During the depression of the 1890s, the railroad had difficulty paying its bills. The railroad went into receivership. Edward Ripley became its president and rescued it from ruin. He helped win over the people of California, when he led some California investors to build a competing line in the San Joaquin Valley, where the Southern Pacific was charging exorbitant rates.
Starting in the 1870s, Fred Harvey built his famous Harvey Houses. Up until that time, meals provided to railroad passengers were unappetizing and scanty. He opened his first restaurant along the Santa Fe line in Topeka. It was a huge success. He built one after the other along the line and gained a reputation for fine dining with good service at a reasonable price. He even operated at a loss much of the time, so much did he want to provide good food.
He also recruited heavily for “girls of good character” to serve in his restaurants. The “Harvey Girls” frequently married Santa Fe engineers, conductors, and other railroad people. He also took control of the service that provided snacks and reading material while on board. He upgraded the quality of both, resulting in a huge increase in sales. When dining cars were in regular use, Harvey also took on that business for the ATSF.
In 1905, the railroad was in the spotlight when Walter Scott, better known as Death Valley Scotty, hired the railroad to take him from Los Angeles to Chicago. The challenge was to make the run in the fastest time ever--less than 46 hours. The Coyote Special left Los Angeles on July 9. Crowds lined the route, watching the progress of the special train. A newsman was on board, wiring stories of the train to the press. Several speed records were broken on the route. The train arrived in Chicago on July 11, 44 hours and 45 minutes later.
In World War I, the ATSF and other railroads faced a serious situation. Trains were being taken over for shipment of soldiers and war materiel. This was seriously affecting regular traffic. In addition, union representation had scaled back the work day to eight hours and there was threat of a strike. The federal government stepped in and created the U.S. Railroad Administration. This agency organized traffic flow, repaired equipment, maintained the tracks, and paid wages.
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