RAILforum: 1930s & 40's travel

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Posted by Noles (Member # 2458) on :

Hi everybody. I'm doing genealogy research. I have an ancestor who often came from Philadelphia and Florida to Los Angeles. Does anybody have any insights on his probable mode of travel in the 1930's and 40's for these trips?

Thanks

Posted by PullmanCo (Member # 1138) on :

If he came from Philadelphia, he had a choice of routes to Los Angeles.

The MOST LIKELY choice was to pass through Chicago and then take either a Union Pacific, a Santa Fe, or a Rock Island/Southern Pacific train.

About 1940 the most likely choices of these would be:

UP:
City of Los Angeles (streamliner, extra fare)
Los Angeles Limited

SF:
Super Chief
Chief
California Limited

SP/RI:
Golden State

There is a possibility he came through St Louis and Kansas City. I'm not an eastern roads kind of person, but at KC the choices are again UP, SP, and ATSF. The UP line, though, is different (until Cheyenne) than the Chicago-LA line.

For the deep south, SP is your primary choice out of New Orleans. Florida to New Orleans I again defer.

John

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The City of Saint Louis (UP, 1967) is still my standard for passenger operations