Looking for passenger trains

[wd5rgw]

Recently my 92 year old grandmother visited and she was telling me a few stories of train travel she took in 1944 and 1945. I wanted to find out from any members of the forum if they would possibly know the names of the trains and railroad she would have traveled on.

 In April of 1944 she traveled from Napa Valley California to Houston Texas. She told me she never changed trains on that trip. She stayed on the same train the whole way. She knows that she traveled through Barstow and cities in Arizona, so I know the Railroad had to be Santa Fe, but she did not remember the official name of the train if there even was one.

In August of 1945 she traveled from Houston Texas to Lexington Nebraska. She knows she changed trains in Dallas Texas and then from Dallas she traveled to Denver Colorado where she changed trains again and had a 2 to 3 hour layover before she boarded a train to Lexington Nebraska. She said the train from Denver to Lexington was a very nice train and that it seemed to stop often, but that was probably common in those days.

Any help with train names and Railroads would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[daveklepper]

Important to know if she used Pullman accomodations when they were available.   Can you ask?

[Deggesty]

wd5rgw

Recently my 92 year old grandmother visited and she was telling me a few stories of train travel she took in 1944 and 1945. I wanted to find out from any members of the forum if they would possibly know the names of the trains and railroad she would have traveled on.

 In April of 1944 she traveled from Napa Valley California to Houston Texas. She told me she never changed trains on that trip. She stayed on the same train the whole way. She knows that she traveled through Barstow and cities in Arizona, so I know the Railroad had to be Santa Fe, but she did not remember the official name of the train if there even was one.

In August of 1945 she traveled from Houston Texas to Lexington Nebraska. She knows she changed trains in Dallas Texas and then from Dallas she traveled to Denver Colorado where she changed trains again and had a 2 to 3 hour layover before she boarded a train to Lexington Nebraska. She said the train from Denver to Lexington was a very nice train and that it seemed to stop often, but that was probably common in those days.

Any help with train names and Railroads would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

The following information is from the October, 1944, issue of the Guide.

The Napa Valley-Houston trip was by Pullman, over the Santa Fé, in an Oakland-Houston sleeper. Train 24, which carried her to Barstow has no name shown, but it did connect with the Grand Canyon in Barstow. In Clovis, the car was transferred to the Pan Handle and Santa Fé’s Grand Canyon, which, with many changes in number, took the car to Houston.

The Houston-Lexington trip is not as easy to determine, since she could have taken the SP, MKT, or B-RI from Houston to Dallas. The trip to Denver was on the FW&D-C&S, and the trip to Lexington was on the UP. Working backwards, she rode the UP’s Columbine to Lexington, as the City of Denver did not stop there. The Texas Zephyr (which left Dallas at 1:20 in the afternoon) must have arrived in Denver late, as it was due in at 8:15 in the morning, and the Columbine left at 4:00 in the afternoon. Considering that the Sam Houston Zephyr connected with the Texas Zephyr in Dallas, she may well have ridden this train from Houston. As to accommodations, she could have ridden first class all the way, with a parlor seat out of Houston and at least a berth the rest of the way (though she detrained about 2:00 in the morning in Lexington).

[Stourbridge Lion]

Here is Passenger Gate photos I took a few years ago at Denver UNION Station before they started to remodel it.  They show the Train Names, Destination and Years they operated through here.

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[wd5rgw]

Thanks Johnny for the reply.

I am sure you are correct with the travel she made from Houston on the Sam Houston Zephyr and then connecting with the Texas Zephyr in Dallas because she told me when she got to Dallas the connection was a little tight and she had to rush over to the conecting train which was a few platforms over from where she arrived. The info for the Denver to Lexington on the UP Columbine must be correct because she said that she had to wake my mother up, who was only 18 months old, real early in the morning to get here ready to meet family on their arrival.

The trip she took from Napa Valley - Houston was a trip she made when my mother was only 2 months old.

Thanks to Johnny for the info. It is much appreciated. My Grandmother and my mother will be excited and amazed that I was able to find the info so quickly, as we were just talking about it Sunday evening at about 6:00pm.  

[wd5rgw]

Thanks for the Photos Darren. Would of been nice if they had one for the Columbine.

[Stourbridge Lion]

Here are shots of Tracks #1, #2, and #3 but since then we lost the Ski Train

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[wjstix]

One thing to remember in tracking down something like this is there's a difference between changing cars and changing trains. Someone could get on a Pullman car and travel over several railroads while remaining in the same car.

For example, at one time you could get on a Pullman car in Minneapolis MN and get off it in San Diego. You travelled over at least two railroads to get there, maybe three.

[TikiOwl]

The train from Barstow to Houston would eventually be named the California Special. Here is the timetable for the 1954 edition of the California Special. I'm guessing that the times listed would be fairly similar to that of 1944.

http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track9/califspecial195407.html