What was it that made Santa Fe passenger friendly. I have already heard they were, but I never knew what it was that made them get that reputation. Was it because they maintained their equipment to higher standards?
They maintained a high level of service until the Amtrak takeover. To that end ATSF withdrew approval for the use of the name “Super Chief” when, in their opinion, service levels eroded beyond what Santa Fe considered acceptable.
The B&O also executed passenger service to a high standard until the end as did the UP, I believe. To me it is about being faithul to the brand these railroads developed. It is a corporate culture not enough companies choose to follow in these current times.
Hi Will,
Another way to answer your question is that the Santa Fe’s top management believed in offering the public the best passenger service they could provide for as long as the railroad could afford to do so. Under that management, the Santa Fe not only maintained its passenger equipment to a high standard, it purchased new passenger cars (High Level chair cars) as late as 1964, and new passenger locomotives (EMD FP45s and GE U30CGs) as late as 1967. It also advertised heavily to attract passengers to its trains and to the cities and other attractions that they served.
The story goes that the first question the Santa Fe’s president asked at his Chicago office every morning was “How’s 18?” If anything had delayed No. 18, the eastbound Super Chief, he’d know that the railroad was having trouble somewhere.
Management’s attitude and support was communicated down to the working railroaders who ran and served aboard the trains, and they typically presented a positive attitude to the passengers and public.
So long,
Andy