Amarillo was fortunate in 1955 to have six passenger trains scheduled through town and one mixed train on the Dumas District. Numbers 1 and 2 were the westbound and eastbound San Francisco Chiefs. This premier train had only started service in 1954 and was one of the last luxury train placed in service in the country. Trains 3 and 4, the old California Limited had been downgraded to mail and express service by 1955, but still carried an air-conditioned coach with reclining seats for those brave enough to take the trip. The final pair was the Grand Canyon, numbers 23 and 24.
An interesting duo was trains 93 and 94, the West Texas Express and Eastern Express, respectively. This pair operated between Amarillo and Lubbock, making connections with the San Francisco Chief. Number 93 left Amarillo at 9:35 AM, 5 minutes before the San Francisco Chief departed and 25 minutes after the Grand Canyon. With only a five minute headway, it must have really high-tailed it down to Canyon to keep out of the way of #1. Number 94 arrived back in Amarillo at 5:25 PM, ten minutes before #2, and 30 minutes before #24. Until the late 1950s, #93 carried a Chicago-Lubbock Pullman that came off of #1 to Lubbock, returning on #94 later that afternoon to connect with eastbound #2. According to this scheduling, the cars and power for #s 93/94 stayed in Amarillo overnight.
There was a mixed train pair that operated from Amarillo to La Junta, Colorado, and back. Number 37 left Amarillo at 7:15 AM and arrived at Boise City, Oklahoma, (end of the Plains Division) at 12:30 PM. Number 38 left Boise City at 3:15 PM and arrived at Amarillo at 8:30 PM. This must have been an interesting train. There were flag stops at every station and siding along the line. You could even get off at Puente at 7:48 in the morning, hike down to the Canadian to fish (I guess it has fish), then catch the southbound at 6:30 that evening. Different days to be sure! Of course, the accommodation wasn’t luxurious by any means. A combination coach and baggage car served to carry the crew, passengers, mail and express. For all practical purposes this was a freight train. So, long periods waiting for the crew to perform switching duties were mandatory.
Similar pairs of trains operated from several towns. From Pampa to Clinton, train #61 left Pampa at 8:50 AM and arrived at Clinton at 3:30 PM. Number 62 left Clinton at 6:30 AM and arrived at Pampa at 12:30 PM. From Panhandle to Borger, train #59 left Panhandle at 10:30 AM and arrived Borger at 11:59 AM. Train 60 left Borger at 1:00 PM, arriving at Panhandle at 2:30 PM. Finally, Train #57 left White Deer at 12:01 PM and arrived at Skellytown at 12:30 PM. Train #58 left Skellytown at 2:30 PM and got back to White Deer at 3:00 PM. The last two operations were definitely “turn arounds”, with the same equipment going “up and back.”
Here’s a mid-1950s railfanning trip for you! You leave Amarillo on #4 at 7:00 AM and arrive at Pampa at 8:15. After snapping a photo of Westbound #1, the San Francisco Chief, roaring into town at 8:42, you catch #61 at 8:50 and travel at a leisurely 20 miles per hour for about 30 miles out on the Clinton District. You get off at Mobeetie at 9:40 for a quick hour and forty minutes of sightseeing (the first post office and first courthouse in the Texas Panhandle were in Mobeetie, but the courthouse was gone by 1955). You board the Pampa-bound train #62 at 11:20, arriving back at Pampa at 12:50 PM. If you wanted to maximize your tour of the Clinton District, and really stretch your luck, you could go another 20 miles, as far as Allison, arriving at 10:25 AM and catching the Eastbound at 10:30 AM. Back in Pampa you have about five hours to watch Santa Plains Division Second District freight action, or maybe walk down the street to the Ft. Worth and Denver depot to see if anything has come up from Childress on the old Ft. Worth and Denver Northern. But you need to get back to the Santa Fe Depot in time to board #2, the Eastbound San Francisco Chief, at 6:35 PM. You ride #2 to Canadian, arriving at 7:20 PM. If it is summer, you still have good light, and photograph Eastbound #24, the Grand Canyon, which is running only 25 minutes behind you. After an hour and 10 minutes you catch #3 at 8:40 PM, arriving tired but happy back at Amarillo at 10:40 PM. You’ve ridden five trains, seen all six Second District passenger trains (you passed the Westbound Grand Canyon, #23, between Kingsmill and Pampa in the morning), and who knows how many freights. Sounds funny by today’s standards, but this could actually be done and who wouldn’t jump at the chance?
Jerry Michels