Re: Santa Fe Passenger trains, Albuquerque New Mexico 1959/1961
Author: Richard Tower
Date: 12-21-2011 - 21:54
The featured train in the first clip is the westbound Super Chief. The Palm Series sleeper is the Kansas City-Los Angeles car which ran at the end of the train starting in early 1958 when the Super Chief and the El Capitan were combined. The Vista series observation sleepers were discontinued at that time. The line number of the Kansas City car was 170, and you can just see the "70" portion in the car number holder as the lady boards. As the camera pans toward the front of the train, the Super Chief "Pleasure Dome" car is clearly visible.
Since it's apparently summer, the El Capitan is running as a separate train (2nd 17) and can be seen pulling into the Albuquerque station as the Super Chief departs. On the next track over is train 123, the westbound Grand Canyon, which would have arrived 10 minutes before the Super Chief and is scheduled to depart 5 minutes after. The typical Grand Canyon mix of heavyweight and lightweight cars is clearly visible. Fascinating movie clip!
Regards,
Richard Tower