During
the streamliner era the
Sun Belt was not the economic
powerhouse we think of today. To be honest, it was a bit of a
backwater. Even so, the region supported a respectable amount of
railroad activity and was home to a number of memorable long distance
trains.
The Trains:
The Angelo
Santa Fe operated this service between Dallas, Fort Worth and San Angelo. It also connected with the California Special for Lubbock, Clovis, Belen and California. The Angelo - August, 1944
The Argonaut
Southern Pacific's heavyweight secondary
service on the Sunset Route between New Orleans and Los Angeles via
Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, and Tucson. The Argonaut
- April, 1955
The Arizona Limited
First
all-private-room train in the west, this train aimed at
the winter
vacationers traffic would operate between Chicago and Phoenix over the
Golden State Route for only two seasons. Arizona Limited
- December, 1940
Secondary
service on the Golden State Route between Chicago and Los Angeles which
also served San Diego via the San Diego & Arizona Eastern
Railway. The
Imperial - August, 1950
The Lone Star
Cotton
Belt's overnight passenger service between Memphis and Dallas, with a
through sleeper operated between Memphis and Shreveport. Lone Star - March, 1951
The Louisiana Eagle
Texas
& Pacific Railway service between New Orleans, Shreveport, and
Dallas-Fort Worth which also handled through cars from New Orleans to
Little Rock via Monroe. Louisiana Eagle - August, 1952
The Meteor
The St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) operated this overnight service between St. Louis, Springfield, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City. The Meteor - December, 1948
The Morning Star
Cotton Belt service between Dallas and Memphis (connecting with Southern's Tennessean) and sometime service to St. Louis. Morning Star - June, 1941
The Ranger
Santa Fe's heavyweight service on the Chicago to Galveston run in the years before the Texas Chief. The Ranger - August 1944
