenger line of the AT&SF (Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe), nicknamed the "The Train of the stars" after the various celebrities which it carried from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California.

An AT&SF being serviced in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1943

The Super Chief is not to be mistaken with the Chief, the Super Chief was dieselized before the Chief, other than that, however, I have not been able to find any other differences between the two trains.

Super Chief after breaking through a barrier at Los Angeles Union Station, 1948

The Super Chief was the first all diesel-powered, all-Pullman sleeper train in America. And it overshadowed the Chief as Santa Fe's flagship passenger train. The train's fares cost an extra $10.


It left Dearborn Station in Chicago, IL on its maiden voyage on May 12th, 1936. Prior to scheduled service, which would begin in 1937, a lightweight version of the train traveled from Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA via recently upgraded tracks, with a total travel time of approx. 37 Hours, with an average speed of 60MPH and a top speed of 100MPH.

6-engine headed train

Initially, only one Super Chief trainset was in service, running once a week between Chicago, IL and Los Angeles, CA but more trainsets were eventually ordered in 1938, and the train began running twice weekly, starting daily service in 1948.

The City of Los Angeles run by Chicago and Northwestern Railway and the Union Pacific, and to a lesser extent the Golden state, run by the Rock Island and Southern Pacific were notable competitors to the Super Chief.

1951 Super Chief Advertisement.

It was one of the last American trains to have an All-Pullman consist, The Broadway Limited run by The Pennsylvania Railroad and the Central Limited run by the Illinois Central lasted longer, with the Super Chief ending service along with the rest of Sant Fe's Passenger services on May 1, 1971.

After May 1, 1971, Amtrak used the same name for their own train, officially ending the 35-year long run of the Super Chief, although Amtrak would run their train for three more years.

Source: Super Chief Wikipedia