San Francisco Chief
EMD F7s lead the San Francisco Chief west of Hercules, California in April 1971, just prior to discontinuance. Note the mixture of single-level and Hi-Level equipment.
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| Overview | |
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| First service | June 6, 1954 |
| Last service | April 30, 1971 |
| Former operator(s) | Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway |
The San Francisco Chief was a streamlined passenger train on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway ("Santa Fe") between Chicago, Illinois and the San Francisco Bay Area. It ran from 1954 until 1971. The San Francisco Chief was the last new streamliner introduced by the Santa Fe, its first full train between Chicago and the Bay, the only Chicago-Bay Area train running over just one railroad, and at 2,555 miles (4,112 km) the longest run in the country on one railroad. The San Francisco Chief was one of many trains discontinued when Amtrak began operations in 1971.
The Santa Fe introduced the streamliner on June 6, 1954; it was Santa Fe's last new streamliner and its first direct train from Chicago to the San Francisco Bay Area. It ran via Topeka and the Belen Cutoff through Amarillo, Texas instead of Raton Pass. Like other Santa Fe trains it ran to Oakland, California (Richmond, California after 1958), with a bus connection across the bay to San Francisco, California. At first the San Francisco Chief handled through cars for cities in Texas, plus a New Orleans, Louisiana sleeper conveyed by the Missouri Pacific Railroad in Houston, Texas. The San Francisco Chief carried the numbers 1 (westbound) and 2 (eastbound) and was the only Chicago–San Francisco train to make the entire journey on one railroad.
At the train's inauguration Taptuka, a Hopi chief led the ceremony. The train used a mix of old and new lightweight cars, including full-length dome cars (called "Big Domes") built by the Budd Company. There were improved reclining chairs in the coaches, "classic and popular music...on individual, push-button type receivers," and bar service on the upper level of the dome car via a dumb waiter.
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