City of Los Angeles
Encyclopedia
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, via Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, and Ogden, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
. Between Omaha and Los Angeles it ran on the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
; east of Omaha it ran on the Chicago and North Western Railway
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
until October 1955 and on the Milwaukee Road thereafter. The train had number 103 westbound and number 104 eastbound.
This train was the top-of-the-line for UP, which marketed it as a direct competitor to the Super Chief
Super Chief
The Super Chief was one of the named passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was often referred to as "The Train of the Stars" because of the many celebrities who traveled on the streamliner between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California.The Super...
, a streamlined passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
, and the Golden State, a streamlined passenger train jointly operated by the Rock Island
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
and Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
railroads. As with the City of Los Angeles, many of the train's cars bore the names of locales in and around its namkesake city.
CNW / UP used one of only two sets of EMC E2 locomotives ever built as motive power for the train beginning in 1937. The UP scored a public relations coup in the mid-1950s when the City of Los Angeles was prominently featured in two consecutive episodes of the then popular television series I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
. In 1955 the Milwaukee Road assumed the service, replacing the Chicago and North Western between Chicago and Omaha. Actor Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
often traveled on this train and even did a full page print ad for it that appeared in the National Geographic magazine. In a cost-cutting move, the City of Los Angeles was combined with the City of San Francisco in 1960.
Timeline
- May 15, 1936: The City of Los Angeles makes its first run between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California. One trainset, so leaves each terminal five times a month.
- 1938: 14-car train powered by E2s enters service alongside the older trainset, allowing departures ten times a month.
- 1941: New train powered by E6s enters service, replacing the articulated trainset; frequency remains ten departures per month. The Hollywood, a lounge car built for use on the City of Los Angeles, is the first passenger car whose interior is built entirely out of synthetic materials, which featured the newly-invented materials formica (plastic)Formica (plastic)Formica is a brand of composite materials manufactured by the Formica Corporation now based in Newcastle, Tyne & Wear, a division of the New Zealand company Fletcher Building. In common use, the term refers to the company's classic product, a heat-resistant, wipe-clean, plastic laminate of paper or...
and naugahydeNaugahydeNaugahyde is an American brand of artificial leather . Naugahyde is a composite of a knit fabric backing and polyvinyl chloride plastic coating. It was developed by United States Rubber Company, and is now manufactured and sold by the Uniroyal Engineered Products division of Michelin...
. - 1947: The City of Los Angeles begins running daily.
- 1955: Dome cars are added to the City of Los Angeles. The Milwaukee Road takes over operation of the City of Los Angeles from the Chicago and North Western RailwayChicago and North Western RailwayThe Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
between Chicago and Omaha. - 1956: The Challenger and the City of Los Angeles are combined into a single train, operated on the City of Los Angeles schedule. (The Challenger operated on its own schedule during a couple of summers thereafter.)
- 1970: Dome dining cars retired and replaced with standard flat top cars.
- May 1, 1971: AmtrakAmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
takes over long-distance passenger operations in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. - May 2, 1971: UP-operated long-distance rail service ends when the City of Los Angeles arrives at Los Angeles Union Station.
In 1979 Amtrak created the Desert Wind
Desert Wind
Desert Wind was a passenger train route operated by Amtrak from 1979 to 1997. When it first entered service, it ran from Los Angeles, California to Ogden, Utah passing through Salt Lake City and Las Vegas...
, running mostly on the City of LA route from Los Angeles to Ogden, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
where it connected to the Oakland-Chicago train. (After a year or two some of its cars ran through to Chicago.) The Desert Wind ceased operation in 1997.
Other railroad uses of the name City of Los Angeles
The City of Los Angeles name has also been applied to a 48-seat dinerDining car
A dining car or restaurant carriage , also diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant....
built by the St. Louis Car Company
St. Louis Car Company
The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887–1973, based in St. Louis, Missouri.-History:...
in 1949. The car was originally UP No. 4808 and is currently owned and operated by the Union Pacific as part of their excursion fleet.
Equipment used
A typical City of Los Angeles train consist around 1955 included:- EMD E9EMD E9The EMD E9 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between April 1954 and January 1964. 100 cab-equipped lead A units were produced, along with 44 cabless booster B units. All were for service within the...
A-B-A diesel locomotive set - Mail expressRailway post officeIn the United States a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly trained Railway Mail Service postal clerks, and was off-limits to...
5707 - BaggageBaggage carA baggage car or luggage van is a type of railway vehicle often forming part of the composition of passenger trains and used to carry passengers' checked baggage, as well as parcels . Being typically coupled at the front of the train behind the locomotive, this type of car is sometimes described...
5606 - Baggage dormitoryCombine carA combine car in North American parlance, most often referred to simply as a combine, is a type of railroad car which combines sections for both passengers and freight....
3107 - SleeperSleeping carThe sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
11 double bedroom Placid Lake - Sleeper 11 double bedroom Placid Dune
- Sleeper 4-4-2 Imperial Hill
- DomelinerDome carA dome car is a type of railway passenger car that has a glass dome on the top of the car where passengers can ride and see in all directions around the train. It also can include features of a coach, lounge car, dining car or observation...
dinerDining carA dining car or restaurant carriage , also diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant....
8008 - Sleeper 4-4-2 Imperial Club
- Sleeper 5-2-2 Ocean Beach
- Sleeper 5-2-2 Ocean Bay
- Domeliner lounge observationObservation carAn observation car/carriage/coach is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the last carriage, with windows on the rear of the car for passengers' viewing pleasure...
9009
Station stops, 1950
- Chicago, IL (Chicago & North Western)Ogilvie Transportation CenterThe Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center is a passenger terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA, serving the three commuter rail lines of Metra's Union Pacific District, which approach the terminal elevated above street level. It occupies the lower floors of the Citigroup Center...
- Clinton, IA
- Cedar Rapids, IA
- Ames, IA
- Boone, IA
- Omaha, NE (Union Pacific)
- Fremont, NE (departing passengers only)
- Columbus, NE (departing passengers only)
- Kearney, NE (departing passengers only)
- Grand Island, NE
- North Platte, NE
- Sidney, NE
- Cheyenne, WY
- Laramie, WY
- Rawlins, WY
- Green River, WY
- Evanston, WY
- Ogden, UT
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Milford, UT
- Las Vegas, NV
- San Bernardino, CA
- Riverside, CA
- East Los Angeles, CA
- Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, CA
Sample Time Tables, 1947 - 1953
| Westbound Read Down | Condensed Schedules All trains daily | Eastbound Read Up | ||||||||
| City of Los Angeles 103 | City of Los Angeles 104 | |||||||||
| Sep. 11, 1949 | May, 1950 | Sep. 27, 1953 | Sep. 27, 1953 | May, 1950 | Sep. 11, 1949 | |||||
| 7.15 | 7.15 | 7.15 | Lv. | Chicago C.& N.W. | Ar. | 10.40 +2 | 10.40 +2 | 10.45 +2 | ||
| 3.00 +1 | 3.00 +1 | 3.00 +1 | Ar. | Omaha C.& N.W. | Lv. | 2.50 +2 | 2.50 +2 | 2.50 +2 | ||
| 3.10 +1 | 3.10 +1 | 3.10 +1 | Lv. | Omaha Un. Pac. | Ar. | 2.40 +2 | 2.40 +2 | 2.40 +2 | ||
| 9.25 +1 | 9.25 +1 | 9.25 +1 | Ar. | Cheyenne | Lv. | 6.30 +1 | 6.30 +1 | 6.30 +1 | ||
| 9.35 +1 | 9.35 +1 | 9.35 +1 | Lv. | Cheyenne | Ar. | 6.20 +1 | 6.20 +1 | 6.20 +1 | ||
| 6.20 +1 | 6.20 +1 | 6.15 +1 | Ar. | Ogden | Lv. | 9.45 +1 | 9.45 +1 | 9.40 +1 | ||
| 6.30 +1 | 6.30 +1 | 6.25 +1 | Lv. | Ogden | Ar. | 9.35 +1 | 9.35 +1 | 9.30 +1 | ||
| 7.10 +1 | 7.10 +1 | 7.10 +1 | Ar. | Salt Lake City | Lv. | 8.50 +1 | 8.50 +1 | 8.50 +1 | ||
| 7.20 +1 | 7.20 +1 | 7.20 +1 | Lv. | Salt Lake City | Ar. | 8.40 +1 | 8.40 +1 | 8.40 +1 | ||
| 9.00 +2 | 9.00 +2 | 9.00 +2 | Ar. | Los Angeles | Lv. | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | ||
| 39 h 45 m | 39 h 45 m | 39 h 45 m | ---Elapsed Time--- | 39 h 40 m | 39 h 40 m | 39 h 40 m | ||||
Notes:
Bold numbers indicate P.M.
+1 indicates the day after departure
+2 indicates two days after departure
Compare the run time to that of Amtrak's Desert Wind in 1979: Westbound (train 35) 48 hours and 30 minutes. Eastbound (train 36) 48 hours and 00 minutes.
See also
- Passenger train service on the Chicago and North Western Railway
- Passenger train service on the Milwaukee Road
- Passenger train service on the Union Pacific Railroad