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The '''''Overland Limited''''' (also known at various times as the ''Overland Flyer'', ''San Francisco Overland Limited'', ''San Francisco Overland'' and often simply as the ''Overland'') was a named [[passenger train]] which for much of its history was jointly operated by three railroads on the [[Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)|Overland Route]] between [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] and [[Chicago]]. The [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|Southern Pacific Railroad]] handled the train west of [[Ogden, Utah]], the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] between Ogden and [[Omaha, Nebraska]]/[[Council Bluffs, Iowa]], and east of the [[Missouri River]] to Chicago it was operated by the [[Chicago and North Western Transportation Company|Chicago and North Western Railway]] as well as, for a few years starting in 1905, by the [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad]] (the "Milwaukee Road"). |
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The named service on this route began on the UP as the ''Overland Flyer'' (1887–96), and the SP began its own separate named ''Overland Limited'' train in 1899. The ''Overland'' name disappeared on C&NW's portion of the route on October 30, 1955, from the UP in 1956, and finally ended on the SP's portion as a separate year-round train on July 16, 1962 when that service was consolidated with the [[City of San Francisco (train)|''City of San Francisco''.]] |
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== History == |
== History == |
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{{see also|Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)}} |
{{see also|Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)}} |
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[[File:Great Overland Route Timetable Cover 1881.JPG|thumb|left|CPRR/UPRR "The Great American Over-land Route" Time Table cover (1881)]] |
[[File:Great Overland Route Timetable Cover 1881.JPG|thumb|left|CPRR/UPRR "The Great American Over-land Route" Time Table cover (1881)]]In 1869 service began on the [[Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)|Overland Route]] between the east end of the Union Pacific on the Missouri River at [[Council Bluffs, Iowa]]<ref>[http://cprr.org/Museum/Lincoln_1864.html Executive Order of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, Fixing the Point of Commencement of the Pacific Railroad at Council Bluffs, Iowa. dated March 7, 1864.] (38th Congress, 1st Session SENATE Ex. Doc. No. 27)</ref>/[[Omaha, Nebraska]] via [[Ogden, Utah]] ([[Central Pacific Railroad|CPRR]]) and [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] ([[Western Pacific Railroad (1862–70)|WPRR]]/CPRR) to San Francisco Bay.<ref>[http://centpacrr.com/SFC1870.jpg ''Travellers' Official Guide of Railways an Steam Navigation Lines in the United States and Canada''], June, 1870 pp. 215-16</ref> The fare from Council Bluffs to Sacramento (the end of the Central Pacific Railroad proper) was $131.50. The fare between Chicago and Council Bluffs was another $22.00.<ref>[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/CPRR_%26_UPRR_Display_Ads_May_1869.jpg Central Pacific Railroad & Union Pacific Railroad display advertisements]. The Salt Lake ''Daily Telegraph'', May 17, 1869</ref> Round trip first class 30-day excursion fares between Omaha and San Francisco in 1870 ranged from $170 for groups of 20 to 24 to $130 for groups of 50 or more plus $14 for each double sleeping berth over the route.<ref>[http://centpacrr.com/1870_Excursion_Rates.jpg ''Travellers' Official Guide''] (June 1870) p. x</ref> |
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In June 1870 scheduled travel time from Chicago to San Francisco was 131 hours;<ref>[http://centpacrr.com/SFC1870.jpg "Travellers' Official Guide of Railways an Steam Navigation Lines in the United States and Canada"], June, 1870 pp. 215-16</ref> in February 1886 Chicago to San Francisco time was down to 110 hr 40 min. On November 13, 1887 the ''Overland Flyer'' (its name on the UP) began, connecting to SP's ''Pacific Express'' (westbound) and ''Atlantic Express'' (eastbound) at Ogden; Chicago to San Francisco time in October 1888 was 96 hours. Around this time a sleeper began running from Chicago to Oakland, transferred from train to train. |
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| ⚫ | [[File:The Overland |
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| ⚫ | [[File:The Overland Monthly_1869.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''Monthly Overland'' 1869]]The name ''Overland'' had its roots in the West: [[Bret Harte]], chronicler of the [[California Gold Rush]], had founded a monthly literary magazine named the ''[[Overland Monthly]]'' in 1868 while various [[stagecoach]] companies had incorporated "Overland" into their names.<ref>{{harvnb|Beebe|1963|p=27}}</ref> The ''Overland'' was the subject of an early train documentary film short in 1901.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359787/ IMDB has "1901"] and [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359868/ another short 1901], however cf. John Huntley ''Railways in the cinema'' 1969 p.89 "THE SHORT FILM In addition to films like "Darlington Centenary" and "Night Mail" (see pages 47 and 52) the railways of the world have inspired countless documentary, instructional, factual, poetic, compilation and amateur films. ...Union Pacific Overland Limited (Edison, 1902)"</ref> For a few years starting around 1904 the Milwaukee Road ran an Overland Limited from Chicago to Council Bluffs, carrying a sleeper that continued west from Omaha with cars that had come from Chicago on the C&NW. |
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| ⚫ | After the five-times-a-month ''[[City of San Francisco (train)|City of San Francisco]]'' began in June 1936 the ''Overland'' was just the top ''daily'' train on the route, until the City went daily in 1947.<ref>{{harvnb|Beebe|1963|p=50}}</ref> It became an Oakland-Omaha train in 1955 and was cut back to Oakland-Ogden in 1956.<ref>[http://centpacrr.com/OG_May_1962.jpg ''THE OFFICIAL GUIDE of RAILWAYS of the UNITED STATES''], May, 1962, 94th year, No. 12, p. 658</ref><ref>Signor 1985 p. 276</ref><ref>Beebe 1963 p. 51</ref><ref>Solomon 2001 p. 71</ref> On 16 July 1962 the [[Interstate Commerce Commission|ICC's]] recent order (Docket #21946) approving the Overland's consolidation with the ''City of San Francisco'' went into effect.<ref>ICC Financial Docket No. 21946 (Filed February 5, 1962, decided July 6, 1962, served July 16, 1962)</ref><ref>[http://centpacrr.com/spolcsf_July_16_1962.jpg Southern Pacific ''Overland Route'' Time Tables (Form 4]), July 16, 1962</ref> From then until it ended in 1963-64 it was just a seasonal second section of the [[City of San Francisco (train)|''City of San Francisco'']].<ref>[http://centpacrr.com/SP_Oct_1962.jpg Southern Pacific Passenger Train Schedules], October 28, 1962, p. 6, Table 17</ref><ref>[http://centpacrr.com/sfol1962.jpg ''THE OFFICIAL GUIDE of RAILWAYS of the UNITED STATES''], October, 1962, 95th year, No. 5, p. 654</ref><ref>The Overland continued to have its own schedule (15 minutes behind the City of SF) in SP employee timetables until October 1963, presumably for the dispatcher's convenience.</ref> The SP declined to revive the train in 1964 amid some controversy.<ref name="dij19640722" /><ref>Public Utilities Commission of the State of California, Case #7955, Decision #70568, April 12, 1966</ref> |
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[[File:Consolidatd "City of San Francisco" - SF "Overland Limited" consist July 16, 1962.jpg|thumb|center|800px|''City of San Francisco'' and ''San Francisco Overland'' consolidated consist (effective July 16, 1962)]] |
[[File:Consolidatd "City of San Francisco" - SF "Overland Limited" consist July 16, 1962.jpg|thumb|center|800px|''City of San Francisco'' and ''San Francisco Overland'' consolidated consist (effective July 16, 1962)]] |
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== Name == |
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[[File: |
[[File:Great Overland Route Timetable Cover 1881.JPG|thumb|left|CPRR/UPRR "The Great American Over-land Route" Time Table cover (1881)]]The ''Overland Limited'' was generally referred to as the ''Overland'' whatever other nouns were attached.<ref>Solomon 2000 p. 74</ref> The Union Pacific introduced the ''Overland Flyer'' on November 13,1887 and renamed it ''Overland Limited'' on November 17, 1895. <ref>Beebe 1963 p. 13</ref><ref>[http://centpacrr.com/upof1889.jpg ''THE OFFICIAL GUIDE of the RAILWAY and STEAM NAVIGATION LINES of the UNITED STATES and CANADA''] New York: National Railway Publication Co. 21st year, No. 8. January, 1889. p. 355</ref> On December 5, 1888 the first deluxe train, the weekly ''Golden Gate Special'' began running between San Francisco/Oakland and Council Bluffs where passengers connected with C&NW trains for Chicago. That extra-fare train was dropped after five months.<ref>[http://centpacrr.com/gss1888.jpg ''THE OFFICIAL GUIDE''] January, 1889. p. 328</ref><ref>"The Golden Gate Special to be discontinued after the 12th of May", The Sacramento ''Daily Union'', Volume 61, Number 56, April 29, 1889, p. 1</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/finesttraininwo00compgoog#page/n10/mode/2up "The Finest Train in the World: The Golden Gate Special."] Union Pacific Railway, Passenger Department (1888)</ref> The fare between San Francisco and Council Bluffs on this train was $60 for First Class passage and $40 for sleeping accommodations and meals in the dining car.<ref>[http://centpacrr.com/GGSfare.jpg "The Golden Gate Special"], UP 8-panel folding brochure, December, 1888</ref> |
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The ''Overland's'' connection at Ogden was with SP's eastbound ''Atlantic Express'' and westbound ''Pacific Express'' until October 15, 1899 when a new ''Overland Limited'' began running under that name between Oakland and Chicago in about 72 hours. The SP described it as "An Elegant Solid Vestibuled Train of Composite Car, with library, Smoking Parlor, Buffet, etc. Luxurious Double Drawing-room Sleeping Cars, Dining Car. The Fastest Overland service in the history of transcontinental railroading."<ref>[http://centpacrr.com/olad2.jpg SP ''Overland Limited'' Advertisement] The San Francisco ''Call'', November, 1899</ref> The name alternated between ''Overland Limited'' and ''San Francisco Overland Limited'' until 1946-47 when "Limited" was dropped. |
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In 1913 the ''Overland Limited'' became an extra-fare ($10) train with a 65-hour schedule and a barber, manicurist, stenographer, bath, etc.<ref>The ''Straits Times'', November 19, 1912, p. 9</ref> The extra fare was dropped in 1918 when the schedule reverted to 72 hours. In November 1926 the schedule dropped to 63 hours each way with $10 extra fare that ended in 1931. |
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With the [[Great Depression|Depression]] raging, the previously all-Pullman ''Overland'' began to carry chair cars in 1931, a service which lasted through much of the rest of that decade.<ref name="Signor 1985 p. 276"/> In 1941–42 the [[Pullman-Standard]] Company built two groups (60 "6-6-4" and 18 "4-1-4") of streamlined light-weight sleeping cars for the UP (54), SP (13) and C&NW (11) and three groups totaling 70 similar style head-end and chair cars for the UP for use on all their trains servicing their ''Overland Routes'' to the west coast from Los Angeles to Seattle.<ref>Wayner 1972 pp. 156-7</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Welsh|2008|p=85}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | The previously all-Pullman ''Overland'' carried chair cars from 1931-37.<ref>Signor 1985 p. 276</ref> In 1941–42 the [[Pullman-Standard]] Company built sixty 6-6-4 and eighteen 4-4-2 streamlined sleeping cars for the Overland and other trains.<ref>Wayner 1972 pp. 156-7</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Welsh|2008|p=85}}</ref> During World War II the again all-Pullman ''San Francisco Overland Limited'' ballooned to as many as 20 cars and often ran in sections with sleepers for Portland and Los Angeles as well as Oakland.<ref>{{harvnb|Beebe|1963|p=138}}</ref><ref>[http://centpacrr.com/SFOL1945Consists.jpg ''San Francisco Overland Limited'' Consists] September 15, 1945</ref> (Union Pacific system-wide passenger-miles in 1945 were more than five times the 1939 total.) Chair cars returned in 1946.<ref>[http://espee.railfan.net/overland.html "Southern Pacific Equipment Registers"] #14 (June 2, 1946); #15 (February 1, 1955)</ref><ref>Solomon 2007 p. 67</ref> In March 1952, toward the end of its existence as a through train, the ''San Francisco Overland'' carried Chicago–San Francisco sleepers, a New York–San Francisco sleeper carried on alternate days by the [[New York Central Railroad]]'s ''[[Wolverine (train)|Wolverine]]'' and the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s ''Pennsylvania Limited'', and a summer-only sleeper for [[Yellowstone Park]] conveyed to the ''Idahoan'' at [[Green River, Wyoming]].<ref>{{harvnb|Maiken|1989|p=339}}</ref> Starting in 1955 an SP low-profile dome ran between Oakland and Ogden. |
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The Southern Pacific introduced a "Hamburger Grill" car between Oakland and Ogden on October 24, 1954. The SP |
The Southern Pacific introduced a "Hamburger Grill" car between Oakland and Ogden on October 24, 1954. The SP said the burgers were among "the finest meat products of Southern Pacific territory"<ref name="nsj19541024" /> but [[Lucius Beebe]] said the car, and the coffee-shop car that replaced it, were signs of the decline of the train.<ref>{{harvnb|Beebe|1963|p=51}}</ref> |
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==Route diagrams== |
==Route diagrams== |
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Revision as of 17:43, 9 April 2015
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 The Overland Limited leaving 16th Street Station, Oakland, in 1906 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| First service | November 13, 1887 |
| Last service | 1963 |
| Former operator(s) | |
History
In 1869 service began on the Overland Route between the east end of the Union Pacific on the Missouri River at Council Bluffs, Iowa[1]/Omaha, Nebraska via Ogden, Utah (CPRR) and Sacramento (WPRR/CPRR) to San Francisco Bay.[2] The fare from Council Bluffs to Sacramento (the end of the Central Pacific Railroad proper) was $131.50. The fare between Chicago and Council Bluffs was another $22.00.[3] Round trip first class 30-day excursion fares between Omaha and San Francisco in 1870 ranged from $170 for groups of 20 to 24 to $130 for groups of 50 or more plus $14 for each double sleeping berth over the route.[4]
In June 1870 scheduled travel time from Chicago to San Francisco was 131 hours;[5] in February 1886 Chicago to San Francisco time was down to 110 hr 40 min. On November 13, 1887 the Overland Flyer (its name on the UP) began, connecting to SP's Pacific Express (westbound) and Atlantic Express (eastbound) at Ogden; Chicago to San Francisco time in October 1888 was 96 hours. Around this time a sleeper began running from Chicago to Oakland, transferred from train to train.
The name Overland had its roots in the West: Bret Harte, chronicler of the California Gold Rush, had founded a monthly literary magazine named the Overland Monthly in 1868 while various stagecoach companies had incorporated "Overland" into their names.[6] The Overland was the subject of an early train documentary film short in 1901.[7] For a few years starting around 1904 the Milwaukee Road ran an Overland Limited from Chicago to Council Bluffs, carrying a sleeper that continued west from Omaha with cars that had come from Chicago on the C&NW.
After the five-times-a-month City of San Francisco began in June 1936 the Overland was just the top daily train on the route, until the City went daily in 1947.[8] It became an Oakland-Omaha train in 1955 and was cut back to Oakland-Ogden in 1956.[9][10][11][12] On 16 July 1962 the ICC's recent order (Docket #21946) approving the Overland's consolidation with the City of San Francisco went into effect.[13][14] From then until it ended in 1963-64 it was just a seasonal second section of the City of San Francisco.[15][16][17] The SP declined to revive the train in 1964 amid some controversy.[18][19]
Name
The Overland Limited was generally referred to as the Overland whatever other nouns were attached.[20] The Union Pacific introduced the Overland Flyer on November 13,1887 and renamed it Overland Limited on November 17, 1895. [21][22] On December 5, 1888 the first deluxe train, the weekly Golden Gate Special began running between San Francisco/Oakland and Council Bluffs where passengers connected with C&NW trains for Chicago. That extra-fare train was dropped after five months.[23][24][25] The fare between San Francisco and Council Bluffs on this train was $60 for First Class passage and $40 for sleeping accommodations and meals in the dining car.[26]
The Overland's connection at Ogden was with SP's eastbound Atlantic Express and westbound Pacific Express until October 15, 1899 when a new Overland Limited began running under that name between Oakland and Chicago in about 72 hours. The SP described it as "An Elegant Solid Vestibuled Train of Composite Car, with library, Smoking Parlor, Buffet, etc. Luxurious Double Drawing-room Sleeping Cars, Dining Car. The Fastest Overland service in the history of transcontinental railroading."[27] The name alternated between Overland Limited and San Francisco Overland Limited until 1946-47 when "Limited" was dropped.
In 1913 the Overland Limited became an extra-fare ($10) train with a 65-hour schedule and a barber, manicurist, stenographer, bath, etc.[28] The extra fare was dropped in 1918 when the schedule reverted to 72 hours. In November 1926 the schedule dropped to 63 hours each way with $10 extra fare that ended in 1931.
Equipment
The previously all-Pullman Overland carried chair cars from 1931-37.[29] In 1941–42 the Pullman-Standard Company built sixty 6-6-4 and eighteen 4-4-2 streamlined sleeping cars for the Overland and other trains.[30][31] During World War II the again all-Pullman San Francisco Overland Limited ballooned to as many as 20 cars and often ran in sections with sleepers for Portland and Los Angeles as well as Oakland.[32][33] (Union Pacific system-wide passenger-miles in 1945 were more than five times the 1939 total.) Chair cars returned in 1946.[34][35] In March 1952, toward the end of its existence as a through train, the San Francisco Overland carried Chicago–San Francisco sleepers, a New York–San Francisco sleeper carried on alternate days by the New York Central Railroad's Wolverine and the Pennsylvania Railroad's Pennsylvania Limited, and a summer-only sleeper for Yellowstone Park conveyed to the Idahoan at Green River, Wyoming.[36] Starting in 1955 an SP low-profile dome ran between Oakland and Ogden.
The Southern Pacific introduced a "Hamburger Grill" car between Oakland and Ogden on October 24, 1954. The SP said the burgers were among "the finest meat products of Southern Pacific territory"[37] but Lucius Beebe said the car, and the coffee-shop car that replaced it, were signs of the decline of the train.[38]
Route diagrams
See also
- Overland Limited of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
- Passenger train service on the Union Pacific Railroad
Notes
- ^ Executive Order of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, Fixing the Point of Commencement of the Pacific Railroad at Council Bluffs, Iowa. dated March 7, 1864. (38th Congress, 1st Session SENATE Ex. Doc. No. 27)
- ^ Travellers' Official Guide of Railways an Steam Navigation Lines in the United States and Canada, June, 1870 pp. 215-16
- ^ Central Pacific Railroad & Union Pacific Railroad display advertisements. The Salt Lake Daily Telegraph, May 17, 1869
- ^ Travellers' Official Guide (June 1870) p. x
- ^ "Travellers' Official Guide of Railways an Steam Navigation Lines in the United States and Canada", June, 1870 pp. 215-16
- ^ Beebe 1963, p. 27
- ^ IMDB has "1901" and another short 1901, however cf. John Huntley Railways in the cinema 1969 p.89 "THE SHORT FILM In addition to films like "Darlington Centenary" and "Night Mail" (see pages 47 and 52) the railways of the world have inspired countless documentary, instructional, factual, poetic, compilation and amateur films. ...Union Pacific Overland Limited (Edison, 1902)"
- ^ Beebe 1963, p. 50
- ^ THE OFFICIAL GUIDE of RAILWAYS of the UNITED STATES, May, 1962, 94th year, No. 12, p. 658
- ^ Signor 1985 p. 276
- ^ Beebe 1963 p. 51
- ^ Solomon 2001 p. 71
- ^ ICC Financial Docket No. 21946 (Filed February 5, 1962, decided July 6, 1962, served July 16, 1962)
- ^ Southern Pacific Overland Route Time Tables (Form 4), July 16, 1962
- ^ Southern Pacific Passenger Train Schedules, October 28, 1962, p. 6, Table 17
- ^ THE OFFICIAL GUIDE of RAILWAYS of the UNITED STATES, October, 1962, 95th year, No. 5, p. 654
- ^ The Overland continued to have its own schedule (15 minutes behind the City of SF) in SP employee timetables until October 1963, presumably for the dispatcher's convenience.
- ^ "Railroad Dispute". Daily Independent Journal. July 22, 1964. p. 2. Retrieved August 30, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Public Utilities Commission of the State of California, Case #7955, Decision #70568, April 12, 1966
- ^ Solomon 2000 p. 74
- ^ Beebe 1963 p. 13
- ^ THE OFFICIAL GUIDE of the RAILWAY and STEAM NAVIGATION LINES of the UNITED STATES and CANADA New York: National Railway Publication Co. 21st year, No. 8. January, 1889. p. 355
- ^ THE OFFICIAL GUIDE January, 1889. p. 328
- ^ "The Golden Gate Special to be discontinued after the 12th of May", The Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 61, Number 56, April 29, 1889, p. 1
- ^ "The Finest Train in the World: The Golden Gate Special." Union Pacific Railway, Passenger Department (1888)
- ^ "The Golden Gate Special", UP 8-panel folding brochure, December, 1888
- ^ SP Overland Limited Advertisement The San Francisco Call, November, 1899
- ^ The Straits Times, November 19, 1912, p. 9
- ^ Signor 1985 p. 276
- ^ Wayner 1972 pp. 156-7
- ^ Welsh 2008, p. 85
- ^ Beebe 1963, p. 138
- ^ San Francisco Overland Limited Consists September 15, 1945
- ^ "Southern Pacific Equipment Registers" #14 (June 2, 1946); #15 (February 1, 1955)
- ^ Solomon 2007 p. 67
- ^ Maiken 1989, p. 339
- ^ "S.P. Glorifying Hamburger With New-Style Car". Nevada State Journal. October 24, 1954. p. 9. Retrieved August 30, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Beebe 1963, p. 51
References
- Beebe, Lucius Morris (1963). The Overland Limited. Howell-North Books. ISBN 0831070382.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Maiken, Peter T. (1989). Night Trains: The Pullman System in the Golden Years of American Rail Travel. Chicago: Lakme Press. ISBN 0-9621-480-0-8. OCLC 20461978.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Signor, John (1985) DONNER PASS Southern Pacific's Sierra Crossing. San Marino, CA: Golden West Books
- Solomon, Brian (2000). Union Pacific Railroad. Osceola, Wisconsin: MBI. ISBN 0-7603-0756-3.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Solomon, Brian (2007) Southern Pacific Railroad. Minneapolis: Voyageur Press. ISBN 0760329311
- Welsh, Joe; Bill Howes (2004). Travel by Pullman: a century of service. Saint Paul, MN: MBI. ISBN 0760318573. OCLC 56634363.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Welsh, Joe (2008). Union Pacific's Streamliners. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-2534-6.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)
Passenger trains of the Southern Pacific | ||
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| Named trains |  | |
| Daylights | ||
| Overland Route | ||