s in the
Warbonnet paint scheme, pulls into Track 10 at Los Angeles' Union Passenger Terminal (
LAUPT) on September 24, 1966. The
El Capitan debuted on February 22, 1938, on a twice-weekly schedule, using two five-car sets of
streamlined equipment built by the
Budd Company. Like the
Pennsylvania Railroad's
Trail Blazer, it offered "low-cost passage with high-speed convenience". The fare from Chicago to Los Angeles was $5.00 above the $39.50 regular coach fare in 1938. Originally conceived as the
Economy Chief, the name "El Capitan" was chosen to commemorate the
Spanish conquistadors; it competed for passenger traffic with
Union Pacific's
Challenger. Unique in charging an extra fare despite being a coach train, it pioneered such features as "RideMaster" seats optimized for sleeping. On its inaugural run the
El Capitan left the main line at
Williams and traveled up the
Grand Canyon Railway to
Grand Canyon Depot. In regular operation passengers bound for the
Grand Canyon would connect at Williams. #19, assigned to that day's
El Capitan, smashed through a concrete barrier at Los Angeles Union Station in January 1948 In its first year and a half the
El Capitan ran at 80% capacity, superior to similar services. Reservations had to be made weeks in advance. In 1942 the consist expanded to 12 cars. Heavy traffic during
World War II forced the Santa Fe to lengthen the train's schedule by two hours in July 1942; it restored the old schedule on June 2, 1946. On September 29, 1946, the
El Capitan began running every other day, departing Los Angeles and Chicago on odd-numbered days (except the 31st). Together with the
Super Chief on even-numbered days, the two trains formed what the Santa Fe billed as "the first and only daily hour service between Chicago and California". On January 25, 1948, one of the locomotives assigned to the
El Capitan crashed through a steel bumper post and concrete wall at Los Angeles'
Union Passenger Terminal, ending with the locomotive dangling about 20 feet above Aliso Street. In 1948 the Santa Fe received additional equipment which permitted the
Super Chief and
El Capitan to start operating daily; the new schedules went into effect on February 29. The extra-fare charges were dropped from both
El Capitan and the
Chief on December 14, 1953.
El Capitan was one of the first Santa Fe trains to use the Budd-built "
Big Dome"-
Lounge cars. These were soon given to the
Chief (another AT&SF Chicago-to-Los Angeles special), and replaced by new
double-decker "
Hi-Level"
chair cars (coaches) developed by Budd and the railroad in 1954–1956. These experimental cars had a quieter ride, increased seating capacities, and better views. The Santa Fe combined the
Super Chief and
El Capitan on January 12, 1958. The combined train used the
Super Chief's numbers, 17 and 18, but the Santa Fe continued to use both names. On its formation
Amtrak continued the combined
Super Chief/
El Capitan designation until April 29, 1973, when it dropped the
El Capitan portion. Today the route of the
El Capitan is served by
Amtrak's
Southwest Chief. Many Amtrak trains used a combination of refurbished former Santa Fe Hi-Level cars with newer
Superliner railcars until the early 2000s. ==Equipment==