The City of Portland, Union Pacific's Premier Train To The Pacific Northwest

The City of Portland was just one train in the Union Pacific’s premier fleet of passenger trains. The railroad hosted an entire array of plush City trains including (along with the City of Los Angeles) the City of Portland, City of Denver, City of Salina, City St. Louis, City of San Francisco, and City of Las Vegas. Today, the City fleet can still be witnessed, in a manner of speaking, as the UP’s official business train is not only decorated in a the Cities’ classic livery but also includes the original equipment from them, right down to the two E9As and E9Bs that power it!

The Union Pacific Railroad (UP), the largest and one of the most powerful railroads in the country, has been with us since 1862, some 146 years. The Union Pacific is far older than any other American Class I railroad today with the Kansas City Southern in a nearby second at 107 years (beyond that CSX Transportation ranks in third at 27 years). In that time the railroad has become not only one of the most highly respected institutions in the nation but also has seen nearly every major railroading event in our country’s history, and accordingly has a very long and storied history.

Perhaps what the UP is best recognized for is its appetite for large power, which perhaps matches its character to some degree! It holds the record for the largest diesel and steam locomotives (the steam issue remains up to debate) ever built in the way of the American Locomotive Company’s (Alco) 4-8-8-4 “Big Boys” (behemoth steamers able to produce some 135,000 pounds of tractive effort!) and EMD’s 6600 horsepower DD40AX “Centennial” diesel-electrics (which were essentially two SD40 models under one frame). These are not the only large units the railroad operated as they also owned Alco’s largest diesel-electric and experimented with a gas-turbine electric locomotive capable of 8500 horsepower!

The Union Pacific’s City fleet is credited with being the first lightweight streamlined passenger train to operate in the United States. In 1934 the City of Salina, the first in the fleet, debuted as a three-car lightweight trainset that the Electro-Motive Corporation named the M-10000. The Union Pacific was so impressed with the train, and the response it received from the public, that it purchased seven more sets and the City fleet was born!

Following the City of Salina, also in 1934 was the City of Portland, followed by the City of Los Angeles, City of San Francisco, and City of Denver in 1936. The City fleet became revered throughout the west and rivaled the Santa Fe’s legendary Super Chief, and every other western passenger train, in exquisiteness and fine traveling. Once the trains received their Domeliners in the mid-1950s they became the lavish way to travel for many in Hollywood.

The City of Portland was Union Pacific’s gateway to the Pacific Northwest, although, because it operated a more southerly routing than famed Northwestern trains like the Great Northern’s Empire Builder or Northern Pacific’s North Coast Limited the train is sometimes forgotten about or overlooked. Like the City of Los Angeles, for the first twenty years or so of the train’s existence it was operated in conjunction with the Chicago & North Western which ferried the Portland from Omaha, eastward to Chicago. This setup lasted until 1955 when the UP, dissatisfied with the services C&NW was providing handed the train over to rival Milwaukee Road, a partnership that would last until the train’s end (the Portland reached Seattle via connections with the Great Northern and Northern Pacific).

While the Empire Builder and North Coast Limited may go down in history as the most famous Northwestern passenger trains, the City of Portland carries several historical distinctions; first, the train was the very first streamlined transcontinental passenger train to operate when it took to the rails in the spring of 1935; second, the Portland was the first to offer dining and sleeping services.

Along with the City of Los Angeles the City of Portland was Union Pacific’s premier passenger operation and the railroad spared no expense on the train. While the Portland’s routing offered a bit less scenery over the prairies and foothills of the famed Overland Route between Omaha, Nebraska and Granger, Wyoming the train featured accommodations as fine as anything one could find nationwide.

Beginning in the 1940s the train was completely reequipped with new lightweight, streamlined equipment and in the 1950s received Domeliners. The new equipment, as the original streamliners that had debuted in the mid-1930s, was also adorned in a striking livery of Armour yellow and light gray with red trim, a paint scheme still in use today on the Union Pacific. Overall, on a typical City of Portland train one could expect to find four Pullman sleepers, café-lounge, dome lounge-observation, dome coach, and a dome diner.

Through the end the City of Portland, along with her sister City trains, remained a top-notch, all matching consist operation by Union Pacific. While service remained at a high level this, however, did not secure the Portland or other City trains’ futures as they were all discontinued with the startup of Amtrak in the spring of 1971.

For more reading on the Union Pacific you might want to consider Union Pacific Railroad from noted author Brian Solomon. Of course, being that the Union Pacific is so well known and has been around for so many years, hundreds of publications (many quite good) have been written about it detailing various subjects of the railroad. However, this book will at least give you a general overview and history of the UP (filled with many, excellent, historical and colorful photographs) at which point you can decide if you are interested in further books of study on the railroad. Even if you are a historian of the UP and have not seen this book I'm sure you will enjoy it!

Also, for more reading on streamliners like the City of Portland you might want to also consider the book Streamliners: History of a Railroad Icon from renowned author Mike Schafer who covers in detail most of the well known and remembered “classic” passenger trains to operate in the country. If you have any interest in such you should very much enjoy Mr. Schafer’s book.