Amtrak Passenger Train No 18 The Eastbound Super Chief El Capitan The el capitan was a streamlined passenger train operated by the atchison, topeka and santa fe railway ("santa fe") between chicago, illinois, and los angeles, california. it operated from 1938 to 1971; amtrak retained the name until 1973. the el capitan was the only all coach or "chair car" (non pullman sleeper) to operate on the santa fe. By: adam burns. the atchison, topeka & santa fe was one of the most successful freight lines in the nation, boasting the only end to end transcontinental corridor from chicago to southern california until the 1980's. however, to the public it was known for its excellent passenger trains, the flagship of which was the super chief.
Santa Fe S Train 18 The Combined Super Chief El Capitan Hustles El capitan. ": a first class, all coach train. last revised: june 21, 2023. by: adam burns. santa fe’s el capitan was another of the railroad’s premier passenger trains connecting chicago with los angeles. however, unlike the chief and super chief the el cap provided no pullman sleeper service and was an all coach operation. Amtrak retained the super chief el capitan names with santa fe's permission. [15]: 123 from june 11 to september 10, 1972, amtrak operated the chief, a second chicago–los angeles train along the same route. this was the only occasion on which amtrak ran a second train to duplicate a long distance service along its entire route outside the new. The extra fares chicago to california ranged from $2 to $7.50 each way, per passenger. by 1963 there were just five santa fe trains chicago to california, and even that is misleading since the super chief and el capitan ran combined at least in the off season. i rode the el cap in 1963, and it was a nice ride. The combined train used the super chief's numbers, 17 and 18, but the santa fe continued to use both names. on its formation amtrak continued the combined super chief el capitan designation until april 29, 1973, when it dropped the el capitan portion. today the route of the el capitan is served by amtrak's southwest chief.
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