The Challengers were named passenger trains on the Union Pacific Railroad and the Chicago and North Western Railway (which was replaced in 1955 by the Milwaukee Road). The economy service ran between Chicago, Illinois, and the West Coast of the United States. The trains had full Pullman service and coach seating and were an attempt to draw Depression-Era riders back to the rails. Food service was advertised as "three meals for under a dollar a day." During the late 1930s the Challenger fleet was among the highest-patronized of American trains, and the best revenue producers of the UP passenger fleet. Discontinued in 1947, the Challenger name reappeared in 1954 on a streamliner. When Amtrak took over the nation's passenger service in 1971, it ended the Challenger once and for all. History In early June 1935 the Union Pacific transferred the heavyweight coaches and tourist sleeping cars of its Los Angeles Limited to a second section, the Challenger. The new train met with such success that the UP ordered 68 cars rebuilt, including 47 coaches, 16 Pullman sleeping cars, and 5 dining cars. The coaches had large reclining chairs and a new color scheme to make the interior more attractive, especially to women passengers. A lounge car was added in April of the following year. In May 1936 the train commenced operation between Chicago and Los Angeles, California, on its own schedule. 1937 saw the UP partnering with the Southern Pacific Railroad to add a train from Chicago to Oakland, California, a line that would take the name San Francisco Challenger (the original then became the Los Angeles Challenger). Lounge cars were designed for single, double, and table seating. Porter service was available throughout the train, and most stations had agents on duty to assist passengers. Rare in the railroad industry, two coaches at the head of the train carried only women, one of these tailored for women with children. A registered nurse-stewardess was carried, another first. The women received $125 per month plus expenses. Coach passengers had free pillows and tickets were pouched to avoid having to waken passengers during the night. Station calls were eliminated during sleeping hours, and short-haul passengers were wakened by train crews before their destinations. All bright lights were extinguished during the night (only blue lighting was used after 10:00 p.m.). Lounge rooms at the ends of the coaches were provided for those who wished