# 1920s Railroad Question--No Deathrays **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490 "2017-06-21T00:40:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/1 "2017-06-21T00:40:27Z")
How long would it take a passenger rail train to go from New York to California, in, say, 1928? An Express Train? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/2 "2017-06-21T02:07:53Z")
I was surprised that back in 1876 a passenger train crossed the country in 83 hours (New York City to San Francisco). > **[Express train crosses the nation in 83 hours | June 4, 1876 | HISTORY](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/express-train-crosses-the-nation-in-83-hours)** > > A mere 83 hours after leaving New York City, the Transcontinental Express train arrives in San Francisco. That any human being could travel across the entire nation in less than four days was inconceivable to previous generations of Americans. During... If you Google passenger train speed 1920s you get some ideas: [https://www.google.com/search?q=passenger+train+speed+1920s](https://www.google.com/search?q=passenger+train+speed+1920s) For example > [@](#): > > The 1920’s is generally not a good benchmark to compare with today’s train schedules. For example: > > Overland Limited Chicago-Oakland 1924 about 68 hours and three nights on the train. > > Amtrak No 5 Chi-Emeryville 2008 about 53 hours and two nights on the train. > > Not entirely “apples to apples”, but generally it took longer back then. > > Most passenger train schedules peaked during the heyday of the Streamliner Era which I define as 1934 through 1956. For example, a recent post on T.O. lamented that Amtrak’s Empire Builder essentially takes 2 hours longer to go Chicago-St Paul than its 1940 steam-powered predecessor over the old Milwaukee Road. In my opinion, this is due to the following: > **[Article - Are trains slower now than 1920s](https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,1937972)** > > Interesting assessment from Slate magazine regarding the perceived importance of the passenger train http://www.slat ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/3 "2017-06-21T02:10:36Z")
You lost me at “No Deathrays” ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/4 "2017-06-21T03:13:08Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > You lost me at “No Deathrays” In case Ming the Merciless should board?😃 ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/5 "2017-06-21T04:02:12Z")
From a newspaper article discussing the vast improvements from 1928 to 1938: > [@](#): > > From New York to Los Angeles by train in 1928 took 90 hours; now the trip can be made by train in 58 hours 25 minutes. > **[Chicago Tribune](https://www.chicagotribune.com)** > > Get Chicago news and Illinois news from The Chicago Tribune ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/6 "2017-06-21T04:05:42Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > You lost me at “No Deathrays” I’m guessing it’s a **dude robert** nod. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/7 "2017-06-21T04:09:23Z")
New York to Chicago on the _Broadway Limited_ or [_20th Century Limited:_](http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track5/century192701.html) 20 hours, arriving 9:45 am. Spend the day in Chicago, then depart at 8:10 pm on the [_Overland Limited_ from Chicago to San Francisco:](http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track8/overland192701.html) 64 hours, arriving 9:10 am. I don’t believe any scheduled service could have gotten you coast to coast faster, even if you found a connection (via Cincinnati and St. Louis, maybe) that avoided the Chicago layover. Other trains might get you to Chicago with less time before the West Coast departure, but they had a slower end-to-end running time. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/8 "2017-06-21T04:46:19Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I’m guessing it’s a **dude robert** nod. No, it pre-dates him by [quite some time](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=202225). ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/9 "2017-06-21T20:56:07Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I’m guessing it’s a **dude robert** nod. [Aaahhh…they’re 1920s style Death Rays.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=3795806&postcount=4) ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/10 "2017-06-21T21:34:35Z")
You can get fast if you spend the cash. London to Paris is a little under 300 miles and the (non stop) train does it in 2½ hours. Average speed = 120 mph. There is also the English Channel to cross on the way. Given the time it takes to get from city centres to airports, plus all the check in time, the train wins hands down. Trips to Paris are a popular day out for Londoners, and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/11 "2017-06-27T04:04:48Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I was surprised that back in 1876 a passenger train crossed the country in 83 hours (New York City to San Francisco). > [Express train crosses the nation in 83 hours | June 4, 1876 | HISTORY](http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/express-train-crosses-the-nation-in-83-hours) While that is impressive, I wonder if this train had to stop in Chicago. Most cross-country passenger trains today do so; there’s a reason Chicago is called the rail center of the nation. Or, more accurately, Amtrak doesn’t run a single service that crosses the entire country from one coast to the other. You have to take a train from NOLA or NYC or wherever that takes you to Chicago, and then a different named train to continue your journey to the West Coast. There’s bound to be some significant layover time in Chicago. I’d be surprised if the private sector railroads didn’t do the same for most of early 20th century, until Amtrak took over passenger service in 19171. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/12 "2017-06-27T04:52:02Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > No, it pre-dates him by [quite some time](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=202225). Ah - thank you. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/13 "2017-06-27T11:38:41Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > While that is impressive, I wonder if this train had to stop in Chicago. Most cross-country passenger trains today do so; there’s a reason Chicago is called the rail center of the nation. Or, more accurately, Amtrak doesn’t run a single service that crosses the entire country from one coast to the other. You have to take a train from NOLA or NYC or wherever that takes you to Chicago, and then a different named train to continue your journey to the West Coast. There’s bound to be some significant layover time in Chicago. I’d be surprised if the private sector railroads didn’t do the same for most of early 20th century, until Amtrak took over passenger service in 19171. Probably not. In those days St. Louis was the main rail hub in the middle of the country. Chicago was a comparative cowtown waay off the main routes. But by 1900 St. Louis had gotten fat and lazy & Chicago was young and on the make. 50 years later there was no comparison; St. Louis was a has-been. So when US passenger rail froze out into its more or less final configuration shortly after WWII Chicago was the major hub. Since then nothing much has happened to add or to re-route traffic. All that’s happened since is existing routes atrophying into non-existence. Sorta like watching dead tree slowly lose limbs over decades until it’s just a tall stump. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/14 "2017-06-27T16:45:17Z")
It’s not just Chicago being a hub, but the whole deadline from there down to New Orleans, mainly following the Mississippi river, being unpassable without a car change. With one exception that I’m aware of, at no time in our rail history was it possible to take with scheduled service, the same car from one coast to the other. (A rich guy could arrange a private train, I suppose.) I remember an ad in a railroad magazine published in the thirties calling for reform. The headline was _A hog can travel across the Mississippi in the same car but you can’t!_ The exception was the _California Zephyr_. While CZ itself stopped in Chicago, a single sleeper would continue on to New York City via the Pennsylvania or New York Central on alternate days, and vice-versa. This [site](http://calzephyr.railfan.net/cars/consist.html) mentions it. (Scroll down to CZ-11) > [@the site](#): > > From a 1951 timetable: “Between New York and San Francisco. Ten roomettes, six double bedrooms. Similar to CZ-15 and CZ-14 above.” This car operated daily from Chicago to New York, alternating every-other day over the PRR and the NYC. > > By 1964, this car had been eliminated from the consist. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-railroad-question-no-deathrays/789490/15 "2017-06-28T03:44:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > In those days St. Louis was the main rail hub in the middle of the country. Chicago was a comparative cowtown waay off the main routes. > > But by 1900 St. Louis had gotten fat and lazy & Chicago was young and on the make. 50 years later there was no comparison; St. Louis was a has-been. > > So when US passenger rail froze out into its more or less final configuration shortly after WWII Chicago was the major hub. Huh? Chicago was always the Railroad Capital. Because the Mississippi is much wider and harder to bridge at St. Louis than at Rock Island, St. Louis didn’t have connections to the East until 1874. That’s a full five years after the Transcontinental Railroad was completed—and 25 years after Eastern and Western railroads were making connections in Chicago. The pattern never changed—and certainly didn’t get reshuffled “shortly after WWII.” Eastern roads ended in Chicago, and the Western roads began there. Though a couple of railroads tried through-sleeper service in the 1950s, the sleeping car spent most of an entire day behind a switch engine, being slowly shuffled around the South Side of Chicago. Any sentient passenger would have gotten off in the morning and spent the day shopping or watching a movie, before reboarding the sleeping car that evening at a different station.