Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

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The Santa Fe trademark in the late 1800s incorporated the British lion out of respect for the country's financial assistance in building the railroad to California.

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AAR reporting mark ATSF), often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the largest railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February, 1859. Although the railway was named in part for the capital of New Mexico, its main line never reached there as the terrain made it too difficult to lay the necessary tracks (Santa Fe was ultimately served by a branch line from Lamy, New Mexico). The Santa Fe's first tracks reached the Kansas/Colorado state line in 1873, and connected to Pueblo, Colorado in 1876. In order to help fuel the railroad's profitability, the Santa Fe set up real estate offices and sold farm land from the land grants that the railroad was awarded by Congress; these new farms would create a demand for transportation (both freight and passenger service) that was, quite conveniently, offered by the Santa Fe.

Ever the innovator, Santa Fe was one of the pioneers in intermodal freight service, an enterprise that (at one time or another) included a tugboat fleet and an airline, the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway. A bus line allowed the company to extend passenger transportation service to areas not accessible by rail, and ferry boats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travellers to complete their westward journeys all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway officially ceased operations on December 31, 1996 when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.

Contents

History

Startup and initial growth

Cyrus K. Holliday, the first president of the railroad.

The railroad's charter, written single-handedly by Cyrus K. Holliday in January 1859, was approved by the state's governor on February 11 of that year as the Atchison and Topeka Railroad Company for the purpose of building a rail line from Topeka, Kansas, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and then on to the Gulf of Mexico. On May 3, 1863, two years after Kansas gained statehood, the railroad changed names to more closely match the aspirations of its founder to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. The railroad broke ground in Topeka on October 30, 1868 and started building westward where one of the first construction tasks was to cross the Kaw River. The first section of track opened on April 26, 1869 (less than a month prior to completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad) with special trains between Topeka and Pauline. The distance was only 6 miles (10 km), but the Wakarusa Creek Picnic Special train took passengers over the route for celebration in Pauline.

Crews continued working westward, reaching Dodge City on September 5 1872. With this connection, the Santa Fe was able to compete for cattle transportation with the Kansas Pacific Railway. Construction continued, and the Santa Fe opened the last section of track between Topeka and the Colorado/Kansas border on December 23 1873. The Santa Fe's tracks reached Pueblo, Colorado on March 1 1876. Serving Pueblo opened a number of new freight opportunities for the railroad as it now could haul coal from Colorado eastward.

An AT&SF passenger train in operation, circa 1895.

Building across Kansas and eastern Colorado may have been technologically simple as there weren't many large natural obstacles in the way (certainly not as many as the railroad was about to encounter further west), but the Santa Fe found it almost economically impossible because of the sparse population in the area. To combat this problem, the Santa Fe set up real estate offices in the area and vigorously promoted settlement across Kansas on the land that was granted to the railroad by Congress in 1863. The Santa Fe offered discounted passenger fares to anyone who travelled west on the railroad to inspect the land; if the land was subsequently purchased by the traveller, the railroad applied the passenger's ticket price toward the sale of the land.

Now that the railroad had built across the plains and had a customer base providing income for the firm, it was time for the railroad to tackle the difficult terrain of the Rocky Mountains.

Crossing the Rockies, competition with the Rio Grande

Construction over the Rocky Mountains was slow, difficult and went as far as armed conflict with competitors such as the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in Colorado and New Mexico, and after capturing Raton Pass, the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) in Arizona and California (such as that between SP and Santa Fe subsidiary California Southern Railroad at Colton, California in 1883).

The troubles for the railroad were more than just skirmishes with competitors. In the late 1880s, George C. Magoun, who had worked his way to become Chairman of the Board of Directors for the railroad, was progressively losing his own health. In 1889 the railroad's stock price, which was closely linked in the public's eye with the successes of the railroad's chairman, fell from nearly $140 per share to around $20 per share. Magoun's health continued to deteriorate along with the stock price and Magoun died on December 20, 1893. The Santa Fe entered receivership three days later on December 23 1893, with J. W. Reinhart, John J. McCook and Joseph C. Wilson appointed as receivers.

A map of "The Santa Fé Route" and subsidiary lines as published in an 1881 issue of the Grain Dealers and Shippers Gazetteer.

Expansion through mergers

A brief look at some key figures comparing the railroad's extent between 1870 and 1945 shows just how much the railroad had grown:
1870 1945
Gross operating revenue $182,580 8,080,530
Total track length 62 miles (100 km) 13,115 miles (21,107 km)
Freight carried 98,920 tons 59,565,100 tons
Passengers carried 33,630 11,264,000
Locomotives owned 6 1,759
Unpowered rolling stock owned 141 81,974 freight cars
1,436 passenger cars

Source: Santa Fe Railroad (1945), Along Your Way, Rand McNally, Chicago, Illinois.

Predecessors, subsidiary railroads, and leased lines

California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway (1911-1963) — a non-operating subsidiary of the ATSF
* Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway (1892-1911)
** Arizona and California Railway (1903-1905)
** Bradshaw Mountain Railroad (1902-1912) — a non-operating subsidiary
** Prescott and Eastern Railroad (1897-1911)
** Phoenix and Eastern Railroad (1895-1908)
Grand Canyon Railway (1901-1942) — became an operating subsidiary of the ATSF in 1902 and a non-operating subsidiary in 1924
* Santa Fe and Grand Canyon Railroad (1897-1901)
Minkler Southern Railway Company (1913-1992?) — a subsidiary created to build the Porterville-Orosi District (Minkler to Ducor, California)
New Mexico and Arizona Railroad (1882-1897) — ATSF subsidiary; (1897-1934) non-operating SP subsidiary
Santa Fe Pacific Railroad (1897-1902)
* Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (1880-1897)
Sonora Railway — became an operating subsidiary of the ATSF in 1879
Verde Valley Railway (1913-1942) — an ATSF "paper railroad" at Clarkdale, Arizona
Western Arizona Railway (1906-1931) — an ATSF subsidiary (Kingman – Chloride)
* Arizona and Utah Railway (1899-1933) [link]

The failed SPSF merger

The Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railroad (SPSF) was a proposed merger between the parent companies of the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe railroads announced on December 23, 1983. As a part of the joining of the two firms, all of the rail and non-rail assets owned by Santa Fe Industries and the Southern Pacific Transportation Company was placed under the control of a holding company, the Santa Fe–Southern Pacific Corporation. The merger was subsequently denied by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) on the basis that it would create too many duplicate routes.

The companies were so confident that the merger would be approved they began repainting locomotives and non-revenue rolling stock in a new unified paint scheme. After the ICC's denial, railfans joked that SPSF really stood for "Shouldn't Paint So Fast". While the Southern Pacific was sold off, all of the California real estate holdings were consolidated in a new company, Catellus Development Corporation, making it the State's largest private land owner. Some time later, Catellus would purchase the Union Pacific Railroad's interest in the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT).

Merger into BNSF

On December 31, 1996 the ATSF merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway. Some of the challenges resulting from the joining of the two companies included the establishment of a common dispatching system, the unionizaton of Santa Fe's non-union dispatchers, and incorporating the Santa Fe's train identification codes throughout.

Company officers

Presidents of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway:

William Barstow Strong, president 1881-1889.

Passenger train service

The Santa Fe was widely known for its passenger train service in the first half of the 20th century. The Santa Fe introduced many innovations in passenger rail travel, among these the "Pleasure Domes" of the Super Chief (billed as the "...only dome car[s] between Chicago and Los Angeles" when they were introduced in 1951) and the "Big Dome"-Lounge cars and double-decker "Hi-Level" cars of the El Capitan, which entered revenue service in 1954. The Santa Fe was among the first railroads to add dining cars to its passenger train consists in 1891, following the examples of the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads. Dining along the Santa Fe was often a memorable experience, whether it be on-board in a dining car, or at one of the many Harvey House restaurants that were strategically located throughout the system.

In general, the same train name was used for both directions of a particular train. The exceptions to this rule included the Chicagoan and Kansas Cityan trains (both names referred to the same service, but the Chicagoan was the eastbound version, while the Kansas Cityan was the westbound version), and the Eastern Express and West Texas Express. All of the Santa Fe's trains that terminated in Chicago did so at Dearborn Station. Trains terminating in Los Angeles arrived at Santa Fe's La Grande Station until May, 1939 when the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT) was opened.

To reach smaller communities, the railroad often operated Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) for communities on the railroad, and bus connections were provided throughout the system via Santa Fe Trailways buses to other locations. These smaller trains generally were not named, only the train numbers were used to differentiate services.

The ubiquitous passenger service inspired the title of the 1946 Academy-Award-winning Johnny Mercer tune "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe."

Regular revenue trains

The Santa Fe operated the following named trains on regular schedules:

The Angel: San Francisco, California — Los Angeles, California — San Diego, California
The Angelo: San Angelo, Texas — Fort Worth, Texas (on the GC&SF)
The Antelope: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — Kansas City, Missouri
Atlantic Express: Los Angeles, California — Kansas City, Missouri (this was the eastbound version of the Los Angeles Express).
California Express: Chicago, Illinois — Kansas City, Missouri — Los Angeles, California
California Fast Mail: Chicago, Illinois — Los Angeles, California — San Francisco, California
California Limited: Chicago, Illinois — San Francisco, California (via Los Angeles)
California Special: Los Angeles, California — Clovis, New Mexico
Cavern: Clovis, New Mexico — Carlsbad, New Mexico (connected with the Scout).
Centennial State: Denver, Colorado — Chicago, Illinois
Central Texas Express: Sweetwater, Texas — Lubbock, Texas
Chicagoan: Kansas City, Missouri — Chicago, Illinois (this was the eastbound version of the Kansas Cityan passenger train).
Chicago Express: Newton, Kansas — Chicago, Illinois
Chicago Fast Mail: San Francisco, California — Los Angeles, California — Chicago, Illinois
Chicago-Kansas City Flyer: Chicago, Illinois — Kansas City, Missouri
The Chief: Chicago, Illinois — Los Angeles, California
Eastern Express: Lubbock, Texas — Amarillo, Texas (this was the eastbound version of the West Texas Express).
El Capitan: Chicago, Illinois — Los Angeles, California
El Pasoan: El Paso, Texas — Albuquerque, New Mexico
El Tovar: Los Angeles, California — Chicago, Illinois (via Belen)
Fargo Fast Mail/Express: Belen, New Mexico — Amarillo, Texas — Kansas City, Missouri — Chicago, Illinois
Fast Fifteen: Newton, Kansas — Galveston, Texas
Fast Mail Express: San Francisco, California (via Los Angeles) — Chicago, Illinois
Golden Gate: Oakland, California — Bakersfield, California with coordinated connecting bus service to Los Angeles and San Francisco
Grand Canyon Limited: Chicago, Illinois — Los Angeles, California
The Hopi: Los Angeles, California — Chicago, Illinois
Kansas Cityan: Chicago, Illinois — Kansas City, Missouri (this was the westbound version of the Chicagoan passenger train).
Kansas City Chief: Kansas City, Missouri — Chicago, Illinois
Los Angeles Express: Chicago, Illinois — Los Angeles, California (this was the westbound version of the Atlantic Express).
The Missionary: San Francisco, California — Belen, New Mexico — Amarillo, Texas — Kansas City, Missouri — Chicago, Illinois
Navajo: Chicago, Illinois — San Francisco, California (via Los Angeles)

All streamlined and special trains were placed on public display on the Pacific Electric tracks adjacent to Los Angeles' Exposition Park. Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his "sidekick" Mortimer Snerd pose in the cab of Santa Fe #51L, an ALCO PA unit, to mark its delivery to the railroad in 1946.

Oil Flyer: Kansas City, Missouri — Tulsa, Oklahoma
Overland Limited: Chicago, Illinois — Los Angeles, California
Phoenix Express: Los Angeles, California — Phoenix, Arizona
The Ranger: Kansas City, Missouri — Chicago, Illinois
The Saint: San Diego, California — Los Angeles, California — San Francisco, California
San Diegan: Los Angeles, California — San Diego, California
San Francisco Chief: San Francisco, California (via Los Angeles) — Chicago, Illinois
San Francisco Express: Chicago, Illinois — San Francisco, California (via Los Angeles)
Santa Fe de Luxe: Chicago, Illinois — Los Angeles, California — San Francisco, California
Santa Fe Eight: Belen, New Mexico — Amarillo, Texas — Kansas City, Missouri — Chicago, Illinois
The Scout: Chicago, Illinois — San Francisco, California (via Los Angeles)
South Plains Express: Sweetwater, Texas — Lubbock, Texas
Super Chief: Chicago, Illinois — Los Angeles, California
The Texan: Houston, Texas — New Orleans, Louisiana (on the GC&SF between Houston and Galveston, then via the Missouri Pacific Railroad between Galveston and New Orleans).
Texas Chief: Galveston, Texas (on the GC&SF) — Chicago, Illinois
Tourist Flyer: Chicago, Illinois — San Francisco, California (via Los Angeles)
The Tulsan: Tulsa, Oklahoma — Chicago, Illinois
Valley Flyer: Oakland, California — Bakersfield, California
West Texas Express: Amarillo, Texas — Lubbock, Texas (this was the westbound version of the Eastern Express).

A map depicting the "Grand Canyon Route" of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway circa 1901.

The galley aboard former (now restored) Santa Fe dining car #1474, the Cochiti, which saw many years of service as a part of the Super Chief.

One-time and special trains

Occasionally, a special train was chartered to make a high-profile run over the Santa Fe's track. These specials were not included in the railroad's regular revenue service lineup, but were intended as one-time (and usually one-way) traversals of the railroad. Some of the more notable specials include:

Cheney Special: Colton, California — Chicago, Illinois (a one-time train that ran in 1895 on behalf of B.P. Cheney, a director of the Santa Fe).
Clark Special: Winslow, Arizona — Chicago, Illinois (a one-time train that ran in 1904 on behalf of Charles W. Clarke, the son of then Arizona senator William Andrew Clark).

A promotional brochure for the Santa Fe Railway's Scott Special passenger train.

Paint schemes and markings

Steam locomotives

Diesel locomotives, passenger

Santa Fe's first set of diesel-electric passenger locomotives was placed in service on the Super Chief in 1936, and consisted of a pair of blunt-nosed units (EMD 1800 hp B-B) designated as Nos. 1 and 1A. The upper portion of the sides and ends of the units were painted gold, while the lower section was a dark olive green color; an olive stripe also ran along the sides and widened as it crossed the front of the locomotive.

Riveted to the sides of the units were metal plaques bearing a large "Indian Head" logo, which owed its origin to the 1926 Chief "drumhead" logo. "Super Chief" was emblazoned on a plaque located on the front. The rooftop was light slate gray, rimmed by a red pinstripe. This unique combination of colors was referred to as the Golden Olive paint scheme [link] [link]. Before entering service, Sterling McDonald's General Motors "Styling Department" augmented the look with the addition of red and blue striping along both the sides and ends of the units in order to enhance their appearance.

In a little over a year the EMD E1 (a new and improved streamlined locomotive) would be pulling Super Chief and other passenger consists, resplendent in the now-famous Warbonnet paint scheme devised by Leland Knickerbocker of the GM "Art and Color Section." Reminiscent of a Native American ceremonial headdress, the scheme consisted of a red "bonnet" which wrapped around the front of the unit, that was bordered by a yellow stripe and black pinstripe. The extent of the bonnet varied according to the locomotive model, and was largely determined by the shape and length of the carbody. The remainder of the unit was either painted silver or was comprised of stainless steel panels.

All units wore a nose emblem consisting of an elongated yellow "Circle and Cross" emblem with integral "tabs" on the nose and the sides, outlined and accented with black pinstripes, with variances according to the locomotive model. "SANTA FE" was displayed on the horizontal limb of the cross in black, Art Deco-style lettering. This emblem has come to be known as the "cigar band" due to its uncanny resemblance to the same. On all but the "[Erie-built]" units (which were essentially run as a demonstrator set), U28CGs, U30CGs, and FP45s, a three-part yellow and black stripe ran up the nose behind the band.

A "Circle and Cross" motif (consisting of a yellow field, with red quadrants, outlined in black) was painted around the side windows on "as-delivered" E1 units. Similar designs were added to E3s, E6s, the [DL109/110] locomotive set, and ATSF 1A after it was rebuilt and repainted. The sides of the units typically bore the words "SANTA FE" in black, 5"– or 9"–high extra extended Railroad Roman letters, as well as the "Indian Head" logo [link] [link], with a few notable exceptions.

Locomotive Type	"Indian Head"	"Circle and Cross"	"Santa Fe"	Logotype	Starting Year	Comments
ATSF 1 and 1A	Yes	Yes*	Yes	No	1937	"Circle and Cross" added to No. 1 after rebuild in May 1938
EMD E1, E3, & E6	Yes*	Yes	Yes	No	1937	"Indian Head" added to B units at a later date
ALCO DL109/110	Yes*	Yes	Yes	No	1941	No "Indian Head" on B unit
EMD FT	Yes*	No	Yes	No	1941	"Indian Head" added to B units at a later date
ALCO PA / PB	Yes*	No	Yes	No	1946	"Indian Head" added to B units at a later date
EMD F3	Yes*	No	Yes	No	1946	"Indian Head" on B units only
FM Erie-built	Yes*	No	Yes*	No	1947	"Indian Head" and "SANTA FE" on A units only
EMD F7	Yes*	No	Yes*	No	1949	"Indian Head" on B units only; "SANTA FE" added in 1954
EMD E8	Yes*	No	Yes	No	1952	"Indian Head" on B units only
GE U28CG	No	No	No	Yes	1967	"Santa Fe" logotype in large, red "billboard"-style letters
GE U30CG	No	No	Yes*	No	1967	5"–high non-extended "SANTA FE" letters
EMD FP45	No	No	Yes*	No	1967	9"–high "SANTA FE" letters

Source: Pelouze, Richard W. (1997). Trademarks of the Santa Fe Railway. The Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society, Inc., Highlands Ranch, CO. pp. 47–50.

In later years, Santa Fe adapted the scheme to its gas-electric "doodlebug" units [link]. The standard for all of Santa Fe's passenger locomotives, the Warbonnet is considered by many to be the most recognized corporate logo in the railroad industry. Early in the Amtrak Era, Santa Fe embarked on a program to paint over the red bonnet on its F units that were still engaged in hauling passenger consists with yellow (also called Yellowbonnets) or dark blue (nicknamed Bluebonnets) as it no longer wanted to project the image of a passenger carrier.

Image:Santa Fe F7 300C.jpg|Santa Fe #300C, an EMD F7A unit photographed in 1972, wears the conventional Warbonnet scheme. Due to space limitations, the "Indian Head" logo was omitted from FTA/F3A/F7A units. Image:ATSF Indian Head logo - F7B Unit Passenger Dec 76.jpg|An EMD F7B unit, photographed in December, 1976 carries the Santa Fe "Indian Head" logo. "SANTA FE" was added to FTB/F3B/F7B units, below and just behind the icon, in 1954. Image:ATSF 358 GE U28CG San Diego CA 1968.jpg|A GE U28CG displays a variation in the standard Warbonnet passenger scheme. Note that the "Santa Fe" logotype is displayed in large, red "billboard"-style letters and the lack of yellow and black striping. Image:EMD F45 Santa Fe.jpg|Santa Fe #95, an EMD FP45 decked out in Warbonnet colors, including the traditional "cigar band" nose emblem. Its "as-delivered" paint job had "SANTA FE" in black, 9"-high Railroad Roman letters along each side.