No. 10352 Electro-Motive E-6 AB Diesel Locomotive, heading up the "City of Los Angeles" Streamlined Passenger Train

 Union Pacific Railroad

Just before World War I, the Union Pacific Railroad acquired a subsidiary, the San Pedro, Los Angeles, & Salt Lake Railroad, enabling the Union Pacific to offer direct service between Chicago and Los Angeles, rather than the more circuitous route through Sacramento or Oakland, a service that was far slower than competitor Santa Fe's. The steam-powered all-Pullman "Los Angeles Limited" was the premier train on the new line, part of Union Pacific's highly acclaimed Overland Route (the original way to San Francisco from the Midwest). This heavyweight train, established in 1905, was Union Pacific's finest to the West Coast until the streamliner era commenced in the mid 1930s.

The mid-1930s became the era of streamliners on America's rails, and the Union Pacific was the first to introduce a true streamliner, which it ordered early in 1933 and took delivery of in February, 1934, the M-10000, a little 204-foot caterpillar-like train made up of three articulated sections, a new concept where the cars were permanently coupled, sharing a common truck between the cars (see No. 10349). The lightweight train featured aluminum car bodies built by Pullman-Standard. This train was truly revolutionary, a public relations bonanza for Union Pacific. The train's riveted exterior was clad in what the railroad termed as "canary yellow" and "golden brown," the yellow having been chosen for safety reasons. This was the first application of what later became known as "Armour yellow" on Union Pacific equipment, a color which served UP throughout its life from 1934. Shortly after delivery, the M-10000 embarked on an extremely successful tour of the United States, drawing huge numbers of Depression-weary Americans trackside for a glimpse of the speedster that rode a wave of new optimism. It entered regular service in January, 1935, making two daily round trips between Kansas City and Salina, Kansas (187 miles) through Topeka, Kansas . The train averaged 60 mph and operated at considerably reduced cost compared to a conventional steam train. The train was originally called "The Streamliner," and as we have seen, in January, 1935, it went into regular service. In early 1936 the M-10000 was rechristened the "City of Salina" to differentiate it from the growing fleet of "City" trains. In May, 1936, Union Pacific took delivery of its articulated M-10002 streamliner, the "City of Los Angeles," which entered 39-hour, 45-minute Chicago-Los Angeles service (2299 miles), featuring an Electro-Motive 900 horsepower booster "B" unit in addition to its 1200 horsepower "A" unit power car. This "City of Los Angeles" eleven-car extra-fare streamliner consisted of the locomotive, a baggage-mail car, baggage-dormitory-kitchen car, diner/lounge, five sleepers, a coach, and a coach/buffet car. This train replaced the "Los Angeles Limited" as Union Pacific's top Chicago-Los Angeles luxury liner. Pullman- Standard supplied the lightweight aluminum cars, accommodating 170 coach and Pullman passengers. Its M-10004 companion train, the "City of San Francisco," (see No. 10265), entered service in June, 1936 (similar to trainsets M-10005 and M-10006, the "City of Denver" trainsets [see No. 10029]). The streamlined "City of Los Angeles" thus got a year's head start on rival Santa Fe's streamlined "Super Chief" on the same route (see No.  10088). All of these "City" trainsets were painted in Union Pacific's new colors of Armour yellow and golden brown.

Union Pacific's original Overland Route went from Omaha (later extended eastward to Chicago on ally Chicago & North Western tracks) through Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Ogden, Utah, to Oakland. The route from Ogden to Oakland was on ally Southern Pacific's tracks. (The pre-World War I established alternate extension started at Ogden, going through Salt Lake City and Las Vegas to Los Angeles on subsidiary San Pedro, Los Angeles, & Salt Lake Railroad's tracks west of Salt Lake City.) In 1936, with only one trainset per route, the "City of Los Angeles" and "City of San Francisco" streamliner service was limited to one trip a week in each direction; those passengers who couldn't fit their travel plans around the streamliner departures were obliged to use slower steam powered trains. Late in 1937, Union Pacific took delivery of additional new "City of Los Angeles" and "City of San Francisco" trainsets, one of each, doubling "City" departures to every third day. The two new lightweight "City" trains represented a departure from the M-series sets in that the motive power, rather than being custom-built for the Union Pacific, was chosen from the Electro-Motive "catalog" of locomotives that could be purchased by any railroad. Locomotives were from Electro- Motive's new E-series line of passenger diesels, two three-unit sets of E-2 models (1800 horsepower per unit), run as an ABB combination. Pullman-Standard supplied the matching Armour yellow and golden brown passenger cars. The trains were semi- articulated, 14 cars in length. Notable on the "City of Los Angeles" was the lounge car, "Little Nugget," replicating a Wild West saloon of the 1800s with fake gas lights, beamed ceiling, lace curtains, velvet drapes, and red plush chairs and settees, complete with an electrically animated singing canary in a gilt cage over the bar. The unique design was by celebrated New York artist Walt Kuhn (1880-1949).

In June, 1939, the original "City of Los Angeles" M-10002 trainset replaced the M- 10001 in Chicago-Portland service, until July, 1941, when M-10002 went into storage, to be scrapped in 1942. Just before the start of World War II in 1941, the Union Pacific took delivery of 145 new lightweight non-articulated streamlined cars from Pullman-Standard, and six new E-6 Electro-Motive "A" and "B" unit diesels (2000 horsepower per unit) as an upgrade for the "City" trains, delivered just after the war, in 1946. The new cars and locomotives had a new paint scheme: Armour yellow and Harbor Mist gray with red lettering and striping, which became Union Pacific's standard color scheme until Amtrak's takeover in 1971. Two new 14-car trainsets were created as a result, revitalized "City of Los Angeles" and "City of San Francisco" (see No. 10265) streamliners.

These two newest "City" trainsets of 1941 were the most luxurious yet, sporting barber shops, shower baths, and pillow-type radio speakers for coach passengers. Now that the trains were non-articulated, they could be lengthened or shortened according to demand; so it was not unusual for the 3-unit E-6 locomotive set to be pulling as many as 18 "City of Los Angeles" cars. Walt Kuhn designed the chic Art Deco "Hollywood" club cars.The locomotives were upgraded to E-7s (2000 horsepower per unit) in 1950 after EMD introduced them to American railroads in 1945.

Post-World War II, the Union Pacific received a flood of new non-articulated cars from American Car & Foundry and Pullman-Standard, allowing the Union Pacific and partners Chicago and North Western and Southern Pacific to establish daily service for the entire "City" fleet, starting in 1947. Trip time Chicago-Los Angeles in 1947 was 40 hours with four 13-car trainsets that could be expanded on demand.

In the mid-1950s, Union Pacific finally joined the ranks of transcontinental dome operators with the delivery of dome coaches, lounge-observation, and dining cars from American Car & Foundry, called "Astra Domes" by Union Pacific. All Union Pacific trains carrying domes were known as "Domeliners." The dome diners were a unique attraction, the only such cars to operate on regularly scheduled pre-Amtrak passenger train routes.  In 1955, the "City of Los Angeles" trainsets received dome dining and observation cars.

Then, in the 1960s, came the interstate highway system and the revolutionary jet airliner -suddenly no one wanted to take the train any more. Ridership on the "City" fleet declined, the "City" trains were combined as "City of Everywhere" arrangements, and the dome diners pulled from service. This was the status of "City" trains when Amtrak took over passenger operations on May 1, 1971. The revived "City of San Francisco" was the sole survivor into the Amtrak era, renamed the "San Francisco Zephyr" in June, 1972.

For a rare steam-powered version of the "City of Los Angeles," please see No.   10212. To refer to other trains in the "City" fleet, please see Nos. 10026 "City of Portland," 10029 "City of Denver," 10265 "City of San Francisco," and 10349 "City of Salina." No. 10352 represents an accurate scale model of Electro-Motive's E-6 AB two-unit diesel locomotive in "0"gauge by MTH. It pulls the 6-car streamlined train the "City of Los Angeles" in Armour yellow and Harbor Mist gray as it would have been seen between Chicago and Los Angeles 1946-1950. The passenger cars are by Weaver, custom painted (No. 10353).