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The '''''Overland Limited''''', and often shortened to the '''''Overland''''', was a named ] jointly operated by three railroads on the ] between ]/] and ]. The ] handled the train from the ] to ], the ] between Ogden and ]/], and the ] east of the ] to Chicago. (The ] (the "Milwaukee Road") also ran the train briefly east of Council Bluffs at different points during its existence.) The '''''Overland Limited''''' was a ] on the ] between ] and Oakland, across the Bay from ]. It ran on the ] west of ], the ] from there to ]/], and on the ] from there to Chicago.


The named service on this route began on the UP as '''''Overland Flyer''''' from 1887–96, and the SP began its own separate named ''Overland Limited'' service 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 as a separate train in the summer of 1962 when that train was consolidated with the ] It became an Oakland-Omaha train in 1955 and was cut back to Oakland-Ogden in 1956; from July 1962 until it ended in 1963-64 it was just a seasonal second section of the ].


== History == == History ==
{{seealso|Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)}} {{seealso|Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)}}
]The first transcontinental rail service on the ] between the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific on the Missouri River at ]<ref> (38th Congress, 1st Session SENATE Ex. Doc. No. 27)</ref> via ] (]) and ] (]/CPRR) to the San Francisco Bay at the Oakland Wharf was opened in May, 1869. At that time just one daily passenger accommodation train ran in each direction taking 102 hours to cover that 1,912 mile route.<ref>, June, 1870 pp. 215-16</ref> The fare from Council Bluffs to Sacramento (the end of the Central Pacific Railroad proper) was $134.50, and from Chicago $22.00 more.<ref>Klink, William L. "Modern Passenger Schedules and Their Development in Railway Transportation". University of Illinois, College of Commerce and Business Administration. 1918. p. 19</ref> During the entire decade of the 1870's and much of the 1880s the schedule was shortened by only 3 hours and service was not improved to any major extent until November 13, 1887 when the''' ''Overland Flyer'' '''was put into service by the UP connecting to SP's ''Pacific Express'' (westbound) and ''Atlantic Express'' (eastbound) at Ogden. Between Chicago and Council Bluffs connecting service was provided by the Chicago and North Western.<ref>{{harvnb|Beebe|1963|p=28}}</ref> ]Passenger service on the ] between ]<ref> (38th Congress, 1st Session SENATE Ex. Doc. No. 27)</ref> via ] (]) and ] (]/CPRR) to San Francisco Bay began in May, 1869. In June 1870 a passenger who left Chicago at 10:45 on Monday morning was scheduled to reach San Francisco at 7:30 Saturday evening.<ref>, June, 1870 pp. 215-16</ref> The fare from Council Bluffs to Sacramento (the end of the Central Pacific Railroad proper) was $134.50, and from Chicago $22.00 more.<ref>Klink, William L. "Modern Passenger Schedules and Their Development in Railway Transportation". University of Illinois, College of Commerce and Business Administration. 1918. p. 19</ref> Service was little improved until November 13, 1887 when the ''Overland Flyer'' (its name on the UP) began, carrying a Chicago-Oakland sleeper to SP's ''Pacific Express'' (westbound) and ''Atlantic Express'' (eastbound) at Ogden.


]The name ''Overland'' had its roots in the West: ], chronicler of the ], had founded a monthly literary magazine named the '']'' in 1868 while previously various ] 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> and , 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 period of years in the early Twentieth Century beginning in 1905 the ''Overland'' used the Milwaukee Road between Chicago and Council Bluffs. ] contends that the Union Pacific always intended this as a temporary measure to coerce better performance from the Chicago and North Western, and in fact a section of the ''Overland'' continued to use the C&NW during the period.<ref>{{harvnb|Beebe|1963|p=31}}</ref> ]The name ''Overland'' had its roots in the West: ], chronicler of the ], had founded a monthly literary magazine named the '']'' in 1868 while previously various ] 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> and , 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.


The introduction of the then five-times-a-month dieselized streamliner '']'' in 1936 began the relegation the ''Overland'' to secondary status on the Overland Route.<ref>{{harvnb|Beebe|1963|p=50}}</ref> By January, 1955 the train was a shell of its former self, carrying only two Chicago–Oakland through cars. While the train ceased operation on the C&NW on October 30, 1955<ref>. ''The Milwaukee Road Magazine'', Vol. 43, No. 7. October, 1955. pp. 4-6</ref> and its name was dropped by UP in 1956, ''San Francisco Overland'' for trains 27 and 28 was retained by the SP between San Francisco and Ogden until that last vestige of that road's original 1899 ''Overland Limited'' as a separate named train providing year-round daily service<ref>, May, 1962, 94th year, No. 12, p. 658</ref> ended on July 16, 1962.<ref>Signor 1985 p. 276</ref><ref>Beebe 1963 p. 51</ref><ref>Solomon 2001 p. 71</ref> On that date the ] recent order (Docket #21946) approving of its discontinuation and consolidation with the ''City of San Francisco'' went into effect and new ''Overland Route'' schedules were instituted.<ref>ICC Financial Docket No. 21946 (Filed February 5, 1962, decided July 6, 1962, served July 16, 1962)</ref><ref>), July 16, 1962</ref> The ''Overland'' continued only as titular seasonal summer and holiday service consolidated with the ''City of San Francisco'' except when run as an occasional second section if heavy seasonal traffic warranted until January 2, 1964 after which the ''Overland'' name disappeared forever from the route.<ref>, October 28, 1962, p. 6, Table 17</ref><ref>, October, 1962, 95th year, No. 5, p. 654</ref>The SP declined to revive the train's name 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> After the then-five-times-a-month diesel streamliner '']'' 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>, 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 ] 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>), July 16, 1962</ref> From then until it ended in 1963-64 it was just a seasonal second section of the ].<ref>, October 28, 1962, p. 6, Table 17</ref><ref>, October, 1962, 95th year, No. 5, p. 654</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>
] ]


== Name == == Name ==


]The ''Overland Limited'' 's formal name varied during its long career although it was generally referred to colloquially as the ''Overland'' regardless of whatever other nouns might be attached. <ref>Solomon 2000 p. 74</ref> The Union Pacific introduced the ''Overland Flyer'' on November 13,1887 and renamed it the ''Overland Limited'' on November 17, 1895. <ref>Beebe 1963 p. 13</ref><ref> New York: National Railway Publication Co. 21st year, No. 8. January, 1889. p. 355</ref> The Southern Pacific introduced its first deluxe service between San Francisco/Oakland and Ogden though to Chicago on December 5, 1888 with the weekly ''Golden Gate Special'' although that extravagant extra-fare train was dropped after just five months.<ref> 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> Union Pacific Railway, Passenger Department (1888)</ref> ]The ''Overland Limited'' was generally known 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 the ''Overland Limited'' on November 17, 1895. <ref>Beebe 1963 p. 13</ref><ref> New York: National Railway Publication Co. 21st year, No. 8. January, 1889. p. 355</ref> The Southern Pacific introduced its first deluxe service between San Francisco/Oakland and Ogden though to Chicago on December 5, 1888 with the weekly ''Golden Gate Special'' although that extravagant extra-fare train was dropped after just five months.<ref> 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> Union Pacific Railway, Passenger Department (1888)</ref>


For the next decade the ''Overland's'' connection at Ogden to and from San Francisco was with the eastbound ''Atlantic Express'' and westbound ''Pacific Express'' until October 15, 1899 when the SP inaugurated its own new ''Overland Limited'' (TR1&2) which became the UP's identically named Ogden to Omaha/Council Bluffs train providing 71-hour through service. The SP described its new first class train 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> The San Francisco ''Call'', November, 1899</ref> On January 1, 1913 the ''Overland Limited'' became an extra-fare ($10) train when it further cut its running time from 68 to 64 hours and added amenities such as a barber, manicurist, stenographer, bath, etc.<ref>The ''Straits Times'', November 19, 1912, p. 9</ref> Known variously as both the ''Overland Limited'' and ''San Francisco Overland Limited'' for the next 32 years, on May 31, 1931 the service again became the ''San Francisco Overland Limited'' when its train numbers changed from "1 and 2" to "27 and 28", and on July 10, 1947 the designation "Limited" was dropped from the name altogether.<ref>Signor 1985 p. 276</ref> For the next decade the ''Overland's'' connection at Ogden to and from San Francisco was with the eastbound ''Atlantic Express'' and westbound ''Pacific Express'' until October 15, 1899 when the SP inaugurated its own new ''Overland Limited'' (TR1&2) which became the UP's identically named Ogden to Omaha/Council Bluffs train providing 71-hour through service. The SP described its new first class train 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> The San Francisco ''Call'', November, 1899</ref> On January 1, 1913 the ''Overland Limited'' became an extra-fare ($10) train when it further cut its running time from 68 to 64 hours and added amenities such as a barber, manicurist, stenographer, bath, etc.<ref>The ''Straits Times'', November 19, 1912, p. 9</ref> Known variously as both the ''Overland Limited'' and ''San Francisco Overland Limited'' for the next 32 years, on May 31, 1931 the service again became the ''San Francisco Overland Limited'' when its train numbers changed from "1 and 2" to "27 and 28", and on July 10, 1947 the designation "Limited" was dropped from the name altogether.<ref>Signor 1985 p. 276</ref>

Revision as of 18:00, 2 April 2015

  • Overland Limited
  • Overland Flyer
The Overland Limited leaving 16th Street Station, Oakland, in 1906
Overview
First serviceNovember 13, 1887 (1887-11-13)
Last service1963 (1963)
Former operator(s)

The Overland Limited was a passenger train on the Overland Route between Chicago and Oakland, across the Bay from San Francisco. It ran on the Southern Pacific Railroad west of Ogden, Utah, the Union Pacific Railroad from there to Omaha, Nebraska/Council Bluffs, Iowa, and on the Chicago and North Western Railway from there to Chicago.

It became an Oakland-Omaha train in 1955 and was cut back to Oakland-Ogden in 1956; from July 1962 until it ended in 1963-64 it was just a seasonal second section of the City of San Francisco.

History

See also: Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)

Passenger service on the Overland Route between Council Bluffs, Iowa via Ogden, Utah (CPRR) and Sacramento (WPRR/CPRR) to San Francisco Bay began in May, 1869. In June 1870 a passenger who left Chicago at 10:45 on Monday morning was scheduled to reach San Francisco at 7:30 Saturday evening. The fare from Council Bluffs to Sacramento (the end of the Central Pacific Railroad proper) was $134.50, and from Chicago $22.00 more. Service was little improved until November 13, 1887 when the Overland Flyer (its name on the UP) began, carrying a Chicago-Oakland sleeper to SP's Pacific Express (westbound) and Atlantic Express (eastbound) at Ogden.

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 previously various stagecoach companies had incorporated "Overland" into their names. The Overland was the subject of an early train documentary film short in 1901. 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 then-five-times-a-month diesel streamliner 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. It became an Oakland-Omaha train in 1955 and was cut back to Oakland-Ogden in 1956. 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. From then until it ended in 1963-64 it was just a seasonal second section of the City of San Francisco.The SP declined to revive the train in 1964 amid some controversy.

City of San Francisco and San Francisco Overland consolidated consist (effective July 16, 1962)

Name

Overland Limited (1901)

The Overland Limited was generally known as the Overland, whatever other nouns were attached. The Union Pacific introduced the Overland Flyer on November 13,1887 and renamed it the Overland Limited on November 17, 1895. The Southern Pacific introduced its first deluxe service between San Francisco/Oakland and Ogden though to Chicago on December 5, 1888 with the weekly Golden Gate Special although that extravagant extra-fare train was dropped after just five months.

For the next decade the Overland's connection at Ogden to and from San Francisco was with the eastbound Atlantic Express and westbound Pacific Express until October 15, 1899 when the SP inaugurated its own new Overland Limited (TR1&2) which became the UP's identically named Ogden to Omaha/Council Bluffs train providing 71-hour through service. The SP described its new first class train 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." On January 1, 1913 the Overland Limited became an extra-fare ($10) train when it further cut its running time from 68 to 64 hours and added amenities such as a barber, manicurist, stenographer, bath, etc. Known variously as both the Overland Limited and San Francisco Overland Limited for the next 32 years, on May 31, 1931 the service again became the San Francisco Overland Limited when its train numbers changed from "1 and 2" to "27 and 28", and on July 10, 1947 the designation "Limited" was dropped from the name altogether.

Equipment

The buffet-library car circa 1913

With the 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. 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 the Overland Route. To meet the tripling of military and civilian passenger traffic during the WWII years the consists on the again all-Pullman San Francisco Overland Limited ballooned to as many as 20 cars and often ran in multiple daily sections. Chair car service returned to the train in 1946 and it became all streamlined including a dome car by 1951. In March 1952, toward the end of its existence as an independent through train, the San Francisco Overland carried Chicago–San Francisco sleepers, a New York–San Francisco sleeper conveyed on alternating 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.

The Southern Pacific introduced a "Hamburger Grill" car between Oakland and Ogden on October 24, 1954. The SP was bullish, saying the burgers were among "the finest meat products of Southern Pacific territory." Lucius Beebe was unimpressed, noting the car, and the coffee-shop car which replaced it, as part of the decline of the train.

Route diagrams

Original "Profile of the CPRR/UPRR "Over-Land Route" of the Pacific Railroad" (1867 engraving)
"The Overland Route to the Road of a Thousand Wonders: The Route of the Union Pacific & Southern Pacific from Omaha to San Francisco - A Journey of Eighteen Hundred Miles Where Once the Bison & the Indian Reigned"Union and Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Departments, 1908.
Route diagram with connections of the San Francisco Overland Limited (1943)

See also

Notes

  1. 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)
  2. "Travellers' Official Guide of Railways an Steam Navigation Lines in the United States and Canada", June, 1870 pp. 215-16
  3. Klink, William L. "Modern Passenger Schedules and Their Development in Railway Transportation". University of Illinois, College of Commerce and Business Administration. 1918. p. 19
  4. Beebe 1963, p. 27
  5. 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)"
  6. Beebe 1963, p. 50
  7. THE OFFICIAL GUIDE of RAILWAYS of the UNITED STATES, May, 1962, 94th year, No. 12, p. 658
  8. Signor 1985 p. 276
  9. Beebe 1963 p. 51
  10. Solomon 2001 p. 71
  11. ICC Financial Docket No. 21946 (Filed February 5, 1962, decided July 6, 1962, served July 16, 1962)
  12. Southern Pacific Overland Route Time Tables (Form 4), July 16, 1962
  13. Southern Pacific Passenger Train Schedules, October 28, 1962, p. 6, Table 17
  14. THE OFFICIAL GUIDE of RAILWAYS of the UNITED STATES, October, 1962, 95th year, No. 5, p. 654
  15. "Railroad Dispute". Daily Independent Journal. July 22, 1964. p. 2. Retrieved August 30, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  16. Public Utilities Commission of the State of California, Case #7955, Decision #70568, April 12, 1966
  17. Solomon 2000 p. 74
  18. Beebe 1963 p. 13
  19. 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
  20. THE OFFICIAL GUIDE January, 1889. p. 328
  21. "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
  22. "The Finest Train in the World: The Golden Gate Special." Union Pacific Railway, Passenger Department (1888)
  23. SP Overland Limited Advertisement The San Francisco Call, November, 1899
  24. The Straits Times, November 19, 1912, p. 9
  25. Signor 1985 p. 276
  26. Signor 1985 p. 276
  27. Wayner 1972 pp. 156-7
  28. Welsh 2008, p. 85
  29. Beebe 1963, p. 138
  30. San Francisco Overland Limited Consists September 15, 1945
  31. Solomon 2007 p. 67
  32. Maiken 1989, p. 339
  33. "S.P. Glorifying Hamburger With New-Style Car". Nevada State Journal. October 24, 1954. p. 9. Retrieved August 30, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  34. Beebe 1963, p. 51

References

Passenger trains of the Union Pacific Railroad
 
Metra (commuter rail)
Early articulated streamliners
City fleet
Others
Rolling stock
Amtrak
Midwest
California
See also
 
Passenger trains of the Southern Pacific
Named trains
Daylights
Overland Route
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