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User:Mackensen/Sunset Limited

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For the play by Cormac McCarthy, see The Sunset Limited.
Sunset Limited
The Sunset Limited rounds Pensacola Bay in December 2004, less than a year before service east of New Orleans was suspended.
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusActive
LocaleSouthern United States
First serviceNovember 7, 1894 (1894-11-07)
Current operator(s)Amtrak
Former operator(s)Southern Pacific Railroad
Ridership319 per train
99,714 total (FY11)[1]
Route
TerminiLos Angeles, California
New Orleans, Louisiana
Stops20
Distance travelled1,995 mi (3,211 km)
Average journey time48 hours
Service frequencyTri-weekly
On-board services
Class(es)Coach and Sleeper
Disabled accessYes
Seating arrangementsReclining seats
Sleeping arrangementsRoomettes and bedrooms
Catering facilitiesDining car
Observation facilitiesSightseer Lounge
Baggage facilitiesChecked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Track owner(s)UP, BNSF

The Sunset Limited is a passenger service operated by Amtrak between New Orleans, Louisiana and Los Angeles, California. It was originally introduced by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1894 and has operated ever since, making it the oldest named train in the United States. Between 1993 and 2005 Amtrak extended eastward it to Orlando, Florida, making it the only true "transcontinental" train in United States history.

History

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Southern Pacific

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The Sunset Limited was Southern Pacific's premier train from the time of its introduction on November 7, 1894 as the Sunset Express.[2][3] Initially the Sunset Limited was an all-Pullman train, with sleeping cars and no coaches, running from New Orleans to San Francisco via Los Angeles. From its beginning in 1894 until streamlining in 1950, all the train's cars had 6-wheel trucks and dark olive green paint with black roofs and trucks. In summer 1926 it was scheduled 71 hr 40 min New Orleans to San Francisco; it then carried a coast-to-coast sleeper Jacksonville to Los Angeles.[citation needed]

In 1930 the route was cut back to Los Angeles and the train carried coaches for the first time. In 1936 the train resumed running to San Francisco and was one of SP's first trains to receive air-conditioning. In January 1942 it was cut back to Los Angeles; the Sunset Limited was never again all-Pullman and never again ran beyond Los Angeles.

The train was dieselized in late 1949 and became a streamliner in August 1950. The Sunset Limited was the last among the big American luxury trains to be streamlined and in 1950 the train got a new look, with stainless steel cars with red letterboards and white "Southern Pacific" lettering.

During the decline in the 1960s more and more services on board were cut back, culminating in the elimination of the dining car, lounge car and all sleeping cars. By 1968 the once proud streamliner had three cars: a baggage car, a coach and an automat lunch counter car. The Sunset was even combined with the Golden State passenger train west of El Paso in 1964. In October 1970 the Sunset's daily service between New Orleans and Los Angeles was reduced to tri-weekly, but with full dining and sleeping car service returning over the entire route. This was the state of the train when Amtrak took control in May 1971.

Amtrak

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Amtrak retained the Sunset unchanged, while it dropped the Gulf Wind, which was operated between New Orleans and Jacksonville, Florida, by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (previously the Seaboard Air Line Railroad).

The tracks between New Orleans and Jacksonville remained unused by passenger trains from the Amtrak takeover until April 29, 1984, when an Amtrak train called the Gulf Coast Limited, running between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, began service; this train only lasted until January 6, 1985. Almost five years later, on October 27, 1989, the track segment between Mobile and Flomaton, Alabama, came into passenger train use as part of the route of the Gulf Breeze, a new Amtrak train that was actually a Mobile section of Amtrak's New York-to-New Orleans Crescent; at Flomaton the train's route turned northeast towards Montgomery. The Gulf Breeze was discontinued in 1995. Meanwhile, on April 4, 1993, the entire New Orleans-to-Jacksonville route had gone into passenger train service with the extension of the Sunset Limited to Jacksonville and Miami, using the route of Amtrak's Silver Meteor south of Jacksonville. The train's eastern endpoint was later cut back from Miami to Orlando due to the difficulties associated with turning the equipment in time if the trainset was delayed.

On September 22, 1993, the locomotives and some cars of the eastbound Sunset Limited derailed and fell off a bridge into water near Mobile, Alabama, in Amtrak's worst train wreck, the Big Bayou Canot train disaster. 47 people died.

On October 9, 1995, saboteurs derailed the Sunset Limited near Harqua, Arizona by removing 29 spikes from a section of track, and short-circuited the signal system to conceal the sabotage.[4]

On June 2, 1996, the Sunset Limited was rerouted to a more southerly route between Tucson, Arizona, and Yuma, Arizona, bypassing Phoenix, Arizona, in order to accommodate the Union Pacific Railroad's desire to abandon a portion of its Phoenix-to-Yuma "West Line". This made Phoenix one of the largest cities in the nation without direct Amtrak passenger service, although the designated Phoenix-area stop is in Maricopa, a suburban community about 40 miles south of downtown Phoenix.

On August 28, 2005, the Sunset Limited route was truncated at San Antonio, Texas, as a result of damage to trackage in the Gulf Coast area caused by Hurricane Katrina. In late October 2005, service was restored between San Antonio and New Orleans, as the line through southwest Louisiana had by that time been repaired. Amtrak has not restored service east of New Orleans.

Equipment

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An 1895 consist included:

  • A 4-4-0 American steam locomotive
  1. Composite Baggage car with barber shop, bath and buffet smoker lounge El Indio
  2. 7 Drawing Room Sleeper with ladies´ parlor lounge El Piloto
  3. 10 Section 2 Drawing Room Sleeper El Dorado
  4. Dining Car Gourmet
  5. 6 Section 1 Drawing Room 3 Compartment Sleeper Cliola
  6. 14 Section 1 Drawing Room Sleeper Los Angeles

A 1929 consist included:[citation needed]

  • A 4-6-2 Pacific or 4-8-2 Mountain steam locomotive
  1. Railway Post Office
  2. Baggage
  3. Buffet library baggage combination car
  4. 12-section, 1 drawing room sleeper Brazos
  5. 12-section, 1 drawing room sleeper Calaveras
  6. 12-section, 1 drawing room sleeper Pecos
  7. 12-section, 1 drawing room sleeper Tontos
  8. Diner
  9. 10-section, 1-drawing room, 2-compartment sleeper El Monte
  10. 10-section, 1-drawing room, 2-compartment sleeper El Norte
  11. 10-section, 1-drawing room, 2-compartment sleeper El Occidente
  12. 10-section, 1-drawing room, 2-compartment sleeper El Oriente
  13. 4-2 sleeper lounge observation Sunset Beach

A 1940 consist included:

  • A GS-1 4-8-4 Golden State steam locomotive
  1. Railway Post Office
  2. Baggage
  3. Parlor Sleeper Abington
  4. 16 Section Tourist Sleeper Catlin
  5. 12 Section 1 Drawing Room Sleeper Alamo
  6. Coffee Shop Lounge
  7. Diner
  8. Lounge with barber shop, shower-bath and valet service
  9. 10 Section 1 Drawing Room 2 Compartment Sleeper Lake Ariana
  10. 10 Section 1 Drawing Room 1 Compartment Sleeper Prior Lake
  11. 8 Section 1 Drawing Room 2 Compartment Sleeper Des Plaines
  12. 6 Compartment 3 Drawing Room Sleeper Glen Aladale
  13. 6 Single Bedroom 2 Double Bedroom Sleeper Lounge Sun-Room Solarium Observation Mission Santa Ynez

All cars except the RPO-Baggage (which had 6-wheel trucks) had 4-wheel trucks, and the last car of the train was a sleeping car with a blunt rear end and a lighted neon-sign with the train name on the rear door. Until 1950 the train was pulled by 4-6-2 Pacific type and 4-8-4 GS-1 Northern type steam locomotives between New Orleans and El Paso, and by 4-8-2 MT-4 Mountain type and 4-8-4 GS-4 Northern type steam locomotives between El Paso and Los Angeles/San Francisco. Occasionally, even some 4-10-2 Southern Pacific type and 4-8-8-2 AC class Cab Forward type steam locomotives could be seen, especially on the western portion of its run. Steam occasionally appeared on the Sunset Limited until 1953.

After dieselization Alco PA A-A Unit diesel locomotives powered the train between New Orleans and El Paso, and EMD E7 and E9 diesel locomotives in A-B-B sets pulled the train between El Paso and Los Angeles. Between 1950 and 1958 the diesel locomotives were painted in the Southern Pacific's "Daylight" scheme; in the 1960s and 70s EMD F7 diesel locomotives in SP's "Bloody Nose" scheme powered the train on the entire run.

Interior of the "Pride of Texas" lounge car.

A typical consist from the early 1950s included:[citation needed]

  • An A-B-A Set of Alco PA-1 or an A-B-B Set of EMD E-7 diesel locomotives, both in Daylight colors
  1. Railway Post Office/Baggage
  2. Baggage Dormitory
  3. Partitioned Coach
  4. Coach
  5. Coach
  6. Coffee Shop Lounge Pride of Texas
  7. Coach
  8. Coach
  9. 10-roomette, 6-double bedroom sleeper
  10. 10-roomette, 6-double bedroom sleeper
  11. Diner Audubon
  12. Lounge French Quarter
  13. 10-roomette, 6-double bedroom sleeper
  14. 10-roomette, 6-double bedroom sleeper
  15. 10-roomette, 6-double bedroom blunt ended sleeper

A typical consist between October 1970 and April 1971 (the last months under Southern Pacific's thrice-weekly operation):

  • An A-B-A Set of EMD FP-7 units or a SDP-45 diesel locomotive, painted in the "Bloody Nose" scheme
  1. Box Car Baggage Express
  2. Baggage Dormitory
  3. 10-6 Sleeper
  4. 10-6 Sleeper (Southern Railway through car New York - Los Angeles via the Crescent Limited)
  5. Lounge French Quarter
  6. Diner Audubon
  7. Coach
  8. Coach
  9. Coffee Shop Lounge Pride of Texas
  10. Coach
  11. Coach

Route

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The tracks between New Orleans and Florida include parts of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad--all now owned by CSX Transportation. West of New Orleans, the route was owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad and is now owned by the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad. The name Sunset Limited traces its origins to the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway, which was known as the Sunset Route as early as 1874.

The train uses the following route segments, identified here by the names of their original owners:

Route Original owner Current owner
Orlando, Florida–Sanford, Florida South Florida Railroad (ACL) CSX
Sanford–DeLand, Florida Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway (ACL) CSX
DeLand–Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway (ACL) CSX
Jacksonville–Chattahoochee, Florida Florida Central and Western Railroad (SAL) CSX
Chattahoochee–Pensacola, Florida Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad (L&N) CSX
Pensacola–Flomaton, Alabama Pensacola Railroad (L&N) CSX
Flomaton–Mobile, Alabama Mobile and Montgomery Railway (L&N) CSX
Mobile–New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans and Mobile Railroad (L&N) CSX
New Orleans–Lafayette, Louisiana Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad and Steamship Company (SP) BNSF
Lafayette–Lake Charles, Louisiana Louisiana Western Railroad (SP) BNSF
Lake Charles–Orange, Texas Louisiana Western Railroad (SP) UP
Orange–Houston, Texas Texas and New Orleans Railroad (SP) UP
Houston–El Paso, Texas Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway (SP) UP
El Paso–Los Angeles, California Southern Pacific Railroad UP
Amtrak's Sunset Limited
Amtrak's Sunset Limited (interactive map)

Notes

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  1. ^ "Amtrak Ridership Rolls Up Best-Ever Records" (PDF). Amtrak. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  2. ^ Railway World 1906, p. 16
  3. ^ Hofsommer 2009, p. 170
  4. ^ "At least one dead, 100-plus injured in Amtrak derailment". CNN. 1995-10-09. Retrieved 2007-05-24.

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sunset Limited.
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