Union Pacific Streamliners, 1st Train through 10th Train
Index For This Page
This page was last updated on May 16, 2023.
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Overview
Union Pacific's method and nomenclature to identify an individual Streamlined train or consist is a mystery to many people. In their book Union Pacific Streamliners, on page 351, Ranks and Kratville explained the method and nomenclature as follows:
Each Streamlined train as it went into service was given a numerical classification such as the First Train, Second Train, etc. This identification was for company purposes and convenience and did not appear in timetables or on the trains themselves. Thus the first 17-car train City of Los Angeles with units LA 1-2-3 became the Seventh Train when it went into service in December, 1937. In January, 1938, the first 17 car City of San Francisco went into service and it was known as the Eighth Train. The City of Cheyenne and the City of Las Vegas did not receive any such designation because there was only one of them. The City of St. Louis used general service equipment and at first did not go to the coast. So it did not get such a designation.
Some of the lettering on the cars themselves can be misleading because cars were reassigned and moved between train sets, and renumbered or relettered as needed, while the train designation (such as the Fifth Train) identified the consist as a whole and was not changed. An example was the M-10004, designated as the Fourth Train and originally in service as the City of San Francisco. When its assignment was changed to operate as the City of Los Angeles, it was still the Fourth Train even though its consist and terminals had been altered considerably. The M-10004 later went into City of Portland service in 1941 and the cars received the new "CP" prefix, but the train as a whole was still the Fourth Train although lettered City of Portland.
The numbering of the Streamliner train sets (or equipment) continued in the post war period. When five new sets of equipment were organized on February 15, 1947 to establish the City of Portland as a daily train, they were designated as the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Trains. Four more train sets were added in 1947, and two more train sets were added in 1950, to support daily operations of City of Los Angeles and City of San Francisco.
Although the City of Denver was completely re-equipped in 1953 with cars and locomotives from the general pool, the two train sets kept their designation as the Fifth and Sixth trains.
An important fact to keep in mind was that, even as cars were renamed and renumbered, and reassigned, the numbered train consists remained the same, at least until the changes in 1953.
The list below shows these train consists as originally configured:
| Number | Year First Operated |
Initial Assignment |
| First Train | 1934 | The Streamliner, City of Salina |
| Second Train | 1934 | City of Portland |
| Third Train | 1936 | City of Los Angeles |
| Fourth Train | 1936 | City of San Francisco |
| Fifth Train | 1936 | City of Denver |
| Sixth Train | 1936 | City of Denver |
| Seventh Train | 1937 | City of Los Angeles |
| Eighth Train | 1937 | City of San Francisco |
| Ninth Train | 1941 | City of Los Angeles |
| Tenth Train | 1941 | City of San Francisco |
| Eleventh Train | 1947 | City of Portland |
| Twelfth Train | 1947 | City of Portland |
| Thirteenth Train | 1947 | City of Portland |
| Fourteenth Train | 1947 | City of Portland |
| Fifteenth Train | 1947 | City of Portland |
| Sixteenth Train | 1947 | City of Los Angeles |
| Seventeenth Train | 1947 | City of Los Angeles |
| Eighteenth Train | 1947 | City of San Francisco |
| Nineteenth Train | 1947 | City of San Francisco |
| Twentieth Train | 1950 | City of San Francisco |
| Twenty-first Train | 1950 | City of Los Angeles |
1st Train (M-10000)
1st Train (1934 to 1942)
(Read more about the 1st Train, including its constst)
2nd Train (M-10001)
2nd Train (Two versions: 1934 and 1935-1939)
(Read more about the 2nd Train, and the Revised 2nd Train, including the consist of both trains)
3rd Train (M-10002)
3rd Train (1936 to 1947)
(Read more about the 3rd Train, including its consist)
Extra Power (M-10003)
M-10003 was built at the same time as M-10005 and M-10006 (all delivered in July 1936), and was a spare locomotive set to protect the operating schedules of the City of Los Angeles and the City of San Francisco.
There were no cars assigned to the M-10003 locomotives.
M-10003 was renumbered to CD-07-A and B in June 1937
| M-10003(A) | 1200 HP motor | to CD-07-A 6-37, scrapped 3-53 |
| M-10003(B) | 1200 HP motor | to CD-07-B 6-37, scrapped 3-53 |
4th Train (M-10004)
4th Train (1936 to 1938) (COSF)
4th Train (1938 to 1941) (COLA)
4th Train (1941-1947) (COP)
4th Train (1947 to 1951) (COD)
(Read more about the 4th Train, including its consist)
5th and 6th Trains (M-10005 and M-10006)
5th Train (1936 to 1953) (COD)
6th Train (1936 to 1953) (COD)
These two trains were assigned to City of Denver service, and were the first Streamliners with separate motive power units, and a mix of single cars and two-unit articulated cars.
(Read more about the 5th Train, including its consist)
(Read more about the 6th Train, including its consist)
7th Train (E2 Locomotives)
7th Train (1937 to 1941, and 1941 to 1947)
December 27, 1937
A new 14-car City of Los Angeles train, powered by the three-unit set of EMD E2 locomotives LA-1-2-3, replaced the 3rd Train (M-10002)
(Read more about the 7th Train, including its consist)
8th Train (E2 Locomotives)
8th Train (1938 to 1939, and 1941 to 1947)
January 2, 1938
A new 14-car City of San Francisco train, powered by the three-unit set of EMD E2 locomotives SF-1-2-3, replaced the 4th Train (M-10004; COSF).
August 12, 1939
The City of San Francisco derailed on vandalized track near Harney, Nevada. A replacement train was put into service until the consist can be repaired. Five cars were completely destroyed and had to be replaced. This was the 8th Train, with E2s SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3 as motive power.
(Read more about the 8th Train, including its consist)
9th Train (E6 Locomotives)
City of Los Angeles, July 1941 to start of daily service in May 1947
Motive Power
| LA-4 | new 2-41 | 2000 HP motor E6 A |
| LA-5 | new 2-41 | 2000 HP motor E6 B |
| LA-6 | new 2-41 | 2000 HP motor E6 B |
| 924A 8-46 (from LA-4) | to 987J 3-48 | to 987 12-48; traded to EMD 1-56 |
| 925B 8-46 (from LA-5) | to 987BJ 3-48 | to 987B 12-48; traded to EMD 1-56 |
| 926B 8-46 (from LA-6) | to 987CJ 3-48 | to 987C 12-48; traded to EMD 1-56 |
Cars
| LA-103 | baggage, dormitory | to 6009 in 1956 |
| LA-405 Pasadena | 48 seat coach | to club, lounge 1501 in 1953 |
| LA-406 Boulder City | 48 seat coach | to club, lounge 1500 in 1953 |
| LA-612 Hacienda | cafe lounge | to 5008 in 1956 |
| LA-608 Ambassador (2nd) | Diner | to 4818 in 1956 |
| LA-703 Hollywood | club, lounge | to 1504 in 1955 |
| San Dominguez (2nd) | 11 bedroom | |
| Wilshire | 12 section | |
| Rose Bowl | 18 roomette | |
| Los Feliz | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room | |
| San Gabriel | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room | |
| Olvera | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room | |
| Playa Del Rey | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room | |
| Palos Verdes | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room (new car) | |
| Verdugo | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room (new car) | |
| Baldy Mountain | 4 bedroom, observation, buffet, lounge | to CNW in 1947 |
10th Train (E6 Locomotives)
City of San Francisco, August 1941 to start of daily service in January 1947
Motive Power
| SF-4 | new 3-41 | 2000 HP motor E6 A |
| SF-5 | new 3-41 | 2000 HP motor E6 B |
| SF-6 | new 3-41 | 2000 HP motor E6 B |
| 904A 8-46 (from SF-4) | to 985J 3-48 | to CNW 5004A 12-48 |
| 905B 8-46 (from SF-5) | to 985BJ 3-48 | to 985B 12-48; traded to EMD 1-56 |
| 906B 8-46 (from SF-6) | to 985CJ 3-48 | to 985C 12-48; traded to EMD 1-56 |
Cars
| SF-104 | baggage, dormitory | to 6010 |
| SF-407 Montgomery Street | 48 seat coach | to CNW 6148 in 1947 |
| SF-609 Ft Mason | Kitchen Diner | to SP 10225 in 1947 |
| SF-610 St Francis Woods | Diner | to SP 10226 in 1947 |
| SF-704 Marina | club, lounge | to CNW 7903 in 1947 |
| Seals Rocks | 4 compartment, 3 bedroom | Changed to San Dominguez (2nd) (9th train) in 1938 |
| Union Square | 12 section | |
| Lakeside (1942) | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room | new car; added in 1942; re-assigned to City of St. Louis in 1946 |
| Angel Island | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room | new car |
| Telegraph Hill | 12 single room, 5 bedroom | |
| Rincon Hill | 10 roomette, 5 bedroom | to SP 9201 in 1947 |
| Sutro Heights | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room | to SP 9202 in 1947 |
| North Beach | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room | |
| Hunters Point | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room | to CNW in 1947 |
| Civic Center | 4 bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room | to CNW in 1947 |
| Russian Hill | 4 bedroom, observation, lounge | to CNW "Hoover Dam" in 1947 |
Sources
Research by David Seidel; portions were originally presented in a different format in his self-published book, "Union Pacific Passenger Equipment."
Research by Dick Harley.
W. David Randall and William G. Anderson, "The Official Pullman-Standard Library, Volume 13, Union Pacific 1933-1937", published in 1993 by RPC Publications.
Ranks, Harold E., and William W. Kratville. The Union Pacific Streamliners. Kratville Publications, 1974.
More Information
The "City" Trains -- Information about the varying equipment sets used for each City of Los Angeles, City of San Francisco, City of Portland, and City of Denver.
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