| Through Sleeper New York-Los Angeles (Alternate days - see notes) | ||||||
| 59 | Connecting Train Number (New York Central) | 66 | ||||
| 11 00P | Dp | 0.0 | New York, NY (Grand Central Tml.) (EST) | Ar | 8 45A | |
| 3 00P | Ar | 961.2 | Chicago, IL (La Salle St. Station) (CST) | Dp | 3 15P | |
| 79 | Connecting Train Number (Pennsylvania) | 70 | ||||
| 11 40P | Dp | 0.0 | New York, NY (Pennsylvania Sta.) (EST) | Ar | 8 20A | |
| 1 09A | 85.9 | North Philadelphia, PA (EST) | 6 39A | |||
| 3 40P | Ar | 907.7 | Chicago, IL (Union Station) (CST) | Dp | 2 30P | |
| 3 | Train Number | 4 | ||||
| Daily | Miles | (Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific) | Services | Daily | ||
| 10 15P | Dp | 0.0 | Chicago, IL (La Salle St. Station) (CST) | C R | Ar | 11 30A |
| 10 25P | 6.6 | Englewood, IL (Union Station) | C | 11 15A | ||
| F | 40.4 | Joliet, IL | C | F | ||
| F | 114.2 | Bureau, IL (Peoria via bus) | C | F 9 23A | ||
| F | 179.3 | Moline, IL | C R | F | ||
| 1 35A | Ar | 181.2 | Rock Island, IL | C R | Dp | 8 10A |
| 1 40A | Dp | Ar | 8 00A | |||
| F 1 47A | 182.8 | Davenport, IA | C R | F 7 50A | ||
| F | 210 | Muscatine, IA | C | F | ||
| F | 231 | Columbus Junction, IA | C | F | ||
| F | 292 | Eldon, IA | C | F | ||
| F | 334 | Centerville, IA | C | F | ||
| 8 25A | Ar | 510 | Kansas City, MO | C | Dp | 1 10A |
| Through Sleeper St. Louis-Los Angeles | ||||||
| 9 | Connecting Train Number (Missouri Pacific) | 20 | ||||
| 11 50P | Dp | 0.0 | St. Louis, MO (CST) | Ar | 7 47A | |
| 7 30A | Ar | 279.2 | Kansas City, MO | Dp | 1 20A | |
| 8 40A | Dp | 510 | Kansas City, MO | C | Ar | 12 55A |
| 9 50A | 579 | Topeka, KS | C | 11 35P | ||
| 11 25A | Ar | 661 | Herington, KS | C | Dp | 10 10P |
| 11 30A | Dp | Ar | 10 05P | |||
| F | 707 | McPherson, KS | C | F | ||
| 12 50P | 735 | Hutchinson, KS | C | 8 37P | ||
| 2 00P | 787 | Pratt, KS | C | 7 40P | ||
| 4 05P | Ar | 919 | Liberal, KS | C | Dp | 5 30P |
| 4 10P | Dp | Ar | 5 25P | |||
| 5 57P | Ar | 1030 | Dalhart, TX | C | 3 44P | |
| 6 01P | Dp | 3 40P | ||||
| 7 45P | Ar | 1124 | Tucumcari, NM (CST) | C | Dp | 2 05P |
| (Southern Pacific) | ||||||
| 7 00P | Dp | 1124 | Tucumcari, NM (MST) | C | Ar | 12 59P |
| 10 06P | Ar | 1311 | Carrizozo, NM | C | Dp | 9 43A |
| 10 11P | Dp | Ar | 9 38A | |||
| 12 35A | Ar | 1455 | El Paso, TX (Union Station) | C | Dp | 7 10A |
| 12 55A | Dp | Ar | 6 50A | |||
| 4 40A | Ar | 1671 | Douglas, AZ | C R | Dp | 3 05A |
| 4 45A | Dp | Ar | 3 00A | |||
| F 5 10A | 1693 | Bisbee Junction, AZ (Bisbee via bus) | C | F 2 37A | ||
| 7 00A | Ar | 1794 | Tucson, AZ | C R | Dp | 12 28A |
| 7 10A | Dp | Ar | 12 18A | |||
| F | 1859 | Coolidge, AZ | F | |||
| F | 1892 | Chandler, AZ | C | F | ||
| 9 29A | Ar | 1915 | Phoenix, AZ | C R | Dp | 10 03P |
| 9 42A | Dp | Ar | 9 53P | |||
| 12 49P | Ar | 2089 | Yuma, AZ (MST) | C | Dp | 6 44P |
| 12 59P | Dp | Yuma, AZ (PDT) | Ar | 6 34P | ||
| 2 07P | 2154 | Niland, CA | 5 21P | |||
| F 3 02P | 2211 | Indio, CA | F 4 25P | |||
| 3 36P | 2239 | Palm Springs, CA | C R | F 3 55P | ||
| D 4 51P | 2283 | Colton, CA | C | R 2 51P | ||
| D 5 21P | 2308 | Pomona, CA | C R | R 2 22P | ||
| 5 55P | 2334 | Alhambra, CA (Pasadena) | C R | 1 48P | ||
| 6 15P | Ar | 2340 | Los Angeles, CA (Union Psgr. Tml.) (PDT) | C R | Dp | 1 30P |
Observation or Club Lounge Car—(Barber-Valet Service).
(Observation Car (30) 1 Drawing-room, 2 Double Bedrooms) Chicago to Los Angeles.
Sleeping Cars—
New York to Los Angeles—4 Double Bedrooms, 2 Drawing-rooms, 4 Compartments (Car N.Y.C. 5903-Penna. 89.) (See Note 2.)
Chicago to Los Angeles—4 Double Bedrooms, 2 Drawing-rooms, 4 Compartments (36).
Chicago to Los Angeles—6-Section, 6 Roomettes, 4 Double Bedrooms (35).
Chicago to Phoenix—4 Double Bedrooms, 2 Drawing-rooms, 4 Compartments (34).
St. Louis to Los Angeles—6-Section, 6 Roomettes, 4 Double Bedrooms (94). (From St. Louis to Kansas City, via Missouri Pacific No. 9; Kansas City to Los Angeles No. 3.)
Dining Car—Serving all meals
Coffee Shop Lounge-Dining Car—
Chicago to Los Angeles.
Chair Cars—(Reclining Seats Reserved in advance). (Pillows available.) Chicago to Los Angeles (37-38-39).
Observation or Club Lounge Car—(Barber-Valet Service).
(Observation Car (40) 1 Drawing-room, 2 Double Bedrooms) Los Angeles to Chicago.
Sleeping Cars—
Los Angeles to New York—4 Double Bedrooms, 2 Drawing-rooms, 4 Compartments (Cars N42-P42.) (See Note 2.)
Los Angeles to Chicago—4 Double Bedrooms, 2 Drawing-rooms, 4 Compartments (46).
Los Angeles to Chicago—6-Section, 6 Roomettes, 4 Double Bedrooms (45).
Phoenix to Chicago—4 Double Bedrooms, 2 Drawing-rooms, 4 Compartments (44). (Open for occupancy 9:00 p.m.)
Los Angeles to St. Louis—6-Section, 6 Roomettes, 4 Double Bedrooms (41) (Los Angeles to Kansas City No. 4; Kansas City to St. Louis, via Missouri Pacific No. 20).
Dining Car—Serving all meals
Coffee Shop Lounge-Dining Car—
Los Angeles to Chicago.
Chair Cars—(Reclining Seats reserved in advance). (Pillows available.) Los Angeles to Chicago (47-48-49).
Full Lounge Car—Chicago to Los Angeles. (For Pullman passengers.) (Barber, Shower Bath.)
Standard Sleepers—New York to Los Angeles (Bedrooms, Compartments, Drawing-rooms) (Note: Operates via Penna. No. 79 and N.Y.C. No. 59 alternate days. Consult agent.)
Chicago to Los Angeles (Roomettes, Compartments, Drawing-rooms, Bedrooms, Sections).
Chicago to Phoenix (Compartments, Roomettes, Bedrooms, Drawing-room, Sections).
St. Louis to Los Angeles (Sections, Roomettes, Bedrooms) (via Missouri Pacific No. 9 to Kansas City, R.I.-S.P. No. 3).
Chicago to Los Angeles (2 Double Bedrooms, 1 Drawing-room, Buffet Observation) (3 days out of 5 - consult agents).
Dining Car—Chicago to Los Angeles.
Coffee Shop Car—Chicago to Los Angeles.
Reclining Chair Cars—Chicago to Los Angeles (all seats in Chair Cars must be reserved in advance).
Tickets Honored—Ask agents.
Lounge Car—Los Angeles to Chicago. (For Pullman Passengers.) (Barber - Shower bath.)
Standard Sleepers—
Los Angeles to New York (Bedrooms, Compartments, Drawing-rooms). NOTE: Operates via Penna. No. 70 and N.Y. Central No. 66 on alternate days. Consult agent.
Los Angeles to Chicago (Roomettes, Bedrooms, Drawing-rooms, Compartments, Sections).
Phoenix to Chicago (Bedrooms, Compartments, Drawing-rooms, Roomettes, Sections).
Los Angeles to St. Louis (Roomettes, Bedrooms, Sections) (via S.P.-R.I. No. 4 to Kansas City, Missouri Pacific No. 20 to St. Louis).
Los Angeles to Chicago (2 Double Bedrooms, 1 Drawing-room, Buffet Observation) (3 days out of 5 - consult agents).
Dining Car—Los Angeles to Chicago.
Coffee Shop Car—Los Angeles to Chicago.
Reclining Chair Cars—Los Angeles to Chicago (all seats in chair cars must be reserved in advance).
Tickets Honored—Ask agents.
At the time of this timetable there were three daily trains on the Golden State Route: The flagship Golden State shown here, the secondary Imperial which provided San Diego's only direct outlet to the East (via the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway, a Southern Pacific affiliate), and the Southwest Express, which looks to have been an afterthought to handle local traffic, head-end mail and express business, and the through cars to and from Memphis of the Memphis-Californian. But just as recently as the previous year there had been plans for a fourth: A super-deluxe express, positioned to compete directly against the Super Chief and City of Los Angeles on an identical 39-¾ hour schedule, to be named the Golden Rocket. This train was under construction by Pullman-Standard and the Rock Island had committed to take delivery of their set of equipment when, in late 1947, Southern Pacific abruptly pulled out.
Why? This was well before Southern Pacific completely lost faith in the passenger business; indeed, the very next year SP would commit to spend $15 million to streamline the Sunset Limited. While the exact reason is now lost in the mists of time, the most plausible explanation I have heard ties SP's pullout to the ICC's order of June 17, 1947, which mandated a maximum speed limit of 79 mph on track not equipped with special signaling equipment (Automatic Train Stop or Cab Signals). While it would not take full effect for a few more years, the handwriting was on the wall: High speeds would require special, expensive signal upgrades. The Golden State Route was 116 miles longer than the Santa Fe's Raton Pass line; it would require a lot of 100+ MPH running to match the Super Chief's hot schedule. But the Rock Island could not and the Southern Pacific would not spend the money needed to upgrade the signals to keep the schedule legally. With no way to keep a competitive schedule, there was no point in moving forward with the Golden Rocket.
The Rock Island would keep the Golden Rocket's red-and-silver paint scheme and most of the equipment built for the train, using it to upgrade the Golden State to streamliner status in 1948. The final combination would include a hodgepodge of prewar and postwar equipment, leaving the Golden State as rather a patchwork streamliner. While the Golden State Route would never field a true competitor to the Super Chief and City of Los Angeles, the Golden State as shown here did compete successfully against the original Chief for many years. At the time of this timetable, in fact, it matched the eastbound Chief's departure and arrival times in L.A. and Chicago to the minute.
Time:
A - A.M.
D - Train stops only to discharge passengers
F - Conditional (Flag) stop
I - Customs/Immigration inspection stop
M - Meal stop
N - Not a passenger stop
P - P.M.
R - Train stops only to receive passengers
Services:
A - Auto loading/unloading facilities (as freight)
B - Checked baggage is handled
C - Coupon station (Ticket office)
I - International border inspection station
M - Food service available
P - Telephone station
R - Rental cars available
T - Telegraph station
X - Checked baggage NOT handled
The Golden State Route of the Rock Island and Southern Pacific was probably the least well-known of all the transcontinental passenger routes. However, if you lived in the Sun Belt cities of El Paso, Tucson, or Phoenix it was the fastest and most direct way to Chicago and the East; hence its inclusion in this section.
View the Rock Island's advertisements for the Golden State Route in the Official Guide here: June 1947 and December 1948.