All
times shown (except Mexico) on this page are "Advanced" Standard Time
as defined in the Uniform Time Act of 1966.
Note: Times shown for Arizona are one
hour earlier than the official time observed in that state during the
period last Sunday in April to last Sunday in October.
EQUIPMENT.
STREAMLINER SUNSET.
SPECIAL SERVICE CHARGE.
Chair Cars—
New
Orleans-Los Angeles El Paso-Los Angeles
Reclining
leg rest seats. Advance reservations required June 1 through
Sept 15, 1968. Pillow service available at nominal charge.
Porter Service.
Automatic Buffet Car—
Los Angeles-New Orleans
Baggage—
No checked baggage
service, except intrastate between stations in Texas. See general note
below.
SOUTHERN
PACIFIC CHECKED BAGGAGE SERVICE
Effective May 1, 1968, Southern Pacific will not check or
handle checked baggage traffic for interstate movement, nor for
intrastate movement in the state of Oregon or intrastate to or from
stations served by train Nos. 1 and 2 "Sunset" in California, Arizona,
New Mexico and Louisiana. Exception: Train 102 will handle baggage
traffic checked from stations served by that train San Francisco to
Ogden or beyond. Train 101 will handle baggage checked to but not
beyond stations served by that train.
Children—Under 5 years of
age, free when accompanied by parent or guardian; 5 years of age and
under 12, one-half fare; 12 years of age and over, full fare.
FOR
YOUR CONVENIENCE
FREE SELF-SERVICE LUGGAGE CARTS AVAILABLE
AT MANY SOUTHERN PACIFIC STATIONS
Don't
overlook using S.P.'s free self-service luggage carts located in front
of the station or at trainside. They're there for your convenience and
economy. Just load your luggage, release the hand brake, and away you
go.
The Train From Hell
In the autumn of 1965 the Sunset's sleeping accommodations were reduced to a single car. On January 19, 1966, the Pride of Texas hamburger-grill cars were axed, leaving the dreaded automatic buffet cars as the only on-train food service between New Orleans and El Paso. Actually, the term "automatic" was increasingly a misnomer; the vending machines were in such a constant state of disrepair that the standard procedure was to hand your money to the attendant, who would then unlock the machines with a key and hand you a candy bar and a can of lukewarm spaghetti. Could things get any worse?
Yes. On February 26, 1966, the last New Orleans-Los Angeles sleeping car was discontinued. Now the Sunset was down to nothing more than a string of coaches and the hated automatic buffet car. Still, the Sunset continued to operate combined with the Golden State west of El Paso, and as the Golden State retained its diner/lounge and sleeping cars it was still possible to enjoy a reasonably civilized trip once west of Texas.
But on April 8, 1968 the Golden State was discontinued. As far as passenger service on the Sunset Route was concerned, this was . . . The Nadir.