 An early-20th-century postcard showing thePacific Limited (right) atOakland Long Wharf. | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Inter-city rail |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Locale | Central andWestern United States |
| First service | 1913 |
| Last service | 1947 |
| Former operator(s) | |
| Route | |
| Termini | Chicago, Illinois *Los Angeles, California |
| Distance travelled | 785 miles (1,263 km) (1946) (Chicago - Los Angeles, via Salt Lake City) |
| Service frequency | Daily |
| Train number(s) |
|
| On-board services | |
| Seating arrangements | Reclining seat coaches (1946) |
| Sleeping arrangements | Open sections,double bedrooms,drawing rooms |
| Catering facilities | Dining car |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
ThePacific Limited was an American namedpassenger train which from 1913 to 1947 was jointly operated by three railroads on theOverland Route betweenPortland, Oregon,Oakland, California,Los Angeles, California andChicago.[1] TheSouthern Pacific Railroad (SP) handled the train west ofOgden, Utah, theUnion Pacific Railroad (UP) between Ogden andOmaha, Nebraska, and east of theMissouri River to Chicago it was operated at different times by theChicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (MILW) or theChicago and North Western Railway (CNW).[2] While the train was advertised as going to San Francisco, it actually went to Oakland. Passengers completed the trip by ferry fromOakland Pier to theSan Francisco Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street in San Francisco.[3]
ThePacific Limited first ran on 3 April 1913 as train numbers 19 and 20 carrying standard and touristsleeping cars on a 68-hour trip between San Francisco and Chicago over the SP, the UP, and the MILW railroads. Trains ran over the CNW east of Omaha rather than the MILW underUnited States Railroad Administration (USRA) control from 2 June 1918 to 14 November 1920. Routing east of Omaha returned to the CNW as a result ofGreat Depression service reductions in September 1930.Pacific Limited train numbers were changed to 20 and 21 on 11 December 1932, to 10 and 21 on 1 April 1933, to 14 and 21 on 1 April 1935, and to 21 and 22 on 7 June 1942. ThePacific Limited operated briefly as thePacific after 10 July 1947.[2]
Service over the UP and CNW was cancelled on 1 October 1947 and replaced by the SPMail handlingbaggage,mail, andexpress cars between Oakland andOgden, Utah with a singlecoach for local passengers.[2]
Upon expiration of USRA control on 14 November 1920, theWabash Railroad initiated theSaint Louis Express as train numbers 21 and 22 carrying coaches with standard and tourist sleeping cars betweenSt. Louis and the Overland Route over which UP and SP took those trains to and from San Francisco. Six years later theSaint Louis Express was consolidated with thePacific Limited on the Overland Route.[4]
Cancellation of theSaint Louis Express on 14 November 1926 coincided with a faster schedule requiring extra fare for theOverland Limited. TheGold Coast began operating over the same Overland Route on the old slower schedule as trains 27 and 28. TheGold Coast was temporarily discontinued on 14 June 1931 as part of the Great Depression service reductions, but reappeared as train numbers 23 and 24 on 1 October 1947 with a 58.5-hour schedule for first class and coach passengers between San Francisco and Chicago replacing both thePacific Limited and theSan Francisco Challenger. TheGold Coast was discontinued on 9 January 1955.[2]
Passenger trains of theSouthern Pacific | ||
|---|---|---|
| Named trains |  | |
| Daylights | ||
| Overland Route | ||
Passenger trains of theMilwaukee Road | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hiawathas |  | |
| Overland Route | ||
| Others | ||
| Suburban service | ||
| Rolling stock | ||