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The ''Golden State'' was a named passenger train between Chicago and Los Angeles from 1902–1968 on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (“Rock Island”) and the Southern Pacific Company (SP) and predecessors. Its name was derived from California, nicknamed the “Golden State”. The ''Golden State'' route was low-altitude, crossing the Continental Divide at about near Lordsburg, New Mexico, although the highest elevation en route was over south of Corona, New Mexico. Other transcontinental routes reached elevations of more than in the Santa Fe railway near Flagstaff, Arizona and Union Pacific near Sherman, Wyoming. ==History== The train was inaugurated on November 2, 1902 as the ''Golden State Limited'' between Chicago, Kansas City, El Paso, southern Arizona and Los Angeles. At it had the longest route in the United States and second only to the Canadian Pacific Railway's ''Imperial Limited'' in North America. Until 1910 the ''Golden State Limited'' was seasonal, generally running December to April or May; the rest of the year, the same schedules were known as the ''California Limited'' westbound and ''Chicago-St. Louis Limited'' eastbound. The ''Golden State Limited'' was for Pullman passengers only, while the ''California Limited'' also carried tourist (economy) sleeping cars and coaches. The ''Golden State Limited'' (or ''California Limited'' in the off season) carried numbers 43 and 44 until mid-1907 when it became numbers 3 and 4. After January 1910 the ''Golden State Limited'' ran year-round until it ended in 1968. ''Limited'' was dropped from the name on May 18, 1947 and the train became the ''Golden State''. In summer 1926, the train left Chicago at 8:30 PM CST and arrived Los Angeles 68 hr 15 min later. During the 1920s and 1930s when Florida became a popular winter destination, the Rock Island and Southern Pacific positioned the ''Golden State'' as an escape from the cold eastern and Midwestern winters, with some success. For years the primary competition was Santa Fe's ''California Limited'' which did almost twice the business. When the Santa Fe ''Chief'' started in November 1926 the ''Golden State'' started running on the same 63-hour schedule with the same $10 extra fare (until 1929). After World War II the Rock Island and Southern Pacific considered a new 39¾ hour (the best schedule between Chicago and California on UP/CNW and Santa Fe) streamliner to be named the ''Golden Rocket''. This name was an extension of the name ''Rocket'' that the Rock Island had introduced on other routes combined with the prefix “Golden” which had been used for many years as a prefix for car names. See also the ''Rocky Mountain Rocket'', the ''Des Moines Rocket'', the ''Peoria Rocket'' and others. The ''Golden Rocket'' was to have two sets of equipment (one supplied by each railroad) and compete with Santa Fe's ''Super Chief'', another train between Chicago and Los Angeles. Rock Island ordered cars with a red and silver color scheme, lettered for the ''Golden Rocket''. Southern Pacific was not as enthusiastic, primarily because of upgrades needed on the El Paso–Kansas City portion of the route, which was single track and poorly signaled. After Southern Pacific decided not to participate, Rock Island's set of ''Golden Rocket'' equipment was re-lettered and integrated into the ''Golden State''. The ''Golden State'' became a streamliner in January 1948, with vermilion red on the upper body and pier panel and the lower bodies either natural corrugated stainless steel or silver or grey paint on smooth-sided cars. The train ran with many styles of equipment. Smooth-sided and corrugated stainless steel equipment were mixed and heavyweight baggage, Railway Post Office (RPO) and dormitory cars were common. Transcontinental sleeping car service between New York and Los Angeles on alternate days via the New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad was added in 1946 but ended in 1951. Other sleeping car routes on the ''Golden State'' included Chicago – Kansas City and Chicago – San Diego (via the Southern Pacific and their subsidiary, San Diego and Arizona Railway, connecting at Yuma, Arizona). The ''Golden State'' had the same declining passenger revenues as other trains in the 1950s and 1960s, although service was not downgraded severely as on other trains. A sleeping car and grill/lounge or dining car was always included. The train was combined with Southern Pacific’s New Orleans – Los Angeles ''Sunset Limited'' west of El Paso after April 1964. The last westbound ''Golden State'' left Chicago on Monday, February 19, 1968, and the last inbound ''Golden State'' pulled into Chicago's LaSalle Street Station on February 21. Amtrak's ''Sunset Limited'' between Los Angeles and New Orleans uses the Golden State's route west of Yuma. The ''Sunset'' runs three times weekly; Southern Pacific reduced the ''Sunset Limited'' from daily to tri-weekly before Amtrak's formation. Before Hurricane ''Katrina'' (August 2005) the ''Sunset Limited'' had been extended east of New Orleans to Orlando, Florida, making it the only coast to coast train in the United States. The line east of New Orleans has been restored by host railroad CSX Transportation, but Amtrak has been unable to get state funding to restore stations on the route. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Golden State (train)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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