Houston-Chicago 1974?

[SteveSFL]

In about 1974, my mom took my brother and me on the train from our home in Houston to visit relatives in Chicago. What train would have run that route? Was that pre-Amtrak?

I recall having a bedroom, and my brother and I slept on the lower bunk and my mom on the upper. To this day, she recalls that she got absolutely no sleep because she was afraid she was going to get thrown out of the bunk by the motion of the train. I don't remember much at all about the trip.

I guess that was pre-superliner, so it would have been single-level cars?

Thanks in advance for any info y'all might have.

On Wednesday my dad and I depart from Denver for our DEN-SAC-PDX-CHI-HOS trip. Of course this time I will be in the upper bunk and we will have an Ambus segment from Longview to HOS.

Steve

 

[Steve4031]

You probably rode the lone star. It ran from Chicago, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth to San Antonio with a section to Houston. There is a place on this website where you can pull up old schedules.

 

[amtkstn]

On the Lone Star the coaches, diner car and lounges were all ex Santa Fe high level cars. The sleepers were single level cars. Due to the Santa Fe using the high levels on coach only trains, there were no high level sleepers.

 

[MrFSS]

This could have been the train you were on.

 

[seat38a]

 

[ehbowen]

On the Lone Star the coaches, diner car and lounges were all ex Santa Fe high level cars. The sleepers were single level cars. Due to the Santa Fe using the high levels on coach only trains, there were no high level sleepers.

Actually, on the Lone Star only the coaches were Hi-Level. Santa Fe only ordered enough Hi-Level diners and lounges to equip the El Capitan pool (plus a couple spares for maintenance).

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

GREAT PIC! This is the first long distance train I rode back in the Summer of 1974 when I went to visit a sister in Norman. The only difference was the Observation Car was not a Dome; a few years later when I came to Norman to attend OU the Silver Solarium was a regular part of the consist, showing up every couple days or so.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The Lone Star is a Train Amtrak should have kept when the Carter cuts were instituted! Of course the Inter- American ran to Lardeo via San Antonio before it was truncated to SAS and became the current Texas Eagle!If it wasn't for Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison we wouldn't have the Eagle or the Heartland Flyer, the remanents of the Lone Star!

In my opinion the routing, calling times and OTP were much better than the current Texas Eagle and provided Houston, the Nations 4th Largest City,with a Daily Train instead of an Ambus and a 3 times a week Sunset Ltd!

 

[SteveSFL]

Thanks so much for the info and especially the cool photo and schedule!

 

[seat38a]

Thanks so much for the info and especially the cool photo and schedule!

NP, the photo is from Wikipedia.

 

[seat38a]

The Lone Star is a Train Amtrak should have kept when the Carter cuts were instituted! Of course the Inter- American ran to Lardeo via San Antonio before it was truncated to SAS and became the current Texas Eagle!If it wasn't for Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison we wouldn't have the Eagle or the Heartland Flyer, the remanents of the Lone Star!

In my opinion the routing, calling times and OTP were much better than the current Texas Eagle and provided Houston, the Nations 4th Largest City,with a Daily Train instead of an Ambus and a 3 times a week Sunset Ltd!

So what was the deal during the Carter years that they took the ax to so many routes? These days, they really can't touch a train without a national crisis but they were able to slash so much.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

The Lone Star is a Train Amtrak should have kept when the Carter cuts were instituted! Of course the Inter- American ran to Lardeo via San Antonio before it was truncated to SAS and became the current Texas Eagle!If it wasn't for Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison we wouldn't have the Eagle or the Heartland Flyer, the remanents of the Lone Star!

In my opinion the routing, calling times and OTP were much better than the current Texas Eagle and provided Houston, the Nations 4th Largest City,with a Daily Train instead of an Ambus and a 3 times a week Sunset Ltd!

The Lone Star was killed by the pushing of then Oklahoma Senator Henry Bellmon. Considering how many college towns including Austin, Norman and Lawrence were on the route, students were especially upset.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I forgot about Senator Bellmon, he certainly wasnt a friend of Amtrak, College Students or Working Folks! IIRC he was called the Senator from Phillips 66!! ( an Okla. Oil Company for you youngsters!)