City of St. Louis (train)

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City of St. Louis

Postcard depiction of the train headed by a Wabash diesel. The Union Pacific shield and the Wabash flag are seen on the locomotive's nose.

Overview
Service type| Inter-city rail
Status| Discontinued
Locale| Western and Midwest United States
First service| June 2, 1946
Last service| April 30, 1971
Former operator(s)| Union Pacific Railroad
Wabash Railroad (later Norfolk and Western Railway)
Route
Termini|

* St. Louis, Missouri
(Wabash/N&W)
* Kansas City, Missouri
(Union Pacific)

* Kansas City, Missouri
(Wabash/N&W)
* Los Angeles, California
(Union Pacific)

Stops| 34
Distance travelled| 2,328 miles (3,747 km)
Average journey time|

* 46 hours 50 minutes (St. Louis – Los Angeles)
* 46 hours 45 minutes (Los Angeles – St. Louis)

Service frequency| Daily
Train number(s)|

* 209-9-103 (St. Louis – Los Angeles)
* 104-10-210 (Los Angeles – St. Louis)

On-board services
Seating arrangements| Reclining seat coaches
Sleeping arrangements| sections, roomettes, double bedrooms
Catering facilities| Dining car
Observation facilities| club-lounge car
Technical
Operating speed|

* 49.7 mph (St. Louis – Los Angeles)
* 49.8 mph (Los Angeles – St. Louis)

| Route map

Legend

1946–1951

|  |  |

|  | Cheyenne

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|
|
|

|  |

|  | Greeley
|  |

|  | La Salle
|  |

|  | Denver
|  |

|  | Limon
|  |

|  | Hugo
|  |

|  | Sharon Springs
|  |

|  | Oakley
|  |

|  | Ellis
|  |

|  | Hays
|  |

|  | Salina
|  |

|  | Junction City
|  |

|  | Manhattan
|  |

|  | Topeka
|  |

|  | Kansas City
|  |

|  | Moberly
|  |

|  | Centralia
|  |

|  | Mexico
|  |

|  | St. Charles
|  |

|  | Delmar Boulevard
|  |

|  | St. Louis
|  |  |  |  |  |

This diagram:

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The City of St. Louis was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Wabash Railroad between St. Louis, Missouri, and Los Angeles, California. It operated from 1946 to 1971.

## History

[edit]

The City of St. Louis began operating on June 2, 1946, between St. Louis, Missouri, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, where its cars were switched to other Union Pacific trains to continue west to the Pacific coast. In April 1951 it became a separate train from St. Louis to Los Angeles, California, skipping Cheyenne; it still carried some cars to switch to trains to other coast cities. In 1964 it was combined with the City of Los Angeles west of Ogden, Utah, and in 1968 with the City of San Francisco from Cheyenne to Ogden.

Between St. Louis and Kansas City, the train ran on the Wabash Railroad, then on the Norfolk & Western which leased the Wabash in 1964. This part of the run became a separate train on June 19, 1968, retaining the City of St Louis name until its discontinuance in April 1969; after June 1968 the Union Pacific train was the City of Kansas City, which lasted until Amtrak took over on May 1, 1971.

## Major stations, 1951

[edit]

* St. Louis[1][2]
* Kansas City
* Topeka, Kansas
* Denver
* Ogden
* Branch to Oakland/San Francisco via the Southern Pacific:
* Reno
* Sacramento
* Oakland (ferry connection to San Francisco)
* Branch to Los Angeles:
* Salt Lake City
* San Bernardino
* Riverside
* Los Angeles
* Branch to Portland & Seattle:
* Pocatello
* Boise
* Nampa
* Portland
* Tacoma
* Seattle

## Equipment

[edit]

The original 1946 version of the train required three consists to protect its schedule. The consists contained a mix of heavyweight and lightweight equipment:

* Heavyweight baggage-mail (UP #5808-#5810)
* Three lightweight 48-seat coaches (UP #5331-#5365)
* Heavyweight dining car (UP #4627, UP #4629, or WAB #32)
* Heavyweight club-lounge (UP #1540, #1543, or #1544)
* Heavyweight 10-section, 1-drawing room, 1-compartment sleeping car
* Lightweight 4-compartment, 2-drawing room, 4-double bedroom sleeping car (UP Lakeside, Palos Verdes, or Verdugo)
* Lightweight 6-section, 6-roomette, 4-double bedroom sleeping car (UP American Army, American Monitor, or American Trooper)
* Heavyweight postal car (UP 2200-series)

The 10-1-1 sleeping car operated through to Portland, Oregon; cars used in this service included Balsam Fir, Douglas Fir, Inland Empire, Pinion Pine, Poudre Lake and Silver Spruce. The 6-4-4 sleeping car operated through to Los Angeles. The 2200-series postal car was added in Denver, Colorado for Cheyenne.[3]: 158–159

## References

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to City of St. Louis (train).

1. ^ Official Guide of the Railways December 1951, Union Pacific section
2. ^ Union Pacific timetable, September 1951 https://streamlinermemories.info/UP/UP9-51TT.pdf
3. ^ Wayner, Robert J., ed. (1972). Car Names, Numbers and Consists. New York: Wayner Publications. OCLC 8848690.

* Kratville, William W. and Ranks, Harold E., The Union Pacific Streamliners. Kratville Publications, 1974.
* Stout, Greg, Route of the Eagles: Missouri Pacific in the Streamlined Era. Kansas City, White River Productions, 1995.
* Thomas, Lawrence, "Going to California on the Overland Route", TRRA Historical Society magazine, Spring/Summer 1996.

* v
* t
* e

Passenger trains of the Union Pacific Railroad

Metra (commuter rail)|

* West Line
* Northwest Line
* North Line
* Ogilvie Transportation Center

Early articulated streamliners|

* M-10000
* M-10001
* M-10002
* M-10003 to M-10006

City fleet|

* City of Denver
* City of Kansas City
* City of Las Vegas
* City of Los Angeles
* City of Portland
* City of Salina
* City of San Francisco
* City of St. Louis

Others|

* Butte Special
* Challenger
* Colorado Special
* Columbine
* Forty Niner
* Gold Coast
* Idahoan
* Los Angeles Limited
* Nightingale
* Overland
* Overland Flyer
* Overland Limited
* Pacific Limited
* Pony Express
* Portland Limited
* Portland Rose
* Saint Louis Express
* San Francisco Challenger
* San Francisco Overland
* San Francisco Overland Limited
* Spokane
* Treasure Island Special
* Utahn
* Yellowstone Special

Rolling stock|

* Astra Dome
* Pacific series
* Placid series

Amtrak|

* Amtrak Cascades
* California Zephyr
* Coast Starlight
* Southwest Chief
* Sunset Limited
* Texas Eagle
* Winter Park Express

| Midwest|

* Missouri River Runner
* Lincoln Service

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California|

* Capitol Corridor
* Pacific Surfliner
* San Joaquins

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See also|

* Milwaukee Road
* Southern Pacific Railroad
* Chicago and North Western Railway

* v
* t
* e

Passenger service on the Wabash Railroad

* Banner Blue
* Blue Bird
* Chicago Arrow/Detroit Arrow
* City of Kansas City
* City of St. Louis
* Des Moines Limited/St. Louis Limited
* Omaha Limited/St. Louis Limited
* Detroit Limited/St. Louis Limited
* Detroit Special/St. Louis Special
* Kansas City Express
* Mid-City Express
* Midnight
* Midnight Limited
* Pacific Coast Limited
* Southland
* Wabash Cannon Ball

* v
* t
* e

Named trains of the Norfolk and Western Railway

* Banner Blue
* Birmingham Special
* Blue Bird
* Cavalier
* City of Kansas City
* City of St. Louis
* Pelican
* Pocahontas
* Powhatan Arrow
* Tennessean
* Wabash Cannon Ball

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