Southwest Chief

Southwest Chief
	; The Amtrak Southwest Chief in Albuquerque, New Mexico. New Mexico Rail Runner tracks are visible to the right.
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Western United States
First service	1971
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Route
Start	Chicago, Illinois
No. of intermediate stops	31
End	Los Angeles, California
Distance travelled	2,256 mi (3,631 km)
Average journey time	42 hours, 15 minutes
Service frequency	Daily each way
On-board services
Class(es)	Standard and business class
Seating arrangements	Airline-style coach seating
Sleeping arrangements	Superliner Roomette (2 beds); Family Bedroom (4 beds); Superliner Bedroom (2 beds); Superliner Bedroom Suite (4 beds); Superliner Accessible Bedroom (2 beds)
Catering facilities	Fully-licensed dining car; On-board café
Observation facilities	Sightseer Lounge Car
Baggage facilities	Checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Rolling stock	P42 locomotives; Superliner cars
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in)
Operating speed	90 mph (140 km/h) maximum; 55 mph (89 km/h) average
Track owner(s)	BNSF
Route map
Amtrak Southwest Chief route

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The Southwest Chief (formerly the Southwest Limited) is a passenger train operated by Amtrak along a 2256-mile (3631-km) route through the Midwestern and Southwestern United States. It runs from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California, passing through Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The Southwest Chief formerly operated on a different alignment from Galesburg to Chicago via Chillicothe, Streator and Joliet, Illinois, until 1996 when it was routed over the California Zephyr route.

[edit] History

The Southwest Chief is the successor to the Super Chief, a train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe) until 1971 and later by Amtrak until March 1974 when the Santa Fe forced Amtrak to stop using the name because of a perceived decline in quality after Amtrak took over the Santa Fe's passenger trains. After subsequent improvements in service, the Santa Fe allowed Amtrak to change the name of the Southwest Limited to the Southwest Chief on October 28, 1984.

[edit] Operations

The train currently consists of two P42 locomotives, one baggage car, one Superliner transition dorm, two Superliner sleeping cars, a Superliner dining car, a Superliner lounge car, and three Superliner coach cars. A third Superliner sleeping car and a fourth Superliner coach may be added during peak travel periods.

Unique among all long distance Superliner trains, the Southwest Chief is permitted to run up to a maximum of 90 mph (145 km/h) along significant portions of the route.^[2] Given Amtrak's own projected 40+ hour travel time, the average speed is still in excess of 55 mph (including stops).

During the spring and summer months, Volunteer Rangers from the National Park Service travel onboard and provide a narrative between La Junta and Albuquerque.

During the months of June, July and August the Southwest Chief is used by thousands of Boy Scouts traveling to and from Philmont Scout Ranch via the Raton Amtrak Station. During those months Raton station is occupied by Amtrak employees and handles checked baggage.

The train itself is entirely non-smoking, but several stops of sufficient duration to smoke a cigarette are scheduled each day. Most are extremely short, perhaps five minutes on the platform of a train station, but the Southwest Chief stops for longer periods in Kansas City (over 30 minutes) and Albuquerque (nearly an hour). Snacks and beverages are available on the train. A Safeway grocery store is located less than a block south of the station in La Junta, CO (verify departure time with Amtrak staff, as stop is scheduled for <15 minutes) and the Albuquerque stop is sufficient to buy food from local vendors.

[edit] Route description

The modern (Amtrak) Southwest Chief departs Los Angeles Union Station in downtown LA, at 6:45 PM (Pacific Time). As the sun fades in the west, the train slowly makes its way through suburban Fullerton, Riverside, and San Bernardino, California. After climbing through Cajon Pass, the train enters the Mojave Desert and stops in the cities of Victorville, Barstow and Needles, California. The Southwest Chief speeds across Arizona with short stops in Kingman, Williams Junction (connection to Grand Canyon Railway), Flagstaff and Winslow, Arizona. Entering New Mexico around 8:00 AM (Mountain Time), the train stops briefly in Gallup before crossing the Rio Grande River and entering Albuquerque for an extended stop. The rest of the afternoon is spent slowly traversing NE New Mexico's desert highlands, with stops in Lamy, Las Vegas, and Raton, New Mexico. The train then crosses the Raton Pass, entering Colorado slowly before stopping in Trinidad. At this point, the Southwest Chief is on the open plains, and begins running at high speed again, with a handful of stops (notably La Junta, Colorado and Topeka, Kansas) before reaching Kansas City, Missouri early the next morning. After a long stop in KC, the train stops once more in Missouri, at La Plata, and at Fort Madison, Iowa. Crossing the Mississippi River before Noon (Central Time), the Southwest Chief stops at the Illinois rail towns of Galesburg, Princeton, and Mendota. The final leg of the trip goes through the ex-urbs and suburbs of Chicago, such as Naperville, Illinois. The train arrives at Chicago Union Station at 3:20 PM (Central Time), offering spectacular views of the Chicago skyline, including the famed Willis Tower before heading underground to the station platform.

The Amtrak Southwest Chief In Albuquerque, NM. New Mexico Rail Runner track is visible to the right.	Southwest Chief logo	An eastbound Amtrak train pulling a 1932 restored New York Central Railroad Pullman car	Typical Snack Bar on long-distance Amtrak routes.
Southwest Chief climbs the Raton Pass in Spring, 2008.	Typical Domed Observation/Lounge Car, Southwest Chief.	Interior of a dome car in 1974.