28. attend a Chautauqua

The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe

We had a small group but a long conversation for Bill Worley's last talk--this time less on Fred Harvey and more on the railroad whose passengers Harvey served.

The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad system began as simply the Atchison and Topeka in 1859 and was envisioned as a Kansas railroad. Before any track was laid, the vision, and the name, changed to include Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The first track wasn't laid until 1868 (the Civil War taking place in between). The first track went from Topeka toward the southwest. It wasn't until the 1870s that the track went east to include Atchison and Kansas City.

In the 1880s, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe built west from Albuquerque into California. There was a lot of competition in railroads at that time in California and it took legislation from the state of California to allow the Santa Fe to build there.

In the 1880s, the Santa Fe also built tracks east from Kansas City to Chicago. The California destinations and Chicago were reached the same year--1887. At this point the building phase of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad was basically complete.

The Santa Fe advertised travels to the Southwest and California. The logo (a blue cross in a circle) is an adaptation of a southwest Native American symbol. The china on the dining cars was designed by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter and resembled designs on Southwest tribal pottery. Travel posters frequently included artwork with California or Southwest scenery. The Santa Fe Railway Artwork site has some nice examples.

Unlike most passenger rail service, the Santa Fe did make money carrying passengers most of the time from the 1890s through World War II. Advertising and service apparently made the difference.