Everything about Southwest Chief totally explained
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, Illinois,
Streator, Illinois and
Joliet, Illinois until 1996 when it was routed over the California Zephyr route.
The
Southwest Chief is the indirect 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.
The train currently consists of two to four
P42 locomotives, one
baggage car, one
Superliner transition dorm, three Superliner
coach cars, a Superliner
dining car, a Superliner
lounge car, and two Superliner
sleeping 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. 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, beverages, are available on the train, though at somewhat inflated prices(however, much cheaper when compared with airlines). 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.
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 Bernadino, 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
Sears Tower before heading underground to the station platform.
Image:Abqswcpan.jpg|The Amtrak Southwest Chief In Albuquerque, NM. New Mexico Rail Runner track is visible to the right.
Image:Southwest_Chief_Logo.jpg|Southwest Chief logo
Image:Abqswc32pullman.jpg|An eastbound Amtrak train pulling a 1932 restored New York Central Railroad Pullman car
Image:AmtrakSnackBar.jpg|Typical Snack Bar on long-distance Amtrak routes.
Image:SWChiefRatonPass.jpg|Southwest Chief climbs the Raton Pass in Spring, 2008.
Image:AmtrakDomeCar.JPG|Typical Domed Observation/Lounge Car, Southwest Chief.
Sources
Further Information
Get more info on 'Southwest Chief'.
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