The California Limited was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and a true "workhorse" of the railroad. It was assigned train Nos. 3 & 4, and its route ran from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California. Operating seven sections of the Limited was common, and during peak travel periods as many as 23 westbound and 22 eastbound sections departed in a single day.
The line was conceived by company president Allen Manvel as a means to "signify completion of the basic Santa Fe system." Manvel felt he could attract business and enhance the prestige of the railroad by establishing daily, first-class service from Chicago to the West Coast. The California Limited, billed as the "Finest Train West of Chicago," made its first run on November 27, 1892, with five separate trainsets making continuous round trips on a 2½-day schedule each way.
The California Limited was the first of Santa Fe's name trains to feature Fred Harvey Company meal service en route. The later trains also offered all of the amenities of the day including air conditioning, an onboard barber, beautician, steam-operated clothing press, even a shower-bath. The Limited was also the first train in the Santa Fe system to have its observation cars fitted with illuminated drumheads, which bore the train's name juxtaposed over the company's logo.
The California Limited was permanently removed from service on June 15, 1954, giving it the distinction of having had the longest tenure of any train making the Chicago-Los Angeles run within the Santa Fe system.
Read more about California Limited: Equipment Used
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