Serving Chicago, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth, Houston and intermediate points
Amtrak train numbers: 15 and 16
Predecessor railroad train numbers: Santa Fe 15 and 16
On April 3, 1948, the Santa Fe Railway introduced an upgraded, streamlined version of its Chicago-Galveston Texas Express and Chicago Express trains. This train was named the Texas Chief, to go along with the naming scheme that was also responsible for the Super Chief.
In 1971, Amtrak took over operation of the Texas Chief, now with its southern terminus in Houston. It stayed as a completely separate train from the Super Chief/El Capitan, providing twice-a-day service on the combined portion of the trains' route between Chicago and Newton, Kansas.
Amtrak's service levels eventually slipped below what the Santa Fe considered acceptable, and the Santa Fe stopped letting Amtrak use its "Chief" trademark in 1974. As the Super Chief became the Southwest Limited, the Texas Chief became the Lone Star.
Condensed historical timetables:
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(1956) (1972) (1972) (1956)
6:00P 5:00P Dp Chicago Ar 10:15A 9:00A
1:25A 1:00A Kansas City 2:05A 1:10A
8:30A 9:25A Oklahoma City 5:40P 6:00P
1:00P 2:10P Fort Worth 1:08P 2:05P
7:00P 8:45P Houston 7:20A 8:10A
8:15P ----- Ar Galveston Dp ----- 6:50A
The Amtrak Train Names Project