The El Capitan was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ("Santa Fe") between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California. It operated from 1938 to 1971; Amtrak retained the name until 1973. The El Capitan was the only all-coach or "chair car" (non-Pullman sleeper) to operate on the Santa Fe main line between Chicago and Los Angeles on the same fast schedule as the railroad's premier all-Pullman Super Chief. It was also the first train to receive the pioneering Hi-Level equipment with which it would become synonymous. History The El Capitan debuted on February 22, 1938, on a twice-weekly schedule, using two five-car sets of streamlined equipment built by the Budd Company. Like the Pennsylvania Railroad's Trail Blazer, it offered "low-cost passage with high-speed convenience". The fare from Chicago to Los Angeles was $5.00 above the $39.50 regular coach fare in 1938. Originally conceived as the Economy Chief, the name 'El Capitan' was chosen to commemorate the Spanish conquistadors; it competed for passenger traffic with Union Pacific's Challenger. Unique in charging an extra fare despite being a coach train, it pioneered such features as "RideMaster" seats optimized for sleeping. On its inaugural run the El Capitan left the main line at Williams and traveled up the Grand Canyon Railway to Grand Canyon Depot. In regular operation passengers bound for the Grand Canyon would connect at Williams. In its first year and a half the El Capitan ran at 80% capacity, superior to similar services. Reservations had to be made weeks in advance. In 1942 the consist expanded to 12 cars. Heavy traffic during World War II forced the Santa Fe to lengthen the train's schedule by two hours in July 1942; it restored the old schedule on June 2, 1946. On September 29, 1946, the El Capitan began running every other day, departing Los Angeles and Chicago on odd-numbered days (except the 31st). Together with the Super Chief on even-numbered days, the two trains formed what the Santa Fe billed as "the first and only daily hour service between Chicago and California". On January 25, 1948, one of the locomotives assigned to the El Capitan crashed through a steel bumper post and concrete wall at Los Angeles' Union Passenger Terminal, ending with the locomotive dangling about 20 feet above Aliso Street. In 1948 the Santa Fe received additional equipment which permitted the Super Chief