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Hiawatha Pete

(1,971 posts)

8. That's awesome that you were able to ride those trains!

Fri Dec 29, 2023, 11:23 AM

Dec 2023

I believe the Century Limited and Chief had some of the fastest, if not THE fastest, schedules.

You can still ride those same routes - the Lakeshore Ltd and Southwest Chief are Amtrak's direct replacements for those trains.

Interestingly the Southwest Chief is the only western Amtrak train allowed to travel over 79mph on parts of its route. 90 mph is allowed by the FRA because back in the day the Santa Fe (operator of the Super Chief) installed automatic train stops as an add on to their signalling system. (Today, Positive train control (PTC) provides much the same function nation-wide as automatic train stops)

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NEW VIDEO SERIES! Chicago to San Francisco on Amtrak's California Zephyr - Round Trip, Dec 2023 [View all] Hiawatha Pete Dec 2023 OP

I'm taking this trip in the opposite direction sdfernando Dec 2023 #1

Awesome! You won't be disappointed. Hiawatha Pete Dec 2023 #2

Wow! Thanks! Went to your website PlutosHeart Dec 2023 #3

No problem, my pleasure! Thanks for checking out my post, PlutosHeart! Hiawatha Pete Dec 2023 #4

Love it! mnhtnbb Dec 2023 #5

That's awesome that you were able to ride those trains! Hiawatha Pete Dec 2023 #8

I've taken the Southwest Chief twice, to Los Angeles Siwsan Dec 2023 #6

That's right - The California Zephyr-Desert Wind & Pioneer were combined as 1 train... Hiawatha Pete Dec 2023 #7