Back When This Train in Fullerton was a Rare Event
The Santa Fe Railway passed through the middle of downtown Pasadena, California. And on New Year's Day, the city of Pasadena hosts the Tournament of Roses Parade. Inconveniently, the Parade occurs in the early morning, which is the same time of day that Amtrak's westbound Southwest Limited was due through town. In order to avoid problems, Amtrak #3 was rerouted every January 1st (unless the 1st is on a Sunday, in which case this would occur on the 2nd) from the Santa Fe's Second District to the parallel Third District, taking this Chicago to Los Angeles train through Fullerton instead of Pasadena. And so it was on January 1st, 1974, as the Southwest Limited accelerated out of its station stop in Fullerton, California, as a trio of SDP40Fs - 521; 514 and 527; each less than a year old - travel on trackage that is unfamiliar to train #3. This move through Fullerton allows the train, which, two years and seven months after Amtrak's formation, still looks (for the most part) like Santa Fe's old combined Super Chief/El Capitan, to arrive in Los Angeles without interrupting the Rose Parade.
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