Rode the Mainstreeter and enjoyed the trip. Billings, Montana.
Many railroads had trains that were "just about as good" as their premier, flagship train. Often they worked the same route but a different schedule. So if you wanted to go to say a town in Montana, you might find that Northern Pacific's "North Coast Limited" might stop there at 2 a.m., but the "Mainstreeter" would arrive at a more convenient 9 a.m. Both trains offered an excellent trip in a quality sleeping car - but no domes on the Mainstreeter.
The book is called "Train Travels via Pullman 1950" by Richard H. Brown. A word of warning; it's short (~45 pages) and rife with grammatical and spelling errors. If you enjoy the train travel descriptions that you sometimes read in the books about the great passenger trains then it's a fun read.
--Reed
What was the name of that Kindle book that stated this discussion?
By 1950, I believe the Super Chief had the dome lounge that ran adjacent to the diner with the Torquise Room below, which could be reserved for private dining parties, possiblyi the most beautiful room ever installed inside a train, at least in my opinion, altrhough some of the public lo0unge areas on South Africa;'s Blue Train came (still come?) very close. .This was the only train with this particular amenity.
But they were, at least in 1947 and 1950, both wonderful trains to ride.
The Chief had a through sleeper, Washington D.C (B&O to Chicago) . to L.A. which was later changed to the Super Chief.
I appreciate the responses. Thanks.
Probably the Chief was diesel powered on more than 99% of its train-miles in 1950. Maybe 100% for all we know.
I believe the main difference between the two was the Super Chief was the first of Santa Fe's diesel powered streamliners, while the Chief was still steam powered with heavyweight cars, at least in the beginning. The name "Super Chief" was another way of saying "new and improved".
No coaches on the Chief until Jan 1954.
Chief took 45 hrs each way Chic-LA in 1950; the Super always took 39.5 or 39.75 hours from 1936 until ... probably 1966. (Except 1942-46, when they added a couple hours like everyone else.)
On a whim I bought a $0.99 Kindle book written about train travels via Pullman in 1950. The writer describes a trip on a coast to coast sleeper via the 20th Century Limited and The Chief. His description of the Chief certainly makes it sound like a top notch train (observation car, multiple lounges, top notch dining and a barber), but the Super Chief was obviously the flagship of the Santa Fe during this time period.
What would have made the Super the superior train? Did the Chief carry coaches or operate on a slower schedule in 1950?
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