Named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

(PD) Photo: Unknown
The San Diegan, led by a pair of back-to-back ALCO PA units, reaches the end of the line at San Diego's Union Station on October 26, 1963.

The named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) included some fifty (50) regularly scheduled excursions operated by the company at various times throughout its existence. Named trains were often identified on the Santa Fe via illuminated "drumhead" signs mounted to the end of observation cars. Occasionally, "special" trains (not included in the railroad's regular revenue service lineup) were chartered to make high-profile runs over the company's trackage, usually for publicity purposes.

Notable named passenger trains

© Photo: Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The San Francisco Chief travels through New Mexico with an EMD F7 in the lead. This train operated between Oakland (not actually San Francisco) and Chicago from June 6, 1954 to May 1, 1971, the date Amtrak began operation.

(CC) Photo: Nathan Hughes Hamilton
An observation lounge car from the Super Chief, the luxurious all-Pullman sleeper train (a favorite of the Hollywood elite) which operated between Chicago and Los Angeles from 1936 to 1971.

(PD) Diagram: William Henry Jackson
A map depicting thhrough car lines along the "Grand Canyon Route" of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, circa 1901.

California Limited

• The California Limited operated between the cities of Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California from November 27, 1892 to June 15, 1954, giving it the distinction of having the longest tenure of any train making the Chicago-Los Angeles run within the Santa Fe system.

Chicagoan

• The Chicagoan operated between the cities of Chicago, Illinois and Wichita, Kansas (with a later extension to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) from April 10, 1938 to April 18, 1968.

Golden Gate

• The Golden Gate operated between the cities of Oakland and Los Angeles, California from July 1, 1938 to April 11, 1965.

Kansas Cityan

• The Kansas Cityan operated between the cities of Chicago, Illinois and Wichita, Kansas (with a later extension to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) from April 10, 1938 to April 18, 1968.

Overland Limited

• The Overland Limited operated between the cities of Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California from 1901 until 1915.

San Diegan

• The San Diegan operated between the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, California from March 27, 1938 to April 30, 1971, after which passenger service on the line was taken over by Amtrak.

San Francisco Chief

The San Francisco Chief operated between the cities of San Francisco, California and Chicago, Illinois from June 6, 1954 to April 30, 1971. It was the last new streamliner introduced by the Santa Fe, the first direct service offered between Chicago and the Bay Area, the only direct service offered between those two locations over the tracks of a single railroad, and at 2,555 miles (4,112 km) the longest single service offered by a railroad in the United States which did not utilize another railroad's tracks.

Santa Fe de-Luxe

• The de-Luxe operated between the cities of Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California from December 12, 1911 to May 1, 1917.

Scout

The Scout operated between the cities of Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California from January 16, 1916 through June 7, 1948.

Valley Flyer

• The Valley Flyer operated between the cities of Bakersfield and Oakland, California from June 11, 1939 to October 26, 1941.