Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 10 hours ago
This is an epic, 4,900+ mile trip from Los Angeles to Chicago, and back! Santa Fe 3751 performed flawlessly. See every segment of this trip, hear from the engineers, pace 3751at 70mph!
*No AI was used to bring this show to you.* Read about our AI Policy and how we get videos ready for YouTube at: Pentrex.com/AI
*About Pentrex:* For over 40 years we've been the leader in railroad video entertainment. See us at Pentrex.com and right here on YouTube, with the Official Pentrex Channel!
Pentrex also owns these railroad video entertainment brands: Highball Productions, Green Frog, Valhalla Video, Donner Rails, WB Video, Main Line Motion Pictures, Broken Knuckle Video, Midwest Video and distribute Revelation Video. You will see shows from all the brands on our channel.
*About this show:* Fresh off a complete rebuild, the Santa Fe Railway put 3751 to the ultimate test - a nearly 5,000 mile trip from Los Angeles, across the Santa Fe system, to Chicago. And back. This 1992 "Santa Fe Employee Appreciation Special" was, until the recent cross-country trip by Union Pacific 4014, the longest steam excursion in the modern era. Our crews were there for every day and every miles.
Each segment of the trip is shown, so you see Santa Fe 3751 in all kinds of scenery and in all kinds of weather. All along the route crowds came out in huge numbers to see what many had never seen before - a shiny new (90 year old) steam locomotive hauling gleaming stainless steel coaches at 70 miles an hour across the nation.
This route, LA to Chicago, was the "Route of the Chiefs", so called because this is the route the famous Santa Fe Chief and Super Chief trains ran in the golden age of passenger rail in America. With this show, it's the golden age all over again!
*Own this DVD*, with better quality (no YouTube compression or commercials!) and have a permanent addition to your collection at Pentrex.com.
pentrex.com/DVD-Santa-Fe-3751---Route-of-the-Chiefs-DVD_VR051-DVD
The story of Santa Fe 3751's revival and rebuild, just a year before this cross-country trip, is also on YouTube:
youtu.be/ePZbmZaQ5s4
0:00 Steam & tradition return to the Santa Fe
1:14 (Map) What is the Route of the Chiefs?
1:49 Preparing 3751
5:03 Leaving Hobart Yard
7:26 San Bernardino
9:09 3751 tackles Cajon Pass
10:08 Barstow & Servicing
14:13 Overnight at Needles
17:26 3751 in Kingman Canyon
18:47 Maintenance at Seligman
20:51 A local & 3751 at Winslow
23:03 Steamin' into the night on the Gallup Sub
24:50 Belen to Amarillo
29:38 Southern Pacific and 3751
27:46 Crowds at Mountain Air
33:32 Amarillo to Wellington
36:46 Kiowa, Kansas
38:20 Wellington to Topeka
41:08 Kansas City, here we come!
44:18 Running gear close-up
46:21 Railroad Days at Topeka
47:31 Runnin' light, with a caboose
48:32 UP 3981 shares the stage
52:05 3751 hauls 3985!
53:44 Walt Disney's hometown
56:15 Fort Madison to Chicago
58:15 Chicago in the rain
59:49 Back to LA via Streator
1:02:07 Marceline, Kansas
1:05:09 Pacing at 70MPH
1:08:11 Servicing & Engineer Rufus King
1:10:47 Leaving in a chuff-chuff
1:13:46 Canyon Diablo Bridge
1:14:51 Red Rocks at Kingman
1:16:39 Rufus King sums it up
1:20:32 Upgrade at Ash Hill
1:23:08 Barstow & San Bernardino
1:25:19 Sullivan's Curve, then LA
Santa Fe 3751 is truly an amazing machine - and after another rebuild is back to hauling passengers. Find out more: sbrhs.org
Thumbnail image credits:
3751 in Streator, Sean Lamb via a CC-BY-2.0 license
3751 West of Amboy, Drew Jacksich via a CC-BY-2.0 license
This is an epic, 4,900+ mile trip from Los Angeles to Chicago, and back! Santa Fe 3751 performed flawlessly. See every segment of this trip, hear from the engineers, pace 3751at 70mph!
*No AI was used to bring this show to you.* Read about our AI Policy and how we get videos ready for YouTube at: Pentrex.com/AI
*About Pentrex:* For over 40 years we've been the leader in railroad video entertainment. See us at Pentrex.com and right here on YouTube, with the Official Pentrex Channel!
Pentrex also owns these railroad video entertainment brands: Highball Productions, Green Frog, Valhalla Video, Donner Rails, WB Video, Main Line Motion Pictures, Broken Knuckle Video, Midwest Video and distribute Revelation Video. You will see shows from all the brands on our channel.
*About this show:* Fresh off a complete rebuild, the Santa Fe Railway put 3751 to the ultimate test - a nearly 5,000 mile trip from Los Angeles, across the Santa Fe system, to Chicago. And back. This 1992 "Santa Fe Employee Appreciation Special" was, until the recent cross-country trip by Union Pacific 4014, the longest steam excursion in the modern era. Our crews were there for every day and every miles.
Each segment of the trip is shown, so you see Santa Fe 3751 in all kinds of scenery and in all kinds of weather. All along the route crowds came out in huge numbers to see what many had never seen before - a shiny new (90 year old) steam locomotive hauling gleaming stainless steel coaches at 70 miles an hour across the nation.
This route, LA to Chicago, was the "Route of the Chiefs", so called because this is the route the famous Santa Fe Chief and Super Chief trains ran in the golden age of passenger rail in America. With this show, it's the golden age all over again!
*Own this DVD*, with better quality (no YouTube compression or commercials!) and have a permanent addition to your collection at Pentrex.com.
pentrex.com/DVD-Santa-Fe-3751---Route-of-the-Chiefs-DVD_VR051-DVD
The story of Santa Fe 3751's revival and rebuild, just a year before this cross-country trip, is also on YouTube:
youtu.be/ePZbmZaQ5s4
0:00 Steam & tradition return to the Santa Fe
1:14 (Map) What is the Route of the Chiefs?
1:49 Preparing 3751
5:03 Leaving Hobart Yard
7:26 San Bernardino
9:09 3751 tackles Cajon Pass
10:08 Barstow & Servicing
14:13 Overnight at Needles
17:26 3751 in Kingman Canyon
18:47 Maintenance at Seligman
20:51 A local & 3751 at Winslow
23:03 Steamin' into the night on the Gallup Sub
24:50 Belen to Amarillo
29:38 Southern Pacific and 3751
27:46 Crowds at Mountain Air
33:32 Amarillo to Wellington
36:46 Kiowa, Kansas
38:20 Wellington to Topeka
41:08 Kansas City, here we come!
44:18 Running gear close-up
46:21 Railroad Days at Topeka
47:31 Runnin' light, with a caboose
48:32 UP 3981 shares the stage
52:05 3751 hauls 3985!
53:44 Walt Disney's hometown
56:15 Fort Madison to Chicago
58:15 Chicago in the rain
59:49 Back to LA via Streator
1:02:07 Marceline, Kansas
1:05:09 Pacing at 70MPH
1:08:11 Servicing & Engineer Rufus King
1:10:47 Leaving in a chuff-chuff
1:13:46 Canyon Diablo Bridge
1:14:51 Red Rocks at Kingman
1:16:39 Rufus King sums it up
1:20:32 Upgrade at Ash Hill
1:23:08 Barstow & San Bernardino
1:25:19 Sullivan's Curve, then LA
Santa Fe 3751 is truly an amazing machine - and after another rebuild is back to hauling passengers. Find out more: sbrhs.org
Thumbnail image credits:
3751 in Streator, Sean Lamb via a CC-BY-2.0 license
3751 West of Amboy, Drew Jacksich via a CC-BY-2.0 license
