My grandmother took me on the Super Chief when I was 9. What a thrill and what a train! Nothing anywhere like it today. We boarded mid morning. A half hour later I was in the dome. Except dinner, there I was till 12:30AM. Back early next AM to watch sunrise in Colorado. What a spectacle against my first ever view of the Rockies as we split the green semaphores and their arms swung to red as the dome silently sped on. Then we snaked through the canyons, the dry washes, Raton, Lamy and into Albuquerque. Departing that great station, the Santa Fe had enormous shops. My head almost unscrewed trying to soak in all the shop activity as we glided by. Pity it's almost all gone. My grandmother was well known among the Santa Fe family. Her husband had worked on the railroad since 1909. She had worked on and off for the ATSF since 1910. So we got extra special treatment. Plus, my grandmother insisted we treat the porters with extra care and extra tips. She said they were union and deserved our allegiance. It was years later I found grandmother was a huge labor organizer in the 1920s.
When I was six my father took me to Union station. When we got to the platform my father lifted me up to the cab of the Super Chief. Inside the engineer showed me the how the controls worked. A great memory for me...
I rode a passenger train in 1969 with my grandmother from Louisiana to Chicago. I loved the dining car and the observation deck on top. I remember my grandmother befriended another old lady who turned out to be a Titanic survivor!
@@Cal90208 I guess my point is, if they want to stay competitive against air and personal vehicle travel, they need to incentivize people to want to go with them. It takes many hours or even days to get from point A to point B by train. If they had roomier rooms and better food it would be worth it to more people. But instead its cramped quarters, lousy food, and twice to triple the cost of flying. It's a hard sell...
@@JF-lt5zc The food on western trains is diner quality which isn’t bad by any means, but it could be better of course. The rooms are actually very similar to the size of the ones on the Chief, and many who have tried both prefer amtraks. They’re pretty good for public transportation and a lot roomier than any plane
My greatest memory of the Super Chief was sitting up in the dome at 9 years of age. A porter was walking down the length of the train with chimes, sounding out the call that the dining car was now opened. I asked the porter if I could try the chimes. He handed them to me and I got the tune perfectly right off the bat! Good times.
You took that from a railroad promotional film for a train service that only existed for a few years and couldn't compete with the rapidly growing airline industry?
I was born in LA, 77 yrs ago. The super chief ran right in back of my house. The engineer would stop at a factory just down my street to drop a load off sometimes. He would watch for young kids and give us a ride in the engine area down two blocks then let us off. Those were safe times, when we were not worried about strangers!!
The actresses name is Virginia Leith. She is famous for her roles in A Kiss Before Dying and Violent Saturday. This is an amazing stock film on the Super Chief during the Santa Fe heydays, thank you for posting this. Currently, Amtrak runs the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles but due to track conditions and limits, not as fast as the pace of the old Chief. The E-series diesels typically approached 100MPH in the faster sections whereas today's Amtrak is limited to about 80mph. The Pullman standards for comfort and service are a different high level as well. Nothing against Amtrak but this film just shows a different era of glamorous train travel, where rail travel was still a preferred option for many including the affluent. Love the footage of the vista lounge car. Please update the description with Virginia Leith credited. She passed away in 2019 and her fans and family no doubt would love to see this.
I took the Santa Fe from Kansas to California. I still remember it. I was only 4 years old. It inspired my parents to move to California in the late 50s. I rode trains a lot. I really miss it!
@MusicMaster1987 I tend to think in trucking time :) It's an odd coincidence, but I live about 25 miles from Kennewick and I went to college in Portland.
@@HiroNguy Phoenix to Camden is 2,300 miles. To make it within 48 hrs you'd have to have an itinerary similar to the following: drive 18hr, sleep 6, drive another 18, which would put you at 42hr. It's doubtful anyone can drive two consecutive 18hr shifts (devoid of chemical help).
@@pacz8114 When I drove trucks and had to abide by DOT rules a crosscountry PRK to NYSR was a 4 day trip solo. Obviously with a codriver the wheels are turning more in one day which is why there are so many transport companies that prefer driver teams. When I did motorcycle road trips the most I covered in one day was 700 miles but more typical would be 500 miles. In a comfy car my schedule is 20+ hours in motion, stopping only for fuel, and then off for 12. That's how I do NYC metro area to Phoenix in 2.5 days. And the only chemical aid I've ever taken on these trips is caffeine. Now, the old timers at the transport company I drove for, they told all kinds of stories about the bad old days of the 1970s and '80s. There were so many bad crashes due to that kind of stuff that it's no wonder people got fed up with it and let loose the powers of big government on that industry.
My jaw just about fell open when I saw the clip of the family being served their meal in the dining car. That food was piled ON! I've never travelled Amtrak, though I still hope to take one of their routes in the future. I know from friends who have done so that the kind of meal shown in this video is a thing of the past. BTW...it made me grin an evil grin to learn the observation car was called the "Pleasure Dome." No wonder the trip was popular. ;)
What a unique idea! Making travel a positive experience for the traveler! Today it’s more like a cattle car, whether you are taking a train or a plane. Those truly were the “good old days!”
Actually, the Amtrak Chief (that takes a very similar route over a similar schedule) offers roommette and bedroom accommodations as well. Fares for those accommodations, adj. for inflation, aren't that different. We are taking multiple long-distance trains for our "cruise across America" in June.
@@richmanwisco Valid question and it's all relative. They showed a number of different kinds of sleeping accommodations (as there are on AmTrak). And Santa Fe (and Union Pacific and other passenger trains) also accommodated coach passengers . . . as AmTrak does . . at a much lower cost. Not unlike cruises, which is a luxury good . . .available at different price points . . . that caters to various middle-income folks (super-wealthy have their own yachts).
The good folks over at Mystery Science Theatre 3000 would have us rolling on the floor with laughter! Especially the part at the end when she introduces her new friend at the station (he looks less than thrilled). Then off to the car where he looks equally enthused about picking her up. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that ride home!
All the way on the Santa Fe...and she comes off with a huge smile on her face. If she's smart she will use that shower to rid herself of any unwanted odors.
Brought back memories. I travelled on this train in June 1958. Now, instead of superb railways we have the shemozzle of travel in aeroplanes. Pity America hasn't gone in for very fast trains.
My Dad used to work for the Santa Fe in the early '60s out of Corwith yard, Chicago. Occasionally, he'd pull the coach yard job (head end brakeman) at Dearborn St. station, where they would pull the Super Chief into the train shed with their switch engine after the road power was cut off at the service tracks. He got a kick out of the kids marveling at the locomotive as they passed by, not knowing it only pulled them a half mile and not all the way from Los Angeles.
This is one mode of travel that I think should be brought back. I live in Texas and I would love to be able to travel west at a nice leisurely pace in total comfort. I rode the train system in Europe 2 different times and really enjoyed it. Plus the cost was very reasonable. And no, I have no desire to travel at 200 mph or higher in a train. Like I said, a nice leisurely pace in total comfort. I love this films!
It breaks your heart to see this film--I was lucky enough to take the Zephyr out of Denver--just before it was cancelled--the last long-distance non-Amtrak train--still using the old equipment similar to that in the film
Daffy "I could sure go for some liquid refreshment. (Walks up to cupboard) Say, lady, where do you keep your glasses?" Melissa "They're in the cupboard. " (Daffy opens the cupboard to see the Super Chief rushing towards the camera, he closes it)
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yes, I took the SF/SC from Chicago to LA 8/1964 i'll never forget it, I was 20 yrs old. i see comments the SF/SC was for the rich, not so, i was dirt poor.
If you ever get to Napa Valley, schedule a trip on the Napa Valley Wine Train. Same locomotive, Dome cars and 5-star meals while you take the train through vineyards.
Took this route last month. We had a 1.5 hr stop in Albuquerque. Conductor said “I advise you use the buddy system, this IS Albuquerque” after getting out I knew why.
Heck, thats the whole country now. With all the illegals roaming around and the wide open Biden border. Just waiting for a suitcase nuke or dirty bomb to go off.
@@shyman9023 Hyman, I share your concerns. However, there are massive differences in crime rates among US cities. Albuquerque suffers from much higher robbery, assault, and homicide rates than the US national average.
@@shyman9023 Hyman, I am not surprised. Central Baltimore has some bad crime statistics, compared to the suburban ring. By some measures, however, Albuquerque is still worse.
I grew up in Southern California and my understanding is that the hard G was a railroad thing. Supposedly, it was easier for passengers to understand announcements by conductors and station agents over the sound of the trains. They did this for a few Spanish place names, for example Santa Ana was "Santee Anna."
Road this train several times and remember timing the train between Dodge City KS and Trinidad CO and it would run 100mph+ through most of that territory especially LaJunta to Trinidad where I timed it at 105mph. We've lost so much in the US.
@@suppylarue220 life is about the journey not the destination. We all know what the final destination is but it's the experiences during the journey that make life enjoyable. There is nothing enjoyable about a cramped crowded, noisy, airplane with disrespectful people and the misery of just getting to your seat from your home. Sadly people don't seem to understand what quality of life means anymore its all about how fast you live it and how many things you do. You can't replace life's quality experiences with fast cheap quantity experiences. The difference between sit down fine dining in a nice restaurant versus fast food at the drive through eaten at a traffic light. I'll take 100mph or less of a quality experience versus 700mph of misery. It's about the journey not the destination.
@@stevenk9094 what's all your gibberish? trains put stage coaches out of business, jets put passenger trains out of business. plain and simple. nostalgia has no place in it.
The Santa Fe Super Chief was created and designed NOT for the general public, but for millionaires, movie and radio stars and businessmen. Only higher-income passengers could ride this luxury, extra-fare passenger train!
Took the combined Super Chief/El Capitan from Pasadena to Chicago in 1964. They might as well have put a hook in my mouth and pulled on that pole, because they have had me hooked ever since! 😉
The Super Chief was the ultimate luxury train with the east coast equivalent being the 20th Century Limited from New York to Chicago. The railroads could not cut prices but could offer extra-fare luxury service. I road the train from New York to Miami when I was a little kid, have no idea which railroads but the second half was a steam train. One does not open windows behind a steam locomotive.
Sign me up! It really sounds like a fun way to travel. Of course the trip takes longer but isn't moving people by train less polluting than by airplane?
Maybe it’s because I grew up in a smoker’s house that I didn’t mind it but in the fifties, sixties and most of the seventies smoking was allowed everywhere even in hospitals. But I think when the AMA outlawed smoking in all public places and the tobacco companies started losing revenue they added more nicotine to keep people hooked but in return made them smell really bad. Back in the sixties the smell of a freshly lit Lucky Strike or a Marlboro was a real nice aroma. Nowadays keep me away. Haven’t lit one up for 22 years after smoking for 33
Lol, oh I hear ya. Started smoking when we were probably 13 growing up in early 70’s. Everyone smoked everywhere back then. Quit 20 years ago. Just funny when you see these old films and such how everyone just chain smoked. 😂
I've traveled by Amtrak Bedroom several times in the past 20 years, and they don't hold a patch to the Super Chief or any other trains of that era. The bedrooms are cramped, and the meals are so-so. Still, they are better than nothing.
@@richmanwisco That's not exactly true. Airline travel in the 60's and 70's was LUXURIOUS. So, it was far better than what the railroads were offering. Today, airline travel is the pits. I do everything I can to avoid it. I have often wondered if a "Super Chief"-quality train departed twice/day from Chicago to LA how it would do.
1950 was the beginning of the end for any meaningful travel of this sort. 1950 started the golden age of air travel. It’s also interesting to note that many of the 1950’s room features, new at the time, are still in use today. And come on, I can’t be the only one that noticed the dichotomy between the passengers and crew in this piece.
When I went to the US on holiday in 2005 from the UK all the hotel staff in Florida were African American. That made me feel really embarrassed as you don't see that obvious racial disparity in Britain.
Did they let you on the train if you lacked a tie and jacket and didn't smoke? I've taken one long-haul train trip - Ft. Lauderdale to New Jersey - just for the adventure, some 20 years ago. I could've flown for less money. Don't remember much about it, though I guess I didn't go for the luxury package ... I'd do it again, and might someday, but a trip like the one in this film might cost a thousand dollars or more now ...
The good old days. Today, you wont even get a bag of peanuts unless you bring it yourself. Look how everyone is dressed up and nice manners, not like the Southwest videos! I wish Amtrak could be supported better and we bring this back, i never want to fly again.
@@richmanwisco I know it was a promo film and I also knew someone was going to say it. But in those times, look at street films, people were better dressed, better mannered. I rode trains as a kid and there werent half-naked, foulmouthed drunks making travel difficult like in the airline vids in YT. Things HAVE changed. I notice that car and train travel has picked up a lot, people dont like flying like they did once. I wish that Trump supported Amtrak more to upgrade and attract more people, and to even build high speed trains. Anyway, in the end its not the train or the plane, its the people and their personal class has declined in US. Everything has declined, our speech, dress, manners, edu level, ways. There was a time it was better, why is it worse today?
I’m pretty sure at the 4:20 mark, the nighttime shot looks a Lionel O gauge toy train instead of the real thing.😂. The radius on the turn is just too sharp for a real locomotive to navigate.
How many passengers on a Super Chief vs. a coach train? How did the ticket prices compare ... and travel times? Traveling 'First Class' on anything is ALWAYS nicest compared to 'Coach' ... if you've got the money. Love how there's always someone 'lighting up' in every other scene showing everyone how 'super cool' smokers were back then ... with the attitude back then being you could NEVER be super cool if you didn't smoke. I suspect the Super Chief was the status symbol the Concorde would be years later. Here's a cute 'aside' my mother liked to tell on me when I was on a long train ride with her back in 1949 when I was two y.o. I was a bad thumb sucker. Mom whispered, "You can't suck your thumb here. The other passenges won't like it." She said I quit 'on the spot' and never went back to it. (We got rid of the cigabutts (good) and got rid of true luxury (bad). Net progress: none.) I took my last train trip on a real train (just before AmTrack) between Savannah and Macon, GA, in the summer of 1967. It was so nice to be able to walk around. Them was the days!
I love how Hugh Hefner Light keeps pestering and hitting on Train Girl in every scene. Then when they get to Los Angle Leez her boyfriend picks her up and Hugh's body language says "Who the Hell is this?"
I remember being able to smoke on a train. 1983 exactly on the Crescent both north and south either in the restroom lounge, between cars in the vestibule or in the lounge car. Back when i was a smoker
The last passenger train I rode on that had smoking was the Coast Starlight in 1992, in a section of the observation car only. It was also the last time I saw a bathroom direct flush toilet that opened up onto the tracks instead of a holding tank.
@@NickKaminski1980 that’s how the toilets were on the Crescent I could just imagine what the underside of the cars looked and smelled like when arriving in either New Orleans or NYC
People today don't know what they are missing. Films like this are a good reminder.
Not missing the smokey cars lol
Only if you had the money. If you could afford the Super Chief, you rode the Greyhound on rails like everyone else.
True!
My grandmother took me on the Super Chief when I was 9. What a thrill and what a train! Nothing anywhere like it today. We boarded mid morning. A half hour later I was in the dome. Except dinner, there I was till 12:30AM. Back early next AM to watch sunrise in Colorado. What a spectacle against my first ever view of the Rockies as we split the green semaphores and their arms swung to red as the dome silently sped on. Then we snaked through the canyons, the dry washes, Raton, Lamy and into Albuquerque. Departing that great station, the Santa Fe had enormous shops. My head almost unscrewed trying to soak in all the shop activity as we glided by. Pity it's almost all gone.
My grandmother was well known among the Santa Fe family. Her husband had worked on the railroad since 1909. She had worked on and off for the ATSF since 1910. So we got extra special treatment. Plus, my grandmother insisted we treat the porters with extra care and extra tips. She said they were union and deserved our allegiance. It was years later I found grandmother was a huge labor organizer in the 1920s.
What a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing these memories, and hooray for your grandmother. Union YES!
Approximately what year would that have been?
Your grandmother was an awesome liberal for that time! Bravo to her!
This was shortly after the end of WWII and the sky was the limit for the United States! All was well. Thank you!
It is hard to believe a time like that actually existed in America. Thank you for preserving America history.
I like the way the narrator says "Los Angalis"
During the first half of the twentieth century and into the 50s, many people pronounced LA with a hard G.
Every night I listen to my radio 📻 and recorded programs on my tablet 😊
When I was six my father took me to Union station. When we got to the platform my father lifted me up to the cab of the Super Chief. Inside the engineer showed me the how the controls worked. A great memory for me...
Man, that's THE way to travel! Beds, great food, drink, haircuts, private restrooms, scenery....... I wish time travel was possible?
Amtrak still offers that, more or less.
I rode a passenger train in 1969 with my grandmother from Louisiana to Chicago. I loved the dining car and the observation deck on top. I remember my grandmother befriended another old lady who turned out to be a Titanic survivor!
Geez that looked fantastic. And they say we've progressed. I'd do that over any plane trip.
Sadly, Amtrak is nowhere as nice and is outrageously expensive.
@@JF-lt5zc Well when the public doesn't like supporting it they don't have much of a choice, it's a miracle we still have Amtrak at all.
@@Cal90208 I guess my point is, if they want to stay competitive against air and personal vehicle travel, they need to incentivize people to want to go with them. It takes many hours or even days to get from point A to point B by train. If they had roomier rooms and better food it would be worth it to more people. But instead its cramped quarters, lousy food, and twice to triple the cost of flying. It's a hard sell...
@@JF-lt5zc The food on western trains is diner quality which isn’t bad by any means, but it could be better of course. The rooms are actually very similar to the size of the ones on the Chief, and many who have tried both prefer amtraks. They’re pretty good for public transportation and a lot roomier than any plane
@@Cal90208 The condition of today's cross-country Amtrak trains is nowhere near that of the Super Chief.
It was a memorable experience...I took those rides for granted
When you realize that a train in 1950 was faster and better than a US train in 2022.
And better in more ways than imaginable.
You can definitely blame the faster part on the Naperville train crash.
The Super Chief only shaved FOUR hours off the Southwest Chief's service between LA and Chicago, despite the Super's advantage of dedicated tracks.
Automobile lobbyists and Americans love for the car, killed any chances of building high speed rail in the United States.
@@Mrcharles.Brightline??
My greatest memory of the Super Chief was sitting up in the dome at 9 years of age. A porter was walking down the length of the train with chimes, sounding out the call that the dining car was now opened. I asked the porter if I could try the chimes. He handed them to me and I got the tune perfectly right off the bat! Good times.
Awesome memory
Well, this video cheered me up on a drab, cold day in Scotland.
Back in the day when we were the wonderland the rest of the world was in awe at what we could do and achieve.
You took that from a railroad promotional film for a train service that only existed for a few years and couldn't compete with the rapidly growing airline industry?
@@richmanwisco
Cynic.
@@patrickvillers6454 yes now look at US rail travel, what's left of it, versus the rest of the worlds leading economic countries.
I was born in LA, 77 yrs ago. The super chief ran right in back of my house. The engineer would stop at a factory just down my street to drop a load off sometimes. He would watch for young kids and give us a ride in the engine area down two blocks then let us off. Those were safe times, when we were not worried about strangers!!
Sounds like you had a very cool childhood! Thanks for sharing
@lyndasanchez521
The actresses name is Virginia Leith. She is famous for her roles in A Kiss Before Dying and Violent Saturday. This is an amazing stock film on the Super Chief during the Santa Fe heydays, thank you for posting this. Currently, Amtrak runs the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles but due to track conditions and limits, not as fast as the pace of the old Chief. The E-series diesels typically approached 100MPH in the faster sections whereas today's Amtrak is limited to about 80mph. The Pullman standards for comfort and service are a different high level as well. Nothing against Amtrak but this film just shows a different era of glamorous train travel, where rail travel was still a preferred option for many including the affluent. Love the footage of the vista lounge car. Please update the description with Virginia Leith credited. She passed away in 2019 and her fans and family no doubt would love to see this.
I took the Santa Fe from Kansas to California. I still remember it. I was only 4 years old. It inspired my parents to move to California in the late 50s. I rode trains a lot. I really miss it!
Even today, two days from Chicago to LA is pretty awesome. You couldn't do that distance by car in the same time, unless you're an insomniac.
@MusicMaster1987 I tend to think in trucking time :) It's an odd coincidence, but I live about 25 miles from Kennewick and I went to college in Portland.
I go NJ to Arizona in 2 days. And I stick around the speed limit. Maybe you need a more comfortable car.
@@HiroNguy Phoenix to Camden is 2,300 miles. To make it within 48 hrs you'd have to have an itinerary similar to the following: drive 18hr, sleep 6, drive another 18, which would put you at 42hr. It's doubtful anyone can drive two consecutive 18hr shifts (devoid of chemical help).
@@pacz8114 When I drove trucks and had to abide by DOT rules a crosscountry PRK to NYSR was a 4 day trip solo. Obviously with a codriver the wheels are turning more in one day which is why there are so many transport companies that prefer driver teams.
When I did motorcycle road trips the most I covered in one day was 700 miles but more typical would be 500 miles.
In a comfy car my schedule is 20+ hours in motion, stopping only for fuel, and then off for 12. That's how I do NYC metro area to Phoenix in 2.5 days.
And the only chemical aid I've ever taken on these trips is caffeine. Now, the old timers at the transport company I drove for, they told all kinds of stories about the bad old days of the 1970s and '80s. There were so many bad crashes due to that kind of stuff that it's no wonder people got fed up with it and let loose the powers of big government on that industry.
My jaw just about fell open when I saw the clip of the family being served their meal in the dining car. That food was piled ON! I've never travelled Amtrak, though I still hope to take one of their routes in the future. I know from friends who have done so that the kind of meal shown in this video is a thing of the past. BTW...it made me grin an evil grin to learn the observation car was called the "Pleasure Dome." No wonder the trip was popular. ;)
What a unique idea! Making travel a positive experience for the traveler! Today it’s more like a cattle car, whether you are taking a train or a plane. Those truly were the “good old days!”
Actually, the Amtrak Chief (that takes a very similar route over a similar schedule) offers roommette and bedroom accommodations as well. Fares for those accommodations, adj. for inflation, aren't that different. We are taking multiple long-distance trains for our "cruise across America" in June.
You think that it was affordable for any but the wealthy at the time?
@@richmanwisco Valid question and it's all relative. They showed a number of different kinds of sleeping accommodations (as there are on AmTrak). And Santa Fe (and Union Pacific and other passenger trains) also accommodated coach passengers . . . as AmTrak does . . at a much lower cost.
Not unlike cruises, which is a luxury good . . .available at different price points . . . that caters to various middle-income folks (super-wealthy have their own yachts).
6:50 that’s so awesome they featured pyramid rock outside of Gallup
The good folks over at Mystery Science Theatre 3000 would have us rolling on the floor with laughter! Especially the part at the end when she introduces her new friend at the station (he looks less than thrilled). Then off to the car where he looks equally enthused about picking her up. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that ride home!
"Oh honey, that was Jim. We spent several hours in the 'Pleasure Dome' together."
"We did so many tunnels!"
@@yuckyool "Where nobody is a stranger"
The guy stalked her during the entire trip!😅😅
All the way on the Santa Fe...and she comes off with a huge smile on her face. If she's smart she will use that shower to rid herself of any unwanted odors.
About 1952 my family took the train from LA to Detroit to visit my mom's parents, I still have memories of riding that train.
Ahhh, the days when California was actually a nice place.
5% illegals instead of 50%.
Just thinking the same thing. Man I miss those days!
So cool! I want to travel back in time and take that same train.
Route of the Zephyrs is my old stomping grounds, but I always had an affinity for the Chief. Great video.
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dang it i was born to late for this. it looks awesome.
Peri - you've done it again!! FABULOUS video!!!
Brought back memories. I travelled on this train in June 1958. Now, instead of superb railways we have the shemozzle of travel in aeroplanes. Pity America hasn't gone in for very fast trains.
We could do it, but liberals have to buy votes wasting money.
I blame the automobile lobbyists and americas love for the car that killed any chances of building any high speed rail in the United States.
Wow that was excellent no one does these promotional films quite like the USA.... Everyone is so smiley and immaculately turned out.... Great stuff 👍
Yes, America at it's Zenith!!! 👍😊
Unfortunately that is not longer the case as it slides further & further away from those days!!!😒😔😞
Ahhhh, You're a Racist then!🧐🤔
8:08 Loved seeing the Fred Harvey Indian Building at the Alvarado Hotel, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Marvelous!! Santa Fe Super Chief history of Chicago to Los Angeles like future of Amtrak Southwest Chief in 52 years.
My Dad used to work for the Santa Fe in the early '60s out of Corwith yard, Chicago. Occasionally, he'd pull the coach yard job (head end brakeman) at Dearborn St. station, where they would pull the Super Chief into the train shed with their switch engine after the road power was cut off at the service tracks. He got a kick out of the kids marveling at the locomotive as they passed by, not knowing it only pulled them a half mile and not all the way from Los Angeles.
So nostalgic
This is one mode of travel that I think should be brought back. I live in Texas and I would love to be able to travel west at a nice leisurely pace in total comfort. I rode the train system in Europe 2 different times and really enjoyed it. Plus the cost was very reasonable. And no, I have no desire to travel at 200 mph or higher in a train. Like I said, a nice leisurely pace in total comfort. I love this films!
How much do you want to pay for it?
Thats nice. Luxury travel or no travel! That has always been my motto.
dinner in the diner nothing could be finer. i love traveling by train and the dining car is a favorite place for me.
It breaks your heart to see this film--I was lucky enough to take the Zephyr out of Denver--just before it was cancelled--the last long-distance non-Amtrak train--still using the old equipment similar to that in the film
It's Santa Fe All the Way!
I remember seeing the Super Chief when we were traveling. I wanted to be an engineer - I thought that would be so cool.
dude gets jilted in the end.......LOL!!!!!
We need this now.
A barbershop on board!
This makes me want to visit Los Angeles and explore her charms!!!
Made that run via AMTRAK back in 1996. Actually spent the night in the dome from Somewhere in Colorado to Kansas City.
Daffy "I could sure go for some liquid refreshment. (Walks up to cupboard) Say, lady, where do you keep your glasses?"
Melissa "They're in the cupboard. "
(Daffy opens the cupboard to see the Super Chief rushing towards the camera, he closes it)
Simply outstanding 👍👍
Thanks a lot 😊 People like you who "get it" are the reason we do what we do!
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yes, I took the SF/SC from Chicago to LA 8/1964 i'll never forget it, I was 20 yrs old. i see comments the SF/SC was for the rich, not so, i was dirt poor.
I miss those days. 😢
If you ever get to Napa Valley, schedule a trip on the Napa Valley Wine Train. Same locomotive, Dome cars and 5-star meals while you take the train through vineyards.
Took this route last month. We had a 1.5 hr stop in Albuquerque. Conductor said “I advise you use the buddy system, this IS Albuquerque” after getting out I knew why.
Randy, You NAILED it! So true.
Heck, thats the whole country now. With all the illegals roaming around and the wide open Biden border. Just waiting for a suitcase nuke or dirty bomb to go off.
@@shyman9023 Hyman, I share your concerns.
However, there are massive differences in crime rates among US cities. Albuquerque suffers from much higher robbery, assault, and homicide rates than the US national average.
@@bboucharde Well, I'm about 20 miles north of Baltimore and I don't go there at all.
@@shyman9023 Hyman, I am not surprised. Central Baltimore has some bad crime statistics, compared to the suburban ring.
By some measures, however, Albuquerque is still worse.
Thanks, big fan of the train videos!
thank you!
When and over what period of time did the pronunciation of Los Angeles change!
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I grew up in Southern California and my understanding is that the hard G was a railroad thing. Supposedly, it was easier for passengers to understand announcements by conductors and station agents over the sound of the trains. They did this for a few Spanish place names, for example Santa Ana was "Santee Anna."
Lots of TV shows in the 50s like Perry Mason had some people pronounce it that way.
Cool old footage
Yeah I watched this.
Road this train several times and remember timing the train between Dodge City KS and Trinidad CO and it would run 100mph+ through most of that territory especially LaJunta to Trinidad where I timed it at 105mph. We've lost so much in the US.
it's 100mph vs 700mph. simple.
@@suppylarue220 life is about the journey not the destination. We all know what the final destination is but it's the experiences during the journey that make life enjoyable. There is nothing enjoyable about a cramped crowded, noisy, airplane with disrespectful people and the misery of just getting to your seat from your home. Sadly people don't seem to understand what quality of life means anymore its all about how fast you live it and how many things you do. You can't replace life's quality experiences with fast cheap quantity experiences. The difference between sit down fine dining in a nice restaurant versus fast food at the drive through eaten at a traffic light. I'll take 100mph or less of a quality experience versus 700mph of misery. It's about the journey not the destination.
@@stevenk9094 what's all your gibberish? trains put stage coaches out of business, jets put passenger trains out of business. plain and simple. nostalgia has no place in it.
I like that diesel locomotive
I bet Amtrak doesn't have anything like this today.
Yeah, the bedrooms are most certainly NOT the same...
ua-cam.com/video/S78bfiJDwWA/v-deo.html
Now you can take the Amtrak Southwest Chief.
@@SkySim the southwest chief, while having the same accommodations in theory, doesn’t hold a candle to this train.
Anyone recognise who the actress is? Awesome scenery. A really interesting film.
I was wondering too, she looks so familiar!
I’m thinking that’s Virginia Leith.
I checked Google and that was Virginia Leith. Good detective work.😊
I thought was her. Good sleuthing. Her voice gave her away.
I can see clearly now, 1972, Johnny Nash.
Song reminds me of Super Chief.
The Santa Fe Super Chief was created and designed NOT for the general public, but for millionaires, movie and radio stars and businessmen. Only higher-income passengers could ride this luxury, extra-fare passenger train!
hardly.
SANTA FE ALL THE WAY!!!
Took the combined Super Chief/El Capitan from Pasadena to Chicago in 1964. They might as well have put a hook in my mouth and pulled on that pole, because they have had me hooked ever since! 😉
While this was the pinnacle of travel at the time, remember this was also first class travel for the wealthy. Not everyone traveled this way
The Super Chief was the ultimate luxury train with the east coast equivalent being the 20th Century Limited from New York to Chicago. The railroads could not cut prices but could offer extra-fare luxury service. I road the train from New York to Miami when I was a little kid, have no idea which railroads but the second half was a steam train. One does not open windows behind a steam locomotive.
The actress is Virginia Leith
Sign me up! It really sounds like a fun way to travel. Of course the trip takes longer but isn't moving people by train less polluting than by airplane?
Life seemed so perfect in 50’s America.
It was.
Santa Fe - all the way
Other than the second hand smoke, that was an unbelievably nice train.
Fine-I will drive !
Maybe it’s because I grew up in a smoker’s house that I didn’t mind it but in the fifties, sixties and most of the seventies smoking was allowed everywhere even in hospitals. But I think when the AMA outlawed smoking in all public places and the tobacco companies started losing revenue they added more nicotine to keep people hooked but in return made them smell really bad.
Back in the sixties the smell of a freshly lit Lucky Strike or a Marlboro was a real nice aroma. Nowadays keep me away. Haven’t lit one up for 22 years after smoking for 33
Lol, oh I hear ya.
Started smoking when we were probably 13 growing up in early 70’s. Everyone smoked everywhere back then.
Quit 20 years ago.
Just funny when you see these old films and such how everyone just chain smoked. 😂
@@rexoliver7780 good stay in your car
Didn’t they have non smoking cars for non smokers at that time?
I've traveled by Amtrak Bedroom several times in the past 20 years, and they don't hold a patch to the Super Chief or any other trains of that era. The bedrooms are cramped, and the meals are so-so. Still, they are better than nothing.
Would you pay double for that level of luxury? Turns out not many did back the day, either. Which is why we don't see trains like this any more.
@@richmanwisco That's not exactly true. Airline travel in the 60's and 70's was LUXURIOUS. So, it was far better than what the railroads were offering. Today, airline travel is the pits. I do everything I can to avoid it.
I have often wondered if a "Super Chief"-quality train departed twice/day from Chicago to LA how it would do.
The Amtrak bedrooms are no smaller than in the past. There's only so much space on a train.
@@chewybunz I was not referring to Amtrak bedrooms. The Super Chief was a Santa Fe train.
@@W7DSY I think you misunderstood. I meant that the Amtrak bedrooms were not necessarily smaller than those of the Chief. Trains are cramped, period.
I don’t get the guy dumping his wife To have dinner with the stalker dude in the Turquoise room!😂
And today? 2 hrs Flight? But Train is much more Fun.
At least three hours by air.
Gee this sure was swell
1950 was the beginning of the end for any meaningful travel of this sort. 1950 started the golden age of air travel. It’s also interesting to note that many of the 1950’s room features, new at the time, are still in use today. And come on, I can’t be the only one that noticed the dichotomy between the passengers and crew in this piece.
When I went to the US on holiday in 2005 from the UK all the hotel staff in Florida were African American. That made me feel really embarrassed as you don't see that obvious racial disparity in Britain.
@@Spookieham they had a job which is good.They don't hire us for luxury hotels.
@Amos Copp Well...they were.
@@Spookieham GOOD.
The 1960s were the golden age of air travel, actually.
I hope to see you again fellow travellers!
And don't forget your Porter, Rufus "Yessum Boss" Washington!
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Stock reports, wow!
I wish I could have traveled by train, like the super chief.
Still can in Australia and Canada and in the US but in the first two they are luxury trains and not cheap.
Did they let you on the train if you lacked a tie and jacket and didn't smoke?
I've taken one long-haul train trip - Ft. Lauderdale to New Jersey - just for the adventure, some 20 years ago. I could've flown for less money. Don't remember much about it, though I guess I didn't go for the luxury package ...
I'd do it again, and might someday, but a trip like the one in this film might cost a thousand dollars or more now ...
yes, I took the SF/SC from Chicago to LA 8/1964 i'll never forget it, I was 20 yrs old.
The good old days. Today, you wont even get a bag of peanuts unless you bring it yourself. Look how everyone is dressed up and nice manners, not like the Southwest videos! I wish Amtrak could be supported better and we bring this back, i never want to fly again.
You know that was a staged promotional film, right? For a style of travel accessible to only the wealthy, right?
@@richmanwisco I know it was a promo film and I also knew someone was going to say it. But in those times, look at street films, people were better dressed, better mannered. I rode trains as a kid and there werent half-naked, foulmouthed drunks making travel difficult like in the airline vids in YT. Things HAVE changed. I notice that car and train travel has picked up a lot, people dont like flying like they did once. I wish that Trump supported Amtrak more to upgrade and attract more people, and to even build high speed trains. Anyway, in the end its not the train or the plane, its the people and their personal class has declined in US. Everything has declined, our speech, dress, manners, edu level, ways. There was a time it was better, why is it worse today?
Does anyone know if these discontinued train cars can be purchased anywhere?
most were scrapped. a few exist in private collections. You can track 100% of them down by using a roster.
Great film, but why did they call the private dining room the "Turquoise Room" when it is pastel rose colored?
Turquoise is a huge thing in NM. and Santa Fe is also a place there... Probably just another NM/culture reference.
There was a large turquoise medallion on one of the walls.
Just think, with that level of service, you too could get to LA in 2 days for 4 grand one way
not near 4k
I’m pretty sure at the 4:20 mark, the nighttime shot looks a Lionel O gauge toy train instead of the real thing.😂. The radius on the turn is just too sharp for a real locomotive to navigate.
Yeah you're right. That's been a secret for 60 years.. ;-)
How many passengers on a Super Chief vs. a coach train? How did the ticket prices compare ... and travel times? Traveling 'First Class' on anything is ALWAYS nicest compared to 'Coach' ... if you've got the money. Love how there's always someone 'lighting up' in every other scene showing everyone how 'super cool' smokers were back then ... with the attitude back then being you could NEVER be super cool if you didn't smoke. I suspect the Super Chief was the status symbol the Concorde would be years later. Here's a cute 'aside' my mother liked to tell on me when I was on a long train ride with her back in 1949 when I was two y.o. I was a bad thumb sucker. Mom whispered, "You can't suck your thumb here. The other passenges won't like it." She said I quit 'on the spot' and never went back to it. (We got rid of the cigabutts (good) and got rid of true luxury (bad). Net progress: none.) I took my last train trip on a real train (just before AmTrack) between Savannah and Macon, GA, in the summer of 1967. It was so nice to be able to walk around. Them was the days!
That is one good lookin dame
Does anyone know if the narrator is Don Wilson of Jack Benny fame?
Super Chief, She was a Grand Passenger train Diesel
Get rid of the smokes in 62 dad back from west has H o scale super cheaf train and oval track for the Kids! Great fun!
Interesting everyone dressed to the 9s, no sweatpants or flip flops.
I love how Hugh Hefner Light keeps pestering and hitting on Train Girl in every scene. Then when they get to Los Angle Leez her boyfriend picks her up and Hugh's body language says "Who the Hell is this?"
I see smoking was encouraged on The Super Chief lol
Everyone smoked back then. It was unusual to see nonsmokers. I was the only one in my family other than my Grandma and Aunt that didn't smoke.
I’m hoping they bring back decent rail cars Roanoke has sat idle for much to long.
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The Super Chief was in my mind the second best train ride in the country.
Nothing tops Western Pacific's California Zephyr.
I've always wanted to ride the Empire Builder the whole way. How does it compare. Never rode a sleeper rr before unfortunately.
I remember being able to smoke on a train. 1983 exactly on the Crescent both north and south either in the restroom lounge, between cars in the vestibule or in the lounge car. Back when i was a smoker
The last passenger train I rode on that had smoking was the Coast Starlight in 1992, in a section of the observation car only. It was also the last time I saw a bathroom direct flush toilet that opened up onto the tracks instead of a holding tank.
@@NickKaminski1980 that’s how the toilets were on the Crescent
I could just imagine what the underside of the cars looked and smelled like when arriving in either New Orleans or NYC
it would have been nice to have a better copy of this vdeo and way better sound than what is here
When America was King and not on it's way to a 3rd world Country.
1:06 "Los Angle-os"
Virginia Leith was about 25 when she appeared here. I wonder if this was what got her the big break?