The "Grand Canyon" train lost its name in early 1968 when the railway petitioned the ICC to drop service to Grand Canyon National Park; the train would continue as Trains 23 and 24 until the May 1, 1971, handover of all passenger service to Amtrak. While the Santa Fe had been willing to continue operating its famed "Chiefs" and the "San Diegan," the prospect of having to operate its less successful routes until at least 1976 led it to hand its passenger routes to Amtrak. The "Grand Canyon" had been a particularly large albatross around the Santa Fe's neck for some time; it remained a mostly whistle stop train long after the automobile made such scheduling obsolete.