City of St. Louis (train)

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.

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 1946–1951 Cheyenne 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

History

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

• St. Louis
• 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

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.

References

• 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.