Southwest Chief route and the BNSF Southern Transcon

[Tom Whaley]

I just returned from a trip on the Southwest Chief. Where does the Chief leave the transcon and where does it rejoin the BNSF Southern Transcon?

 

[amtkstn]

Enters the transcon at Galesburg. Stays on it until west of KC. Does a short run though Emporia KS. Reenters it south of Albuquerque and stays on it all the way to LA.

 

[zephyr17]

Enters Transcon at Cameron west of Galesburg and stays on it to just west of Kansas City where it diverts onto a secondary line to Topeka, re-enters Transcon at Emporia, KS briefly to Ellinor, KS where it goes onto the old AT&SF "northern" Passenger Main. Regains Transcon again at Dailies, NM about 30 miles south of Albuquerque, NM. Remains on Transcon until it goes onto Metrolink's West Bank Line and the bridge over the LA River at CP Soto on the south side of downtown LA.

PS, the current SW Chief route is largely the same route as the AT&SF Super Chief except between Chicago and Cameron, where it stayed on Santa Fe rails through Joliet and Streator, west of Kansas City where it went straight to Ellinor and did not serve Topeka, and it took Santa Fe's Los Angeles Division Second District through Pasadena between San Bernardino and LA rather than the Third District through Fullerton.