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This 1950’s travelogue profiles the Santa Fe Super Chief, the most luxurious way to travel across the country. The film begins by showing how train’s now offer all of the comforts of home. (00:00:20:00) Then, the new flagship of Santa Fe’s fleet is introduced, the Super Chief. (00:00:40:00). Our narrator then cuts to a beautiful actress, who is planning a train trip to Southern California. (00:01:10:00) The narrator convinces her to try the new Super Chief for her trip. The narrator then goes on to cover different features of the train, such as the observation lounge (00:01:50:00), and 100% private rooms such as a roomette for one (00:02:10:00), the new type bedroom (00:02:52:00), and the new Super Chief compartment (00:03:05:00). Drawing rooms are also offered (00:03:27:00). Beautiful footage of buttes is seen at (00:03:21:00), (00:03:38:00) and (00:06:53:00). Next, the Super Chief’s kitchen (00:04:35:00) and dining car (00:05:00:00) are shown. We are then introduced to the main lounge (00:05:32:00) of the pleasure dome car. Here, one can play cards (00:05:38:00), use a writing desk (00:05:47:00), or even go to the barber for a haircut (00:05:58:00). Next, the lower lounge (00:06:07:00) is shown where you can have a cocktail. This is followed by the turquoise room (00:07:06:00), the first and only private dining room on rails! The train then stops at Albuquerque (00:08:10:00) on its way to Los Angeles. Finally, we arrive in California, the Golden State! (00:09:20:00) A vintage shot of the LA train station can be seen at (00:09:42:00). At the conclusion of her trip, the beautiful actress from the beginning of the film tells us she is convinced the Super Chief is not just another train. (00:10:10:00) Then, an animated map of the train’s route from Chicago to Los Angeles is shown. (00:10:35:00)

Various vintage shots of the Super Chief traveling are shown at (00:01:42:00), (00:05:16:00), (00:06:59:00), (00:08:00:00), (00:09:00:00), (00:09:33:00), (00:09:52:00) and (00:11:05:00). A wonderful shot of the train traveling at night is shown as well. (00:04:22:00)

The Super Chief was one of the named passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It claimed to be "The Train of the Stars" because of the celebrities it carried between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.

The Super Chief (Nos. 17 and 18) was the first Diesel-powered, all-Pullman sleeping car train in America, and it eclipsed the Chief as Santa Fe's standard bearer. The extra-fare ($10) Super Chief left Dearborn Station in Chicago for its first trip on May 12, 1936. Before starting scheduled service in May 1937, the lightweight version of the Super Chief ran 2,227 miles (3,584 km) from Los Angeles over recently upgraded tracks in 36 hours and 49 minutes, averaging 60 mph (97 km/h) overall and reaching 100 mph (160 km/h).

With one set of equipment, the train initially operated once a week from both Chicago and Los Angeles. After more cars had been delivered the Super Chief ran twice weekly beginning in 1938 and daily after 1948. Adding to the train's mystique were its gourmet meals and Hollywood clientele.

Competitors to the Super Chief were the City of Los Angeles on the Chicago and North Western Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad, and (to a lesser extent) the Golden State on the Rock Island and Southern Pacific. The Santa Fe Super Chief was one of the last passenger trains in the United States to carry an all-Pullman consist; only the Pennsylvania Railroad's Broadway Limited and the Illinois Central's Panama Limited survived longer. The train maintained its high level of service until the end of Santa Fe passenger operations on May 1, 1971.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com